There’s nothing like the raw energy of a live show. The buzz of seeing your favourite band on stage is something most of us will pay good money for, especially if they happen to be cheeky and possess incredibly catchy tunes. ‘A’, therefore, fit the bill perfectly – you wouldn’t hesitate to buy a ticket, but would you hesitate to buy what is essentially 7 live songs for £8? (that’s around $12 for you US people). The answer, of course, is a resounding yes.
Good quality British punk is relatively thin on the ground at the moment, and who better to spearhead a force for the musically diverse than ‘A’; here they’re playing against European crowds, of what seems like massive capacity. ‘Intro’ is exactly that, a vocal introduction of the London band, bursting into ‘If it ain’t broke, fix it anyway’, which is surprisingly well recorded, retaining the defiant cries of Jason “It’s not over till it’s over anyway!” and ending on a nice bit of wah-wah guitar.
‘Monkey Kong’ the angst riddled song of the same title as the album, can be clearly heard to have survived the transition to a live act well (don’t worry fans, speak and spell is in tact for this version), with the screaming desperate vocals echoing round the arena “IT’S ALL GONE WRONG THEY’VE CALLED IT MONKEY KONG!!’ Bottled enthusiasm is what ‘A’ do best, and this shows they can belt it out at the same standard whether they’re standing in front of a mic, or in front 5,000. At points the guitar does become slightly hard to hear, becoming eclipsed by the ever powerful drums, but doesn’t ruin the song by any means; you’ll find you’re prepared to overlook the sketchy parts, simply because of the ace nature of the tunes.
It’s easy to see why A chose the song which shares the band’s name to stick on this little CD; it could have been a studio recording – the voices are strong and happily chant behind Jason’s lead; but what makes the CD worth listening to, is all the little parts in A songs that are accented in the live performances; a break in the song lasts that little bit longer, Jason’s “Jump! Jump! Jump!” at the start of ‘I love lake Tahoe’, it all makes for a damn fun CD to listen to; ol’ Tahoe is as catchy as it always was, and even if you think it’s out of your system – sure as eggs is eggs, it’ll creep back into your subconscious and you’ll be singing it by the watercooler the next morning.
Those of you who moan about the lack of A’s ‘punkiness’ need only look to ‘Over it‘ to be resolutely shut up; and you knew it was going to end with a sparkle, nay, a bang, and it does with ‘Foghorn’ which is the classic get it out of your system bitch, to be directed at any one person you hate the most. In live mode this seems more intense, with the anger times 10. When it’s all over and the lights have gone out, ‘A’ haven’t just visited your house, they rocked it to the floor.
nick