Live albums don't tend to take up much of my time- often they're the sort of record that get played once or twice and then filed and I don't own very many. If it's a recording of a gig you attended I can see the point and I can happily spend time listening to, say, bootlegs of New Order in the 80s but too often they don't do too much for me. I'm sure you can all make suggestions to counter that view (and I'm happy to be corrected). But there's a release coming up of a gig The Replacements played at Maxwell's in Hoboken, New Jersey in April 1986 and the songs that have been posted on Soundcloud have got me interested. The studio versions of some of The Replacements songs didn't always do the songs justice- I've posted the unreleased rougher Tim version of Can't Hardly Wait before and it is miles better than the released one on Pleased To Meet Me. The outing Can't hardly Wait got at Maxwell's sounds close to definitive.
Pitchfork have a riotous sounding run through Bastards Of Young here. The Replacements For Sale: Live At Maxwell's 1986 is a double cd, out at the end of the month, making October looking like it's going to be as expensive as September has been. The tracklist is a pretty perfect selection of songs with I Will Dare, Unsatisfied, Answering Machine, Takin' A Ride, Color Me Impressed, Left Of The Dial, Kiss Me On The Bus, Black Diamond, Waitress In The Sky and Fuck School among the 28 songs.
In 1986 the band played Saturday Night Live. They were drunk and swore on live TV and got banned from ever playing on the show again. In a funny little coincidence they are introduced playing Bastards Of Young by the great Harry Dean Stanton who died yesterday aged 91. It has to be said, they sound better drunk than many bands sound sober.
By the time they played Kiss Me On The Bus Paul, Chris and Tommy had swapped clothes...
I don't think Saturday Night Live went out at a funny angle- the Youtube uploader's done it to avoid copyright issues.
Harry Dean Stanton, RIP.
One live album everyone should own is The Cramps 'Smell Of Female'. Truly brilliant stuff.
ReplyDeleteYep I'll give you that one Ste. Velvet 69 and Maxs Kansas City too.
DeleteSwiss Adam
Velvet's 69 that should be.
ReplyDeleteThis one is on my shopping list. I'm not one to sit down and listen to an entire show too often, but I can think of live songs as B-sides of singles that I have enjoyed through the years.
ReplyDeleteHarry was a treasure.
You are quite right SA, The Replacements were always better live for me. I know for a fact I passed on crossing the river to see that particular show at Maxwell's, but I have a few friend who went and spoke about it over and over. I remember seeing them once in LA around the same time, may have been the same tour. It was only the second time I had seen a show at the Legendary Roxy and it was a real buzz. I it was a really long show and they did a cover of Borstal Breakout.
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