Episode 140 is live, and we’re kicking off our review of Side 1 of XYZ’s self-titled debut album! From melodic hooks to hard rock attitude, this underrated gem from 1989 is packed with killer riffs and arena-ready vocals. We’re breaking it all down—track by track. Tune in and rediscover this late ’80s hard rock treasure!
XYZ is the 1989 debut album by the American hard rock band XYZ. There were two hits off the album, “Inside Out” and “What Keeps Me Loving You”. The album was a moderate success, charting at No. 99 on the Billboard 200. There were two music videos made, for the songs “Inside Out” and “What Keeps Me Loving You”, which both aired on MTV between 1989 and 1990.
The band’s drummer, Paul Monroe, joined the group shortly before recording for XYZ began. Monroe stated that his and guitarist Marc Diglio’s relatively newer presence in the band had a significant impact on the band’s sound and songwriting; Monroe stated in a 2022 interview that although he did not compose a lot of the band’s guitar riffs or lyrics, he was tasked with coming up with “cool endings, and sometimes beginnings” of songs, contributing to arrangements and transitions, and composing the rhythm sections for solos.
The album was produced by Don Dokken. One of the obstacles XYZ encountered during the album’s production phase was that the lead vocalist, Terry Ilous, had a strong French accent that caused some of his words to be indecipherable to Dokken. In a 2018 interview, Dokken cited another issue with the band’s sound being that the other band members were incapable of properly vocally harmonizing with Ilous, so Dokken had to sing backing vocals on the album. Despite Dokken‘s attempts to change his singing style in an effort to mask his identity, reviewers and other listeners noted that Dokken‘s voice was prominent on the tracks anyway. Dokken said, “I tried to mask my voice and change my tone. . . . so people didn’t recognize me, but when the album came out, a lot of reviewers. . . . called it XYD.”
XYZ
Marc Richard Diglio – guitar, backing vocals
Pat Fontaine – bass, backing vocals
Terry Ilous – vocals
Paul Monroe – drums, snare drums, backing vocals
Production
Eddie Ashworth – engineer
Wyn Davis – engineer
Eddie DeLena – engineer, mixing
Don Dokken – producer, backing vocals
John Goodenough – engineer
Eddy Schreyer – mastering
Melissa Sewell – engineer
Art
Neil Zlozower – photography
Pat Dillon – art direction
Dennis Keeley – photo enhancement
Jeannine Pinkerton – typography
Intro Music/Wheel Spin Music by LiteSaturation from Pixabay
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