Contagious by Y&T | Still Infecting Us 36 Years Later

This is a review of Y&T's 1987 release and sixth studio album, Contagious.

I’ve been a fan of Y&T’s music for the past eight years or so, going back to the first time I saw them in concert in 2015. Their ability to authentically recreate the sounds of the studio almost 40 years later has cemented them as one of my all-time favorite live bands. Y&T’s live performances primarily spotlight their early 80s material. Because of this, I was only familiar with albums like “Mean Streak” and “Black Tiger” when I first got into the band. As my interest in their discography grew, I started listening to their 1990 release “Ten” and then worked my way backwards until I discovered “In Rock We Trust” and “Contagious” a few years later. Needless to say - my journey with Y&T has been substantially different than that of a fan who discovered them 40 years ago.

I can still remember when I first listened to Y&T’s late 80s hard rock masterpiece “Contagious”. Unfortunately it wasn’t anywhere near its release date in 1987. It was in late 2021, my first semester away at college. I vividly remember walking back from my calculus class with the album’s title track on full blast. The fun, feel good anthem filled to the brim with chanty vocals, ripping guitar leads, and massive booming drum fills, grabbed my attention quicker than the band’s early material. I must have listened to the track at least three times in a row and then proceeded to listen to the rest of the album.

In many ways I see “Contagious” as a transition album for Y&T. On this release, the band begins to move away from the super poppy sounds of “Down For The Count” by adding an edge to their commercial and anthemic songwriting. A slight return to the Y&T of the past, “Contagious” calls back to some of the sounds featured on 1984’s “In Rock We Trust”. Of course the albums are distinctly different, but “Contagious” seems to incorporate some of the best aspects of the band’s prior two studio releases. The album sets the band up for their more serious 1990 release, the big brother to “Contagious” - “Ten”.

Almost every song on this album represents a perfect balancing act between edgy and commercial. Looking at the album’s title track, Dave Meniketti’s vocals seem to add a rougher nature to the song while the backing vocals and synths in the verse give it a more commercial feel. A song like “The Kid Goes Crazy” features the swing of many popular late 80’s releases while the searing guitar leads lean more into the realm of a metal track. Additionally, a song like “Armed and Dangerous” is a throwback to classic Y&T songwriting with the benefit of spectacular late 80s production.

Dave Meniketti is one of my top three guitarists of all time and certainly my favorite lead singer/lead guitarist combo. I can’t point to many other musicians who have his technical prowess and finesse while singing and playing lead. The album is filled with his amazing guitar leads and powerful vocals. More than any other album, I believe Meniketti shows his diversity and abilities on “Contagious”.

The rest of the band is equally as strong. Drummer Jimmy DeGrasso elevates the album’s heaviness with his thundering drum fills. He brings new life to Y&T on “Contagious”, modernizing them for the late 80s era. Of course both Joey Alves and Phil Kennemore are as solid as ever. Y&T proves their musicianship while implementing creative and catchy songwriting.

Only one music video resulted from “Contagious” - for the album’s title track. Like many of the best videos of the decade, it featured a narrative storyline. A brief summary is that Y&T uses their powers to help the chess playing nerd gain confidence. Eventually, he wins the girl of his dreams away from the Mustang driving jock, and takes her to the prom. The big haired leather wearing Y&T members take the nerd under their wing and show him that he has the power in himself to be cool, he just needs some confidence.

I think it’s a fun video with a good message that showcases the new and unified image of Y&T. It’s definitely an enjoyable video, but doesn’t top any lists in terms of creativity or big budget production. The storyline is a bit playful and tongue in cheek, which reflects some of the themes of the album.

“Contagious” is an enjoyable album filled with great songwriting and advanced musical techniques that spotlight the feel-good rockin’ nature of late 80s Y&T. It is tied for my favorite Y&T album with its follow up and big brother “Ten” from 1990. In my view, “Contagious” should have brought more popularity to Y&T than I understand it did.

Y&T is definitely one of the first bands that comes to mind when I think of underrated 80s rock and metal acts. I wish “Contagious” got as much attention as other big albums of that year, but I am happy to spotlight it on The Rock Mine radio show! I play a Y&T song almost every week from 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM EST.