New Musical Express, February 18, 1978: Difference between revisions
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As the Japanese fisherman exclaimed when he saw the prehistoric fish in his nets: "This is something else again." | |||
A rare beast indeed ... certainly remote from the majority of the current glut of live albums that fashion, technology, and contract-filling tactics have unleashed on the great record-buying public. | |||
No, this item harks back more to an era when oily promoters saw fit to parcel up a whole slew of currently flighty names into a rock bonanza with which to zap the nation's Locarno and Gaumont circuit for teenage loot. You know — The Beatles supporting Helen Shapiro, Gene Pitney with The Stones... | |||
Not that the acts showcased on "Live Stiffs" represent gross culture clash of that order, but that's how long it's been since package tours like this were put together over here; in this context an honourable mention for the "Anarchy" tour — if only someone had got that down on tape for posterity. The Stiff package in any case suggests more of a zany British rock update on the great Stax / Volt and Motown Revues that the American soul labels organised in the '60s. | |||
But to the origin of this epic recording of an historic and memorable moment in the great march of rock and roll tradition blah blah ... The "Live Stiffs" gig at London's Lyceum which furnished this recording was the best rock gig I witnessed last year, equalled for rather different reasons by Burning Spear at The Rainbow. | |||
The scene — backstage, the finale of the UK Rolling Blunder Revue where a motley assortment of road-hardened (well, most of 'em) musical veterans lock fretboards and egos, share blood, beer, and women, the whole carnival held together by the fierce human chemistry that musicians living in the rough camraderie of the road drum up to keep themselves sane. Well, you know what musicians are like (You ''don't??'' I won't disillusion you). | |||
Onstage, no less than three drum kits stride the stage. Gibsons and Fenders arc stacked like rifles round a camp fire, amps littered like ammo boxes, a camera and sound crew maintain a ceaseless vigil, and a distant coyote calls from across the river at Lambeth... | |||
As the compere — one [[Kosmo Vinyl]], a young artisan of London Town — barks out his introduction, the customers grog their foaming pints of | |||
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''Remainder of text to come. | |||
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Revision as of 17:06, 4 August 2013
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