Liver!

Live Album Score: *

If there were ever a band that you don't need to hear live, it would certainly be Roxy Music! ... I don't even enjoy reviewing live albums (and I usually skip them in artist discographies). And, seriously. The only reason I decided to break down and review this is because I wanted to listen to some more Roxy Music!

But, as I said, Roxy Music doesn't make live albums well, and for a very simple reason: HOW THE CRAP CAN YOU EFFECTIVELY MAKE ALL THOSE AWESOME ELECTRONIC NOISES ON STAGE REFLECT THE STUDIO VERSIONS?? ... Especially without Brian Eno! ... He was off doing his own thing at this point! ... Arrgh!

Nevertheless, they do a pretty good job at it. They don't really compare to the originals, but ... I never thought they would. Maybe an even bigger problem with this live album is the song choice. MAN!!! They don't even have "Love is the Drug" on here! ... And they don't have "Street Life." And they don't have "Editions of You" ... They do have "Out of the Blue," "Pyjamarama," and "Chance Meeting" ... which simply aren't great concert songs! ... They make that up with "Both Ends Burning" and "Do the Strand," which turned out to be nice concert songs. "If There is Something" is an 11-minute mixed bag (that ... if you ever wanted to hear Roxy Music ramble on stage, then I guess this is your ticket). "In Every Dream Home a Heartache" is also a bit lengthy here ... Even though it's one of Roxy Music's more melancholy songs, I won't call it a bad concert song just because it EXPLODES in the middle of the song ... and that must have been awesome to hear in concert!!!!

(Oh ... and here's a track-by-track discussion of the songs ... um ...)

The album starts out with "Out of the Blue," which is a song that I was never particularly fond of. ... (I always felt that it was kinda dull on Country Life.) The live rendition of this is a bit more upbeat. Since I didn't really like the original that much, I don't feel particularly disconcerted that it misses out so much on the studio instrumentation!

That's followed by a Roxy Music song that doesn't appear on an album anywhere! "Pyjamarama!" ... To tell you the truth, the original isn't my favorite Roxy Music song ... so consequently, I don't care what they do to it here! ... Well, they certainly made it groovier, making it sound more disco than the original was, but ... whatever. It was a sign of the times! ... So, the first two songs of this live album, I am not thrilled about at all. ... But I'm not disappointed with them, either.

And then there's "Bogus Man." FINALLY, a song that I DO care about! And ... uh ... what's "Bogus Man" without all those weird electronic noises? (I mean, there's some electronic noises just to keep it genuine, I guess, but ... they don't even compare.) ... It's just a robotic dance song! ... Oh, and the horn is there, too, thank goodness ... Ferry's vocal performance isn't nearly as ... um .. deranged as it was on the original, either. But that's the nature of live albums, I guess.

"Chance Meeting" is pretty good ... It's not better than it was on the original song, but ... hey! At least we get to hear Bryan Ferry sing it. ... "Both Ends Burning" isn't bad (they do a nice job recreating the studio version) and it is a nicely danceable song. ... I'm not sure why they had to have those crappy female singers in the chorus, but ... whatever. I'm enjoying this.

"If There Was Something" is a 11-minute rendition of the song (that utilizes all this band was ever able to do, I guess, in terms of soloing on stage. They're no Eric Clapton! ... That song is really awesome to sit through at times and really boring at other times. ... Eh ... If you don't have Brian Eno, then what's the point? What's the point of living??

"In Every Dream Home a Heartache" isn't much better! It's 8.5 minutes long! ... And it doesn't really add anything to the song! I do imagine that it must have been something to watch on stage, but it's nothing special here. ... Now, I still think it's a great song, and stuff ... I just think you're much better off listening to the studio version. ... Maybe the best part of this song was at the end, where we get to hear the crowd go wild and chant "Roxy!" ... I wish there was more audience stuff on this album.

It closes with perhaps the Number one song I would have wanted to hear live! "Do the Strand!" ... It's danceable! Yay!!! ... But ... is it any better than the studio version?: NO!

...Do you need this album in your collection? My answer is, unless you are a rabid Roxy Music fan (and I mean a **RABID** fan), then no. Studio versions are better. They have more to experience. They are more enjoyable. ... This album doesn't even have much in terms of audience involvement! That might have been a redeeming quality, but they just don't do it ... I very very rarely hear the band speak. ... Come on! You've got to talk to the audience!!! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU???

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