The Yellow and Black Attack! is the debut extended play (EP) by the Christian hard rock band Stryper. It was released on July 21, 1984 by Enigma Records. The band produced the EP with Ron Goudie.
The EP originally contained six songs with 20,000 copies pressed as their record label, Enigma, was unsure of the potential market for Christian metal, aside from Christian rock acts like Petra, White Heart, DeGarmo & Key and many others. CCM Magazine was slightly critical, citing production quality and the short length of the release, but commented that "Stryper has the promise of a major success story." According to Michael Sweet's autobiography, the album was re-recorded and released as an official album, after their first manager, Daryn Hinton, loaned them $100,000 to re-produce the record. The album initially sold 150,000 units in the first three weeks.
After Stryper achieved major success with their second release and first full-length album, Soldiers Under Command, The Yellow and Black Attack! EP was reissued. Re-released on August 10, 1986 with an updated album cover and two additional songs, "Reason for the Season" (which was originally released on a 1985 Christmas-themed 12" single with "Winter Wonderland") and a new, mellowed-down version of "My Love I'll Always Show," which dates from their Roxx Regime days. The version recorded for The Yellow and Black Attack! featured less obvious Christian lyrics than the one to feature on The Roxx Regime Demos. The Japanese re-release of the EP also contained "Winter Wonderland" as a bonus track. A music video was made for the track "You Know What To Do."
The Yellow and Black Attack! began its climb up the albums charts in Billboard magazine in the fall of 1984 and eventually landed in the Top 10 at number 10 by the summer of 1985 on the Top Christian Albums and peaked at number 103 on the Top 200 Albums chart in 1986. The EP even sold well on the Japanese Albums chart in Japan, climbing to number 61. The Yellow and Black Attack! EP was
reissued again in 1991 by Hollywood Records.
Track listing
All songs were written by Michael Sweet, except where noted.
1. Loud 'n' Clear -3:30
2. From Wrong to Right (Michael Sweet, Robert Sweet, Oz Fox) -3:50
3. My Love I'll Always Show -3:35
4. You Know What to Do (Stryper) -4:46
5. Co'mon Rock -3:44
6. You Won't Be Lonely -3:42
7. Loving You -4:13
8. Reason for the Season (Michael Sweet, Robert Sweet) -6:31
Personnel
Stryper:
Michael Sweet -lead vocals, guitars
Robert Sweet -drums
Oz Fox -lead guitars, backing vocals
Tim Gaines -bass guitar, backing vocals, keyboards
Next release: Soldiers Under Command (1985)
Watch the music video of "You Know What To Do" here:
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