Here we are in 2012 with a seventeen-song-strong album coming in at just over an hour, mixing in the best of their songs from their eight-album career plus a cover.
It’s difficult to take a disliking to the album, kicking off as it does with possibly the best ever album opener ‘It’s Showtime!’, complete here with the full crowd sound that permeates greatly through the record, and really starts the album off. Dick Valentine is in fine voice and the band as tight as you’d hope, and the production is crisp and tracks flow well into each other. ‘Down At McDonnelzzz’ follows, as it does on the original album, and though the slower tempo is not as fun as the faster album track, it sounds better here and the atmosphere of the track comes across, thanks also to the crowd chanting along too.
‘Danger! High Voltage’ follows and is, once more, excellently performed and recorded, with the Monifah extra section included for good measure. The band then rattle through loads of their big songs, from ‘Future Is In The Future’, including the extended middle and another funny monologue about Percussion World, the drummer, and ‘Dirty Ball’ with the additional drum solo in the middle that is captured well on the record.
‘When I Get To The Green Building’ slows the pace down a little and then we get crowd favourite ‘Gay Bar’, with the extended middle guitar section making a return after a few tours of absence. ‘Infected Girls’, a less common live track, is refreshing to hear with its thick guitar track and personal favourite ‘Jam It In The Hole’ takes the album version and breathes a little more life into it. We then get ‘Fire’ classic ‘She’s White’, more recent hit ‘Body Shot’ and one of their best tracks ‘Dance Epidemic’, all captured brilliantly. ‘I Buy The Drugs’ and ‘Hello! I See You!’ wrap the album up nicely before we get a three-song encore in the form of a catchy cover of the Osmonds hit ‘Crazy Horses’, ‘Dance Commander’ and ‘Synthesizer’, with the words ‘absolute pleasure’ rounding off the record.
I am a fan of Electric Six and have waited years for a live album but it is difficult to find fault with the collection. The big hits are all there, the band are on top form, and the vocals sound great. The mix, to my ears, is clear with elements that often get lost when hearing them live audible. The only problem really comes from knowing about the original announcement and how it was originally to be a two-disc compilation with the entire of ‘Fire’ on one side and the best of the rest on the other, and this shortened and shuffled version doesn’t quite capture the feel of a live gig. Aside from missing some great tunes off that were recorded – personally ‘Electric Demons (In Love)’ and ‘Germans In Mexico’ are disappointing omissions, especially with twenty minutes left on the CD – the re-jigging loses a lot of Valentine’s funny song interludes. Whether he didn’t do as many or they had to be altered to make the new album listing make sense I don’t know, but the small amount of between song banter is a shame, with only the break in ‘Future Is In The Future’ offering a glimpse into this side of a live E6 experience.
But, any live album is better than none, and if you’re a fan of the band or even just familiar with their big 2003 hits, there is much to enjoy here from a well-produced and delivered live album that covers all the big hits and some lesser known ones. It’s difficult to listen to the album without a smile coming over your face. Easily a 9 out of 10 collection but could well have been, as a double-album, a 10 out of 10.
I’ve seen E6 live many times and this CD captures the magic very well and I’m glad they’ve finally done a live CD.
An absolute pleasure? Oh yes.
9/10
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