Tyketto: Don’t Come Easy

Of all the bands that were unjustly overlooked in the early 1990’s, none deserved the spotlight more than Tyketto. The band had all of the ingredients a melodic rock band needed as the 1980s gave way to the ‘90s: a powerhouse vocalist in Danny Vaughn (fresh from a brief but memorable stint in Waysted), a fantastic guitarist in Brooke St. James, a first-rate Richie Zito production job, and songwriting chops that took the very best elements of the hair metal and arena rock sounds.

Originally released in 1991 (it was recorded a year earlier and held back by Geffen), Tyketto’s debut album Don’t Come Easy has since become a touchstone of the melodic rock genre. The band fit perfectly alongside bands like Damn Yankees, Bon Jovi, Nelson, and Giant, and (arguably) outshone them in the process. Don’t Come Easy grabs you from the first song (the still irresistible single “Forever Young”) and rarely lets you go until the very end. Vaughn is such an incredible vocal presence with a flair for telling a story with his singing. His style and his range – sounding at home on upbeat rockers like “Wings” and “Walk on Fire” as well as more soulful and laid back tunes like “Seasons” and “Standing Alone.”

With a couple of exceptions, the songs on Don’t Come Easy all had the potential to be big hits at the time. The first five tracks may be the most perfect “side A” in melodic rock in the 1990s. There are a couple of less impressive moments on the second half, like the Warrant-esque “Lay Your Body Down” and “Strip Me Down,” but even then you have some amazing material in “Walk on Fire” (such killer hooks on that one) and the melodic closer “Sail Away.”

Don’t Come Easy is one of the absolute best melodic rock albums of the decade, and the fact that it didn’t make Tyketto superstars, even if for just a while before grunge came in, is a crying shame. If you’re a fan of bands like Giant, Nelson, Von Groove, Damn Yankees, Firehouse, Steelheart and Bad English, this is as mandatory an album as it gets. And anyone who enjoys expertly crafted melodic rock – from Night Ranger to Foreigner to Bon Jovi to Harem Scarem to Eclipse – really needs to hear this album, especially now that it has been reissued.

Reissue Notes: Just (barely) in time to celebrate the album’s 25th anniversary, Rock Candy gave fans the long-awaited reissue of Don’t Come Easy last month. The original version was decidedly tough to get, so this reissue was a very welcome development. Beyond just making this classic album available once more, we get the first class digital remastering the Rock Candy is known for, the b-side “Walk Away” added as a bonus track, and a booklet with a lengthy band essay/interview that sheds a lot of light on the story of Tyketto in general and the making of Don’t Come Easy in particular. This reissue is more than worth the wait, and is a very worthwhile upgrade if you’re one of the lucky ones that has the original version.

Label: Rock Candy

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