Image sourced from Ticketmaster
Welcome back people! Or if you’re only just reading this, welcome! As the title might suggest, this is actually part 2 of a 4-part series where I give you some examples of my favourite live albums ever, so that next time it’s raining outside you can have the most banging night in ever. Last time I covered some great live albums from Queen, Slipknot and Cream, and you can read that here. Now though, I think it’s time to cover a bit more varied ground, so let’s crack on.
Escaped Maniacs – Lokerse Fest 2005 (The Stooges)
The Stooges – far and away one of the most influential bands of the last 60 years, their juvenile, simplistic, noisy approach to rock and roll made them what many consider to be the world’s first punk band. Their initial five-year run ended in disaster in 1974, but 29 years later they reformed to rave reviews, and even wrote brand new material. This particular performance recorded in Belgium continues a theme of a fair few of these, in that I’d hazard this is maybe the best the guys have ever sounded. It’s a statement in hot contention admittedly, especially because ‘Funhouse’ sounds fucking amazing, but it’s certainly the clearest they’ve ever sounded.
Like I mentioned with Cream in part 1, due to the advent of modern recording technology, the group sounds so much punchier and more muscular, while still grooving hard as hell. Particularly with their sound, this has so many benefits. The Stooges were never about playing at a million miles an hour. For the Asheton brothers, Ron and Scott, it was all about feel. Scott shows that while he may not be the most virtuosic drummer, as perfectly demonstrated on tracks like ‘TV Eye’, or the eerie slow paced ‘Dirt’ among many others, he has the power and immovable force of a lead anvil, never missing a single beat. He is the power generator of the band no questions asked: relentless, punchy, and groovy as fuck. As record producer Steve Albini put it: “he’s just totally imperturbable. You could shoot at him or throw buckets of water at him and he would never stop.” The same goes for his brother Ron. Due to his double discipline of being a bass and guitar player, whatever beat Scott throws at him, he’s locked in with the riff straight away. They operate like clockwork. It’s a wondrous thing to hear. Not only are the riffs on tracks like ‘Loose’, ‘Wanna Be Your Dog’ or ‘No Fun’ absolutely iconic and endlessly catchy, but his impeccable timing allows him to really let loose on his noisy, wah-heavy solos, which are just next level cool, taking the whole dynamic of the music to another dimension, injecting a well needed dose of “absolutely nuts.”
Of course, there’s a few very integral pieces of the puzzle we haven’t spoken about yet. Relative newcomer and ex-Minutemen bassist Mike Watt does a fantastic job with Dave Alexander’s basslines, giving the relentless groove of the Asheton brothers some brilliantly grinding, low end rumble, particularly on songs like ‘Dirt’ or ‘Funhouse’ where the bass very much takes centre stage, it really is face-scrunch worthy. He also does a fantastic job on new material like ‘Skull Ring’, giving those tracks the sense of bounding momentum they very well deserve. At the same time, it’s not so dirty that the sense of unquellable funk gets lost. I think I once heard someone say that the Stooges are essentially a heavy funk band, and after hearing just how great Mike sounds here, I’m tempted to agree. That outro on ‘TV’ Eye too, bravo sir! There’s also some very nice contributions in the latter half from saxophonist Steve Mckay, where tracks from the b-side of ‘Funhouse’ like ‘1970’, as well as the couple new songs, are imbued with that free jazz craziness that not only makes them that much more incredible and nuanced as songs, but also helped to prove they were so much more than just your run-of-the-mill garage rock band. He made saxophone sound punk. How the fuck did he manage that?
Then there’s Iggy, the godfather of punk himself. When he’s not bounding around the stage like a shirtless human gazelle, he gives an incredibly solid vocal performance throughout, both melodically very strong and occasionally loveably unhinged and theatrical, everything you’d want pretty much. A lot of people said they really didn’t like his voice in older age, given its more warbly quality, but I disagree. Sure, he might not have the youthful exuberance he did at 21, but like with Jack Bruce, his aged voice gives him much more gravitas and swagger. Where earlier he sounded like a fired up delinquent youth, here, he sounds like a more domineering, battle-hardened tough nut, forcefully barking a multitude of catchy refrains such as on ‘1969’, ‘Down on the Street’, ‘Funhouse’, and of course ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog, to his gaggle of festival mud monkeys, while still retaining the effortless cool factor, with a brilliant, almost James Brown like quality to some of his sung portions on ‘Dead Rock Star’, ‘Real Cool Time’, ‘Little Doll’ and especially ‘Dirt’, albeit with an extra dose of sneering delinquency. Lest we forget, while nearly 60 at this point, his unhinged shouts and screams channel a simultaneous anger, mania and charisma that hundreds of younger bands could only dream of. I mean when you hear the guy barking like a rabies-riddled mad dog, you have to respect his commitment?
Lastly, the setlist itself is also fantastic. While there is an absence of ‘Raw Power’ material, you end up really not caring, simply because the other stuff from the first two albums is so damn good. Obviously immortal tracks like ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’, ‘1969’, ‘1970’, ‘No Fun’ and ‘Down on the Street’ whip the crowd into an utter frenzy, but the presence of deep cuts like ‘Little Doll’, ‘Real Cool Time’ and ‘Dirt’ help to show the breadth of the band very effectively, making sure there is absolutely no dip in quality whatsoever. I do mean no dip too. While a lot of material from the forthcoming ‘Weirdness’ album was pretty weak, this might be an unpopular opinion, but I think the two new ‘Skull Ring’ tracks hold their own seriously well here, resulting in maybe the most well-rounded setlist they’d ever play. Even though their debut album was released over 35 years previous, here, you saw the absolute ultimate version of The Stooges. They really were operating in flow state, absolutely untouchable, with as much raw power as ever. A worthy reunion indeed.
Tokyo Electraglide 2005 (Underworld)
If you’ve been at a party in the last 30-ish years you’ve probably heard Underworld. Everyone knows them for ‘Trainspotting’ mega-hit ‘Born Slippy NUXX.’, but there’s so much more to them than that, with tens of hours worth of a fantastic back catalogue to dive into. Cut to 2005, and Underworld, with new live member Darren Price in tow, are doing a gig at Tokyo Electraglide. Except this is no ordinary rave gig. With their previously established massive discography at their disposal, they played for not one, not two, but three straight hours, and every second is frankly glorious.
Now simply because this one is so long, I was unsure exactly how to cover it without skipping over too much, so I might go on for a while, but I’ll start with the fact that the set itself is structured perfectly. You’d think with it being three hours long there’d be a fair bit of mess and faff to go along with it, but no. This thing flows like water. Each song flows damn near perfectly into the next, making it feel like you’re listening to four massive 45-minute long rave tunes, thus leaving no lapse in energy, which Rick, Karl and Darren accomplish masterfully. I don’t mean that in the kind of robotic, pre-programmed USB mix way, but much more in the sense that in the transitions between tracks, they’ll often very subtly incorporate beats and sounds from previous tracks, not only making the switch incredibly seamless, but also giving well established tracks a new, fresh dynamic, which is exactly what you want from a live album, particularly electronic ones that otherwise would sound incredibly rigid and boring. This one on the other hand, has more life in it than some traditional rock gigs, and that’s almost all down to Rick and Darren’s mastery of the DJ dynamic. A really big help with this flow is the couple of ambient tracks like ‘Simple Distinctive’ or ‘Two Conkers and a Twix’, which act as superb little serene stop gaps in between the bouts of craziness, to make sure you don’t get worn out by the constant thumping beats. Much obliged. What’s also very clever is the way that they use some of their big tracks sporadically in order to separate the different segments of the gig, i.e building to a peak, then falling and rebuilding, giving it a great ebb and flow. Playing three of your biggest hits 50 minutes in is a risk, but here, it pays off.
Speaking of, it’s probably time to talk about the material itself. To start, there’s definitely a decent amount of classic material to satiate any newcomer, albeit with some new twists. ‘Mmm… Skyscraper I Love You’ is markedly more ominous, dark and dubwise than it’s psychedelic LP version, ‘Dark Train’ gets a bright toned upgrade with a great new bleepy synth lead, and the new 2003 mix of ‘NUXX’ is an absolute smasher, pairing the already thumping beats with an entirely new b-section, spearheaded by huge, banging rave pianos. There’s no other word for it other than transcendent, and it’s an obvious highlight. 14 minutes well spent. It’s not like the guys take it upon themselves to re-tool every track though, as they also seem very much aware that “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”, and so aside from maybe some beefier beats, the original tracks go down just as well. More dreamy and ethereal tracks like ‘Jumbo’, ‘Juanita’, and ‘Two Months Off’, are as cinematic and euphoric as they always have been, creating an utterly heavenly vibe. Meanwhile, harder-edged tracks like ‘King of Snake’, the brooding and stormy ‘Push Upstairs’, or the relentlessly thumping and colourful ‘Rez’ are sure to move the feet of even the most battle hardened ravers. ‘King of Snake’ especially, to put it one way, just goes hard as fuck. The perpetual flow of immense energy is so infectious. Incidentally, how could I forget the contributions of one Karl Hyde. Underworld’s iconic frontman, throughout this recording displays his incredible vocal range. Just in the tracks listed you get his brilliantly charismatic stream of consciousness monologues, his infectious shouted phrases and immeasurable swagger like on ‘Push Upstairs’, or his fantastic sung vocals, which often sound just as otherworldly, blissful and incredible as the production that lies beneath. The fact he’s able to keep up a consistent intensity for this length of time is seriously impressive. Equally, it seems as though his job is kind of as a conduit for the emotions of the audience, weaving his way through the auditory storm that Darren and Rick lay before him, a task he achieves with ease.
The tracks in this set obviously aren’t all just crowd pleasers, as there’s also a few deep cuts tossed in there for the recognition of the crate diggers in the audience, and they’re all, unsurprisingly, fantastic. The rendition of ‘Kittens’ fifteen minutes in is a welcome surprise for sure, a track who’s bulldozer techno beats get paired with a genuinely beautiful and uplifting synth string accompaniment puts it as one of ‘Beaucoup Fish’s clear highlights. Even more unexpected is ‘Spikee’, a fan-favourite ‘Dubnobass’ non-album single whose dramatic orchestral shots, glitchy keyboards and classic 909 drums show that even obscure tracks from the beginning of their career can thump just as hard if given a grand enough presentation, and that it absolutely does, simultaneously rave-worthy and loveably off kilter. It’s fair to say though that the boys saved some of their heaviest artillery to last. We’ve been through over two and a half hours of musical highs and lows, peaks and valleys, all different vibes, and then, out come ‘Rowla’ and ‘Moaner.’ Jesus Christ, these hit hard. ‘Rowla’ with its pulsating kick drums and unrelentingly noisy, harsh synths is that abrasive and intense it wouldn’t sound out of place at the dirtiest of Dutch gabba parties, and trust me, it’s all the better for it. The rave soundtrack to a cyberpunk apocalypse. Then there’s ‘Moaner’ which is just ridiculously brutal in the most amazing way. First of all, it starts with thumping kicks and an ominous cycling bassline, before the percussion and synths slowly build into a cacophony of drama and utter madness, with Karl giving his most intense, impassioned performance of the entire night, his shouted rantings developing into the ramblings of a mad town crier over driving industrial synths. Talk about an ending! I’d be surprised if anyone had any legs left after that.
What truly sets this live album apart though, is the sheer amount of material that’s basically entirely new, which is something you very rarely get on live albums anyway, and here, there’s nearly an hour of it. Thanks lads! Right from the off we transition from a lovely serene piano intro into ‘JAL to Tokyo’, an otherworldly future-tech romp fit with shuffling beats and dramatic pads, an unexpected, yet great way to start off. While there is the odd bit of new material scattered throughout the show, like the enjoyably glitchy beat segues from Darren Price on ‘Moroccan Meatballs’ and ‘Yard Beat’, the bulk of it is saved for a 45-minute mini showcase of their ‘Riverrun’ series on the second disk, and boy what a treat it is. Sadly, ‘Riverrun’ isn’t available on streaming services, so it’s great to hear some of it here, especially because it sounds so damn good. Starting with the thoroughly enjoyable ‘Aquafunk’, which displays a very catchy and colourful carnival esque synth part, we’re flung into a whole new world, before the driving and intense ‘Peggy Sussed’ takes over with it’s strutting beats and cinematic keys, along with Karl offering up an endearingly characterful vocal performance. What’s also cool is the fact that you also get to hear a couple tracks in their beta forms, giving an interesting insight into UW’s creative process before the tracks would be released a few years, or even over a decade down the line. While ‘Lenny Penne’ would see its best life as ‘S T A R’ on ‘Drift’ in 2019, it’s still a thoroughly groovy little jaunt fit with Karl’s laidback half-rapping. Even more impressive is ‘You Do Scribble.’ As much as I adore the ‘Barking’ version, the undeniably frenetic breakbeats, twinkly arpeggios and Karl’s ethereal, joyous vocals make it a frankly religious experience. The initial rush of joy I felt hearing this is indescribable. All this before the trip-hoppy ‘Back in the Fears’, and a still unknown ambient house track close this little suite out in an understated yet appropriate fashion, with some really nice atmospheric guitar and piano parts to boot. I must’ve heard this album about 10 times, but this part is always a great surprise.
To cut a very long story short, although admittedly a bit of a marathon to get through, Underworld offers you everything you want in a live album right here. A wide range of material, performed brilliantly, fit with inventive reworkings, and plenty of welcome surprises. What’s more, there’s absolutely loads of it.
World’s on Fire – Milton Keynes Bowl 2010 (The Prodigy)
The ‘Invaders Must Die’ era was a great time to be a Prodigy fan. After the still great, but admittedly leftfield sidestep on 2004’s ‘Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned’, the big beat godfathers returned in 2009, in full band form, Keith and Maxim in tow, and delivered an absolute corker, reaching some very impressive commercial milestones along the way. So it makes sense that this 2010 show at the Milton Keynes Bowl, playing their biggest ever headline show, is a massive glory lap of such successes.
Right from the off, we’re plunged straight into the madness, as the sounds of blaring air-raid sirens transitions right into their biggest hit, with ‘Breathe.’ It works brilliantly as an opener, showing that even 14 years after their height of popularity, they’re taking no prisoners. MC Maxim Reality shouts, yelps, and jumps around like a karate teacher on e-numbers, with a charisma and energy that can easily control a crowd of millions, let alone 65,000. Simultaneously, late, great frontman, Keith Flint is on top form, hollering and snarling the lyrics with the potency of a 90s Johnny Rotten, giving him and Maxim the perfect back and forth. The subsequent ‘Omen’, while a new single, goes down just as well, with sharp, yet eerie synths, paired with bulldozing beats, and an oddly anthem chorus from the guys, while still not letting up on the intensity. The raucous crowd reaction probably speaks for itself. It’s also impressive that over such an expansive setlist, neither Keith’s, nor Maxim’s energy levels wain even the slightest amount, which is seriously impressive, and believe me, we’ll discus it a lot more in a bit
It’s at this point I should probably tip the cap to Liam “LH” Howlett, the musical mastermind behind the Prodigy. While Maxim and Flinty are doing what they do best and causing chaos out front, LH, along with drummer Leo Crabtree and guitarist Rob Holiday, keeps the show chugging along behind his spaceship’s worth of synthesiser equipment. The great thing about this live album is, kind of like with Underworld, as well as sonically sounding immense thanks to LH and co-producer Paul Dugdale, the way that Liam manipulates and fools about with the material in a live format. As well as adding a fair few supplementary synth leads to a great deal of tracks, contributing greatly to the heavy, dirty, industrial vibe, there are also certain songs where the live version is a complete mutation of what you hear on record. The tracks like ‘Colours’ and ‘Thunder’ prove that decisively. Whereas on record, ‘Colours’ was a great, uplifting, breakbeat rock tune, here, Rob’s guitars, along with some seriously beefed up drums and Keith gnarly vocal performance gives it so much more welcome gravitas and heaviness. Not to mention the additional final breakdown is absolutely nuts. Even more mental is the rework of Thunder, which transforms from a captivating and eerie reggae-rave flip into an absolute dubstep juggernaut. The drums hit like anvils, the bass sound is absolutely unreal, and the guitars once again give it the unhinged energy of a rabid dog. It’s incredible. In a watch along for the DVD in 2020, LH himself said the live version of ’Thunder’ was “wayyy better”, the one on the LP. I agree.
One thing you’ll notice about this gig is that again, it feels like the newer material is very much prioritised, which is definitely to its benefit. Along with previously mentioned tracks, Warrior’s Dance is an undeniable highlight. Taking many of the ingredients for a classic rave banger, like an uplifting female vocal and frenetic breakbeats, it gives them a welcomed fresh update. Not only does the bass rumble on a near seismic level, but the breakbeats rattle and punch so hard it sounds like it’s constantly on the verge of falling apart. It’s an absolute smasher. Maxim does a brilliant job on the vocal front, and that final drop with the extra synth lead is just adrenalin in its purest form. Just as Maxim stepped up there, Keith steps up on his signature album track, ‘Run With the Wolves.’ Evolving from a previous live track, ‘Warning’, (a banger in itself), this track became a permanent live fixture for the rest of his lifetime and it’s clear to see why. Everything about the sound of this track, from the thumping, relentless drums, to the chainsaw synths and Keith’s utterly animalistic vocal performance, it’s probably one of the closest tracks the Prodigy have ever done to straight metal, and Keith clearly thrives in it, delivering maybe one of his best vocals ever recorded, and I don’t say that lightly, trust me.
Later in the set, after the great cinematic synth interlude ‘Omen (Reprise)’, the band launch into ‘Invaders Must Die’, very much a rallying cry at this point in their career. The track itself is a great classic update on their well known sound, urgent synths, slightly dubstep esque pulsing drums, and driving rock guitars all interweaving to create a defiantly in your face comeback single. Yet, what this song in particular, and many other new ones come with, along with the typical darkness and drama, is a renewed sense of enthusiasm. “You thought we were finished? Guess again!” This sentiment is also echoed in main set closer ‘Take Me to the Hospital.’ A live favourite to this day, it is in many ways, the ultimate Prodigy song. Maxim’s reggae influence collide with Keith’s punk flair and Liam’s explosive, futuristic production, to create a tightly packaged auditory bomb, and live, it lives up to and exceeds that metaphor, the entire band firing on all cylinders throughout.
Of course, what kind of a reunion would it be without the classics? Well don’t worry on that score because the band come locked and loaded with their biggest and best, all with a new, modern mix. Maxim demonstrates his stage generalship is still at the absolute top of it’s game on tracks like ‘Voodoo People’, and the controversy courting anthem ’Smack My Bitch Up.’ I’ve heard a few people say that they don’t really see the appeal in a track with someone going “ALL MY FUCKING VOODOO PEOPLE!” and shouting “YAAAAAAA! WOOOOOO!” over it and stuff, but to me it adds so much. The tracks are absolutely banging by themselves of course ‘Voodoo’ with it’s bright, sci-fi synth parts and punchy, skittering beats, and ’Smack’ with it’s unmistakable revving acid lead and psychedelic climax, but the way Maxim controls the crowd is actually really cool. When the energy is high, he damn well makes sure it stays up there, his various screams and shouts only adding to the sonic chaos. Then, in the breaks in the songs, the way he’s able to build tension and anticipation with his commanding and authoritative stage presence. Especially with ’Smack’, it’s incredible to witness. Then when that drop comes… BOOM! Incidentally, he also does a great job with the older tracks towards the end of the set, namely Everybody is in the Place (which gets an incredible, bass-heavy rework) and closer ‘Out of Space.’ Particularly with the latter, it’s the kind of track LH has described as being “like a warm blanket, the kind of track that the DJ plays before you stumble home, and it fits it very well. While the beats and stabs are in action Maxim absolutely gives the crowd one last infectious burst of energy, yet when the anthemic chorus rears its head, he’s able to effortlessly lead a 65,000 strong crowd in a euphoric sing-along, the perfect end, to the perfect night.
Keith doesn’t drop the ball either of course, then again I think it would be literally impossible for that to happen. His additional vocals on ‘Voodoo People’ work really nicely as another sharp-edged sonic texture, and when him and Maxim team up on rebellion anthem ‘Their Law’, you can tell he really relishes being able to go full punk, the way he snarls out the refrains of “Fuck em, and their law!” or “Crackdown at sundown!” being utterly infectious despite their abrasive nature. Then of course, there’s Firestarter, the track that put Keith on the musical map, and my favourite song full stop, and this version kicks ass. The fuller, rattling warehouse beats along with Rob’s gnarly guitars give the track an amazing sense of momentum and intensity, but also unease and danger, which obviously works perfectly along with LH’s extra synth warbles on the back end. As for Keith himself. He’s been known to thrive off the live environment, and here that’s crystal clear, as his performance is ten times more disgusting, gnarly, unhinged and guttural than on the album, at points so much so it genuinely sends shivers down my spine. The energy is unparalleled, and always will be. Rest in peace.
Liam gets his own time in the spotlight as well though let’s not forget, with his solo performance of a relative rarity, the hugely cinematic and dramatic ‘Weather Experience.’ A track Liam said he re-did specifically for the gig, receiving its first even partial airing since 1998, and it was so worth it. The way the eerie strings, noise samples and thumping beats slowly build over the intro builds the tension masterfully already, so that when those huge synths finally hit along with the minimal beat, it comes across with a generally orchestral vibe and force, a moment that Liam himself said, looking out to the crowd, made him very emotional. I don’t blame him. It really is a special moment. Lastly, I do want to touch on a criticism this live album often gets, and that I agree with, that being the confusing omission of material. I understand the intent was maybe to create a more streamlined experience, but in doing that, they left out some absolute gems I’ve got to say. Not only do they leave out classics like ‘No Good (Start the Dance)’, a highlight of every modern Prodigy set for it’s great hook and anthemic vibe, but also ‘Poison’, who’s System of a Down inspired rework is among one of the gnarliest remixes Liam ever put together, so the fact it’s not here is a travesty. Even stranger of an exclusion is the album’s namesake, new track and actual set opener ’World’s on Fire’, which on top of being one of the best tracks on ‘Invaders’, is also brilliant live. Furthermore, super fans will be gutted at the cutting of a few serious live rarities from the recording. New versions of ‘Mindfields’, and the boom-bap infused ‘Diesel Power’ sound unreal from the recordings I could find, and the only played twice dubstep remix of ‘Charly’, as brief as it is was, would’ve been a great little inclusion, but alas. Maybe if we pester them enough for the full recording they’ll eventually relent, who knows?
All that aside though, this still stands as an utterly fantastic live album, and a great document of what the Prodigy do best. Rammed full of great versions of classic tracks, some brilliant selections of new material, and superb frontmanship, it’s absolute craziness from start to finish. Exactly what you’d want, and a must have for any Prodigy fan. Here’s to the guys “igniting, uplifting and destroying” for many years to come.
So there you are, three more fantastic live albums for your listening and/or viewing pleasure. We’re still far from done yet though. This is only the halfway point my friends, because there’s still another 2 parts, and 6 recommendations to go. So, I’ll see you in part 3 for a few great gigs, funnily enough, all recorded in 2011. Maybe there was something in the air that year.
