Tigertailz re-releases and other

Tigertailz are (yes, they are together again) a Welsh metal band. They formed around 1983 and were around until the mid-90's and then reformed again a few years ago. They are supposed to actually be releasing a new album next year. I remember seeing their debut Young and Crazy on the new record shelf at my local record store back in 1987. They had very much a glam look yet their debut was distributed on Combat here in the states which was strange because Combat mainly released speed metal and hardcore albums. I thought about buying it then, but didn't. Then around 1991 I saw Young and crazy on cd for maybe $3.00 so I bought it. I really like it and they had their influences, but it was different from other glam bands in some way. It was a bit more raw and not and they didn't seem to be trying to just make party style music. Many glam bands of the time seemed more influences by Kiss and Aerosmith, but Tigertailz main influences seemed more like Cheap Trick and Sweet. In the late 90's I sold this cd along with a number others when I needed the money to buy food and pay the rent. I regretted that of course as I eventually wanted to get it again and found out it was out of print and went for a high price on ebay. I was able to get a copy on lp last year for $3.00 on ebay so I was glad for that. I had never heard any of their other releases, but did know that they existed. A few years ago I saw that all of their releases were fetching high prices on ebay so I resigned myself to the fact that I may never hear any of their other material. Then recently I noticed that their second release Bezerk and a collection of B sides called Banzai were scheduled to be released on October 11th for $9.99. I couldn't believe it and considered ordering them. Yesterday I decided to stop at the record store and see if possible they had them in because this store is sometimes good about having imports for low prices. Sure enough I got both for $9.99 a piece.
I will try to be brief with my comments on these two albums. I knew the band had changed singers after the first album. Steevi Jaimz was replaced by Kim Hooker who sang on every release after the debut and is the band's current singer. Banzai is overall better than most of the releases from glam bands of the time, but not as good as I hoped. It sounds like fans of this band are split as to which singer they like, but I have to say I prefer Steevi Jaimz. He may not have the more powerful voice, but his voice his more distinct and that's what set him apart. Kim Hooker is solid, but sounds like a lot of other singers. The overall sound of Bezerk is similar in that Tigertailz seemed to have opted for a more popular sound instead of picking up where I think the debut left off. They still have some heavy riffs here and there that set them apart, but they also come off sounding like a heavier version of Danger Danger at times as well. Not that I mean that as a negative, but I think they could have been even better than they were. Banzai is a collection of B sides, it is certainly one of the best collections of rarities that I have heard. Most of these kind of albums tend to have songs that didn't make it onto an lp for obvious reasons or you get something listed as a remix, but it doesn't sound any different than the original version. Banzai is overall very good and just as enjoyable as Bezerk. Most of the songs are similar in style to the songs on Bezerk. It does have covers of Metallica's Creeping death and Megadeth's Peace sells. The Metallica cover is solid, but the Megadeth cover is more impressive because they put more of their sound into it. I glanced at their website and the band talked about how they had been trying for a while to get Banzai and Beserk re-released. They did say that they were hopeful about getting their third studio lp Wazbones re-released. Unfortunately they didn't think Young and Crazy would get re-released due to legal complications. Bezerk and Banzai are pretty cool albums if you like late 80's-early 90's glam metal and they are fairly priced.