Review: Tygers of Pan Tang – Live Blood

Mighty Music (April 26^th 2024)

Reviewer: Jason Hopper

The Tygers have returned with ‘Live Blood‘, a cracker of a live album recorded while the band was on tour supporting their latest release ‘Bloodlines‘ (review here). The recording was made at The Patriot venue in Wales UK during the summer of 2023, with a set list that covers both old and new favourites alike.

I’m a newbie when it comes to Tygers of Pan Tang. It started with a random review of their best of collection ‘Majors & Minors‘ (review here).  Having heard little from them at the time, I was blown away by the number of great songs on that release. While I explored the other releases featuring lead singer Jack Meille, I didn’t get too much into their back catalogue, so it was great to hear some of their older material presented in such a vibrant format.

The band sounds tight as they blaze through a blistering set of old and new classics. Classics like ‘Euthanasia’, ‘Gangland’, and ‘Love Don’t Stay’ sound terrific and you would never know the huge time difference between their 80s catalogue and their most recent output unless you know the band’s history. The Tygers have not lost a step.

Some songs I was not familiar with. ‘Suzie Smiled’ was a new one for me and I did not know they did a cover of ‘Love Potion #9’, so that was great to hear. I love the inclusion of newer tracks like ‘A New Heartbeat’ and ‘Only the Brave’, which are some of my favourite tracks from the band.

The production on this release is top notch. You could not ask for a better sounding live album.  There’s a little bit of banter between songs, which is to be expected, and the monologing is not very long. Strangely enough, on three occasions, there is a fade out. It is a little of a pet peeve for me as it takes away from the experience of listening to a live album. If there are long stretches of wasted space or repairs that are needed to equipment, there are ways to edit that out without a fade.

After doing some investigating, I believe the fade outs are for the benefit of the vinyl, with the fade outs representing the need to turn the vinyl. Seems strange to cater the release to only one format when streaming and CDs are the other options. That would be my only critique to the release.

At nineteen tracks, the listener certainly gets their monies worth. This is an instant purchase for all fans of the band but could certainly serve as a jumping off point for those who have never heard the band or know just a few songs. I’m not sure if there was any studio trickery here to enhance the sound, but what is captured here is phenomenal. This is a band that peaked back in the 80s but decided to never come back down the mountain.

Tracklist:

1. Intro
2. Euthanasia
3. Keeping Me Alive
4. Love Don’t Stay
5. Gangland
6. Edge of the World
7. Destiny
8. Back for Good
9. Only the Brave
10. Paris by Air
11. Do It Good
12. Insanity
13. Fire on the Horizon
14. A New Heartbeat
15. Slave to Freedom
16. Suzie Smiled
17. Hellbound
18. Love Potion #9
19. Blood Red Sky