1 comments about Live! All the Best, Mate.

1. Boy was I surprised. I was expecting a run-of-the-mill live album that cashed in on poor Ian's death. But this has to be one of the very best live recordings I've ever heard. Dury is in excellent, ascerbic form, and the Blockheads sound absolutely awesome. If you're like me and have fond memories of New Boots and Do It Yourself, you really need to pick this up. You will not be disappointed.

2 comments about Polka Party with Brave Combo: Live and Wild!.

1. Some of the album has a definite polka sound, but a few tracks have such a heavy rock influence it doesn't barely sound like polka at all. "Come Back to Me" and "Pretty Dancing Girl" are examples, and two fine songs. The "Polka Medley" is great. I wish they would do some of those songs individually. Some of the record even sounds vaguely like ska music. I would highly recommend this to any younger listener of polka, and anyone who likes to dance polka. It may even appeal to some listeners of lighter core ska.



2. This is a fine example of a robust live performance by a superb, energetic modern polka band. Renditions of the High Bounce Polka and the Peanuts Polka are true classics in the fast tempo "Eastern Style" of polka. This collection could possibly be the best example in its appeal to the modern polka listener of the future.

No comments about Live.

No comments about Live in Yugoslavia.

3 comments about What Goes Around.

1. Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers-What Goes Around...***1/2
   
   
   We all know that songs here are classics, and by all I mean those reading this because no one would look at Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers unless they were some form of a fan. But the songs being classic is not the issue to this album, this is a live album so the rating can only be determined by the quality of the performances. That being said this is the original line up of The Heartbreakers, not the line up that would record the classic album L.A.M.F. This is way before that, when the great Richard Hell was in the band. He is the one in the center of the cover.
   
   With the exception of 'So Alone' 'Pirate Love' and the Hell classic 'Love Comes In Spurts' all of which were recorded November 16, 1975, the rest of the tracks were recorded live at CBGB July 7, 1975. This was one of Hell's last shows with the band and not one of his best.
   
   Many of the lyrics are no audible, and the same can be said for the bass and guitar, now Jerry Nolan's drums come in loud and clear. The over all performances on the album are not that great with the exception of 'Blank Generation' 'I Wanna Be Loved' which is a bonus on the original recording. Those two are great but the rest of the album could have been much better.
   
   So why is this worth money if even at all? Well because this for collectors is essential. It shows the band at a very early stage, showing the development of all the songs as they would appear on The Heartbreakers L.A.M.F. and Hell's Blank Generation. This is essential for a curious fan even though it isn't the strongest performance.



2. The fact that Richard Hell and Johnny Thunders shared a stage in 1975 makes this album indispensable for any fan of New York rock. The sound isn't that great, but these thirteen performances are the "big bang" of the whole scene that followed the demise of the New York Dolls (Johnny's "Pirate Love") and Hell's departure from Television (a major part of his first album "Blank Generation" gets worked out here). Lucky someone had a tape-recorder for these two dates -- this lineup was bound to self-destruct for all kinds of reasons. An historic document.



3. A nice artifact: the early Heartbreakers with Richard Hell. For LAMFers, this is a must to fill the collection. For neophytes, well, come back to this when you've had some experience. The sound quality isn't so good, and the band was still teething, yet there is always Jerry Nolan to push things along, as well as Hell's weird charisma and Johnny's two-string sorcery--all in all a splendid find. Hearing Richard Hell sing "Can't Keep My Eyes On You" and Johnny harmonizing on Hell's stuff are an experience. Also, a freshly-broken-hearted-from-Sable-Starr version of "Stepping Stone" make this well worth the price.

5 comments about World Warped, Vol. 3: Live.

1. OK, I went to Warped Tour 2000 in Tennessee and I thought most of the bands there performed very well, particularly Green Day. Shindig is a great band with excellent songwriting skills which should have been on this CD, however their set was adversely affected by lousy sound techs. This CD is high quality, it is live (even if not recorded at the actual tour as it should have been), and only lacks in that more local bands are not represented on it.



2. This CD is great, and is a must have for any punker. Although it's called World Warped III and contains bands that were on the warped tour in recent years, none of the shows on this disc are recorded from warped tour, most are from clubs and various other shows. Most of the recordings are terrific quality, while others like NOFX appears to be recorded from a bootleg.

   If you like Dropkick Murphy's, the first track contains "Barroom Hero" live, with Al Barr singing, it's the best version of this song I've ever heard because the crowd sings along and it's cool to hear Al Barr singing the song, he does a great job.




3. What happens you put Dropkick Murphys, Less Than Jake, NOFX, Blink 182, and a heap of great bands all in the same CD... Well... You get something like World Warped III... If you have the money, get it. Along with the bands I mentioned you also get songs from bands you may not have heard... And that's always good.



4. This CD ROCKS! Blink is the best band today!



5. I never listen to a cd as this one . There is no one song that I alway's skip because I don't like it, I listen to it every days . I own this CD since the second days that he was in store . If you like punk music, this cd is a must-have and I tell you that every song are great.

3 comments about Meat Puppets Live.

1. Despite only featuring one original member in lead vocalist/guitarist Curt Kirkwood as well as a setlist that is short on classic material and long on the Golden Lies album, Meat Puppets Live is a far superior live release to the one that features the original lineup, Live in Montana. With the instrumental interplay with his brother Cris gone, the focus here is on Curt and he certainly makes up for the loss as his vocals are much stronger here and his guitar work remains stellar. Most of the Golden Lies tracks are very good as "Armed and Stupid", "Wipe Out", "Push the Button", and "Way That It Are" resemble the quirky rock tunes on Too High to Die while retaining some of the looseness of their '80s releases. The psychedelic "Lamp", the haphazard "Take Off Your Clothes", and the reflective "Pieces of Me" are also strong tracks. As for the older tracks, the versions of "Oh, Me", "Up On the Sun", "Lake of Fire", and "Plateau" are all great and the crowd really gets into them. Finally, the album closes with an absolutely wicked version of "Touchdown King." All told, while Meat Puppets Live is not definitive, several albums such as Meat Puppets, Mirage, and Too High to Die are not represented; it's still a very good live album and certainly the best one out there.



2. I liked live in Montana better. This recording is a step above bootleg quality. The guitar music is very good (Armed and Stupid, Wipe Out, I Quit, Push the Button, Up on the Sun, Fatboy). I have never liked anything but the "Meat Puppets II" versions of "Lake of Fire" and "Plateau" and this record does not change that. The highlight for me is the excellent performance of "Up on the Sun" sans the extension and "Wipe Out". I like the live versions of the songs from "Golden Lies" better than the studio, although, I was disappointed with "Lamp". If you don't own the albums "Meat Puppets II" and "Up on the Sun", go buy them now.



3. I just picked this cd up today and it pretty much sounds like the concert I saw from this tour, the selection is heavy on songs from Golden Lies. The concert intro and the extended jam of Up On the Sun are great, definitely the highlights for me thus far. This isn't a perfect disk, but worth checking out. I'd have to say I prefer it to Live IN Montana. I would have liked a more diverse selection (maybe a "violet eyes" or "backwater" thrown in) but I can't complain too much. If you've seen the band recently, you won't be surprised by it.

3 comments about Crash Course: Live.

1. This album, Crash Course, is the first official live album, and the third official uk subs album overall. This is one amazing live album! Luckily, this was recorded before Charlie Harper became a full-flegged punk rock Jerry Garcia! The sound quality is much better than subsequent live albums. The last four songs were originally a free single that came with initial copies of the vinyl. By the way, the second best live album is Left For Dead.



2. This is a great rockin' document of the (kinda) early punk scene. This is music by a bunch of fellas who sound as though they mean it. This is full of great R-N-R songwriting, vocals, guitar playing (this IS raunch-n-roll, my brother). Don't forget about the live atmosphere and betwixt-song patter.



3. Interesting artifact of a specific time and place. If you were at all interested in punk rock back in the late 70's, you will enjoy this album. Forget the superstars like the Clash and Sex Pistols, this is raw stuff that will take you back to the days when Maximum Rock 'n Roll ruled the public radio airwaves and bands like Chelsea and Red Alert made your ears bleed. The lyrics won't set your brain on fire, but who cares? This is UK punk at its best.

5 comments about Anniversary.

1. This CD, is good, infact it is very good. Recorded in 1992, the band are in fine form, both Tim and Neil Finn give very strong performances and the band are tight and the banter in between the songs is strong.

   However the audience loop is highly distracting, it is extremely loud and in more than one place runs over the top of vocals and/or banter making it inaudible.

   The audience loop is the difference between what could have been a five star album and the three stars I've given it.




2. This album is from the last show of Split Enz' 20th anniversary reunion tour of New Zealand in 1993. The band was fronted by brothers Tim and Neil Finn (who at the time was leading Crowded House) and led musically by the amazing keyboard playing of Eddie Rayner. Playing their last show before a crowd that knew every song, the band shows more energy than I could have imagined. Songs that I never thought that much of, like "Hermit McDermitt" and "Strait Old Line", are very strong. There are three songs from the great "True Colours" album, which was neglected on 1985's "The Living Enz." In fact, the band even throws in a snippet of the never-recorded song "True Colours". The band is having great fun, with an abortive attempt at "Wail" thrown in and a spoons solo by Noel Crombie on "Strait Old Line". The songs cover the band's entire career, from the first single, "Split Ends", to the late-model "Years Go By". The pacing sags a bit at the end with early songs "Time for a Change" and "Charley"--I've never shared the band's fondness for these two.

   The performance and production are better than on "The Living Enz". And you can see that for yourself--for no obvious reason, three tracks from that album are stuck into this one ("Six Months in a Leaky Boat", "Dirty Creature", and hidden track "Hard Act to Follow"). No one even bothered to match the volume levels or equalize the tracks with the new material, so the old cuts are VERY QUIET and treble-deficient. When one of these songs comes on, it sounds like someone turned down your stereo.




3. The 1993 Anniversary tour of New Zealand was recorded and this live album is the result. It is quite satisfying to hear that Split Enz still "had it" almost 10 years after the split-up. Some of these live versions show new aspects of some of the earlier stuff like "Charlie" and "Time for a Change". And, by the way, hasn't Tim's voice become raunchier since the 80s? The only bad thing about this release is the very evident later added applause. It must have been possible to do this better in the mix...



4. I saw Split Enz live twice, once in London in 1977 and once in New york in 1982 and I wish I had been at this concert too. What energy, and what a great sound! I do not care much for the couple of bonus tracks from the previous live album as they seem to break the continuity... Nonetheless, this album is fantastic and the Enz couldn't be in a better form!



5. Split Enz Anniversary is a recording of their 20th anniversary reunion tour in 1993 and listening to this album makes me wish that I had been there! This album is bursting with energy, fun, vibrancy, good humour and comradeship and of course excellent songs. Inbetween the songs you can hear the crowd go wild and the Enz onstage antics. This is a great album to put on if you are getting ready to go out as it puts you in a really good mood. Put it on loud and sing along with Tim Finn to Shark Attack, Poor Boy and Hermit McDermitt. Then calm down a bit and indulge in a beautiful version of Years Go By sung by Neil Finn. Hear their bouncy eponymous first single, the haunting Message to my Girl and the exuberant Best Friend followed by Whats the Matter with You and a joyous version of I See Red complete with ingenious glockenspeil riffs. Hear Tim turn deep and meaningful as he sings Time for a Change. Next we have Strait Old Line complete with virtuoso spoon playing and an excellently orchestrated Charley. Then the Enz throw everything they have into a frenetic version of History Never Repeats which provides the album's crescendo. This album is a perfect blend of Tim Finn's showmanship and exuberance and Neil Finn's subtle artistry. It has an amazing vibe running all the way through it. It is absolutely wonderful and I just love playing it.

5 comments about MTV Unplugged.

1. the shipping was on time and the product was purfecr and the music
   was better than expected



2. i remember seeing this when it first came out .the MTV unplugged series was definitely an armature show till natalie and the maniacs appeared and i never even heard of them the track- because the night became an instant hit you can still hear it on radios stations almost daily (my other favorite was -like the weather )all the tracks were great and the band and natalie were on point this show put the unplugged series on the map and set the standards high it was also visually pleasing to watch but they didnt put it on DVD my other favorite was the nirvana episode no DVD either



3. Music recently discovered from younger years is better than finding a $20 in your pocket. You listened to any alternative rock in the 90's? Then you will remember the haunting vocals of Natalie Merchant with 10KM. I had previously bought the album to fulfill my Columbia house free CD roster. Given the chance to do it again, my other orders would have completed the 10KM collection. Even with MTV Unplugged defunct, the concept remains fantastic. Romantic. Idyllic. Stormy. Songs like "Jezebel" and "Stockton Gala Days" did not receive enough air time. There are a few songs that could do well with some electric affects. I will save that judgement for far more critical ears. Love. Loss. Where else can frontier women inspire such courage in music?
   
   All in all, the songs will resonate with some part of your alternative experience. The movement has been stretched to include many forms. Could we bring it back from the mainstream? Here lies the answer. Indeed, take it to the violins. Now bring back the mandolin. Guitars fill the air. Frampton, your machine can come too. Roll it all up into the next music movement. Old musicians building houses? Make your way back with your dusty cases. There is a place in the scene for all. Heave aside American Idol. Eschew the labels. Ring in the old. Amputate the repetitive chorus. Mediate through to new ground. Perhaps 10KM can reunite for the new festival which is not really new. Albeit a bit long in word, one more rant for the road.
   
   Remember when music used to bring light to dark places? The songs that especially bring this to mind with this album are the ones that you are most used to hearing. Something about the way that "What's the Matter Here?" sends chills down your spine. For there are those kids next door. Or the ones you went to school with. Resonating at the heart of every son on this album is that same message. Your ears may pick up on symbolism in "Noah's Dove" Or you can just sit back, relax and follow the piano. Understated, it completes the concert beautifully.



4. You know that question where you say what would be the 5 albums you would want with you on a desert Island? One of my answers is this album. It is exceptional. First, Merchant's voice is unworldly. Second, there are songs that are upbeat and some that are slow. Third the aucoustic nature of the album allows Merchant's vocals to really shine through. And lastly, this album has almost all of the best songs from the Natalie Merchant era of the 10,000 Maniacs.
   
   If you are looking for a great album that will give you hours of listening pleasure, this one should be high on your list.



5. The Maniacs sound excellent here. Natalie Merchant's voice is great and the band captures the greatness of their songwriting while performing live. I enjoyed all of their cds and this was no exception. If you're looking for live versions of their songs then this is the place to look. Truly a great song list was performed during this performance.