Live albums are quite the head-stumper; generally released to ‘capture’ that precious live moment, very rarely do they actually succeed. More often than not the band sounds decent enough whilst there’s no sign of the crowd, with the result being a sort-of lo-fi ‘hits’ collection instead. ‘Return to the Planet of the Bakesys!’ isn’t about to break that trend. When frontman Finny tells someone to “Eat some Shredded Wheat then,” we have no idea of the whom/what/why of things. In that respect then it seems more fitting to take this album as a dust-shedding collection of tunes that just happen to have been recorded in a live scenario.
During the early nineties, The Bakesys indulged audiences across Europe with a brand of ska that paid particular attention to the 2 Tone era whilst harking back to the original island sounds of the 60’s. That sound resonates through this collection, recorded in Frankfurt back in 1994. Opener ‘Piddler’s Song’ sits happily alongside Madness in the 2 Tone encyclopaedia, whilst the following ‘Sunnyside Up’ flips the tempo notch upwards before ‘Life So Tuff’ simmers in with a more steady presence. Within these first three tracks we have a full spectrum of pace and intensity, which is a result of this being a live album. To get the crowd skanking just right you need to offer a respite here or there. It also proves to be the blueprint that the album/set (whichever way you’re looking at it) follows.
On the up tempo side of things we get ‘Sex Freaks’ (complete with almost cringingly comic lyrics), ‘Days Gone By’ (pumped at times with some big sounding drums), and a cover of Harry J All Stars’ ‘Liquidator’ (given a little bit of a carousel make-over). On the mellower side there’s ‘Revolution’ (coming across like a bizarre mix of Bedouin Soundclash‘s ‘Jeb Rand’ and some 80’s cop drama theme tune) and ‘Animated Violence’ (the stand-out here, that’s more of a slow dancer dubby number).
As a collection this is decent fare. If it had been simple 2 Tone fodder it probably wouldn’t have been, but the amassing of other reggae sounds makes for enjoyable listening. However, if you go into this hoping for the dynamism of a hot and sweaty ska gig you’re going to feel a little robbed. Forget about the ‘live’ tag on the cover, listen to this because it has some little gems on it, and because ska music like this nowadays is getting harder and harder to find.
Alex