Available for the first time digitally, this monster of a release at the time consisted of 22 tracks and over 2 hours of live music spread across two venues, one of which I used to work at, the Wulfrun Hall in Wolverhampton, and so, having a few hours spare and a publisher to appease I set about revisiting Thunder’s Live album, originally released way back in 1998, having now been digitally remastered by the powers that be so as to sound as close as possible to the experience of being there.
You can see from the track lengths that these were different times. Of the first eight songs, four total 30 minutes between them which is nigh on the length of the whole of The Damned album I covered only last week! I’d not be surprised if the Spotify or YouTube versions of “Higher Ground”, Gimme Some Lovin”, “Empty City” and “Until My Dying Day” have adverts rammed into the middle of them, which would be something of a travesty given this is an album that, not unlike the benchmark of all rock live albums, “Live And Dangerous” by Thin Lizzy, should be listened to properly through each track without interruption! Sandwiched within these is “Low Life in High Places” which always raised an eyebrow as to its early appearance on the setlist and would quite possibly do well in today’s political climate!
“Better Man”, switches the tone to something slower with muchos audience participation for a while but is then followed up with “Does It Feel Like Love” bringing us back to the normalcy of Thunder’s rock sound. A cover of “Dance to the Music” gives Ben Matthews a chance to get himself noticed on the keyboards, and then “She’s So Fine” finishes what would’ve been disc 1.
Next up “Back Street Symphony”! It’s hard to argue with that! Surprisingly this is one of the shorter tracks, but there’s still time for an excellent bridge. Given its popularity I’d’ve expected them to expand this more, but they still have fun and it leads them into “An Englishman on Holiday”, a song I’ve not encountered before. It’s bouncy! Bouncy enough that it reminds me of something I can’t quite recall but at 2am tonight I’m liable to sit bolt upright and shout it at the mirror by the bed! There’s a drum solo thrown in for good measure allowing “Harry” to strut his stuff (presumably because if he didn’t get his spotlight moment there’d be.. re-percussions!) with aplomb!
Now, I’ll admit to only knowing a few Thunder songs, the most obvious, which has a very decent reproduction here, being “Love Walked in” which got dropped onto every mix tape/cd I made in the last…ah who am I trying to kid, I still use it now! However, “I’ll Be Waiting”, and “Like a Satellite” had escaped me until now. I do like me a good ballad and both of these ticked boxes well, especially the latter. Sentimental rock songs, while not quite Hazel O’Conner’s “Will You”, still get the job done if done correctly and the vocal and music here are exactly what’s required of such things. It occurs to me that they also gave the guys a bit of a rest as they built up to the concert’s climax, assuming the track listing is in the order they were played! I’d actually place them as the highlights of the second disc, along with the aforementioned “Love walked in”, and the original end track “Dirty Love” which always goes down a storm, and is of course used on just as many corresponding breakup cassettes/playlists to said mix tapes!
Hearing “The Only One” introduced as a new track is entertaining! The crowd respond with enthusiasm and thus explains it managing to break into the UK top 40 in the February of 98! Speaking of new, there’s an extra nine tracks as bonuses on this release although, it’s somewhat difficult to describe “New York, New York” as new! Liza Minnelli at a Thunder concert? Well, I guess she’s been featured in The Pet Shop Boys so, it’s nothing to be Losing My Mind about, although I’m sure just changing the words to “London London” could’ve been done better, perhaps with a song about London perchance! A little UFO maybe?
Moving on, “Pilot of my Dreams” is rather good! Driven by a bass that’s not been especially noticeable in the preceding 2 hours it’s lively and carries a sound Whitesnake would’ve been proud of. “Lazy Sunday Afternoon” is entertaining too, albeit the accent it’s done with is not dissimilar to Blakey from On the Buses infused with Rod Stewart! Conversely the vocal on “Stand Up” sees Danny Bowes obviously enjoying himself, the same with “The Only One”, which isn’t live but a remaster of the studio album version and it sounds like he’s smiling throughout. “Too Bad” gets the same treatment and sounds crisp and clean for it. “Something About You” feels nicely stripped down, and flows nicely into the final track, an acoustic soulful version of “This Forgotten Town”.
As a listening tip, I’d suggest separating the bonus tracks from the original album. They’re very good, but don’t quite fit the entity that is “Thunder Live”, because the feeling is different. “This Forgotten Town” would be a marvelous ending to a studio album, and being a lyrical lamentation it’s probably the best track in terms of production and feel, but at the end of a vibrant live album, it’s out of place. It’s got a hint of “Goodbye Blue Sky” to it, from Pink Floyd’s The Wall and that’s never a bad thing.
This album did well the first time in its raw version, and it’s lost none of its appeal now. Nostalgia will doubtless drive listens from older fans, and it’s a decent chance for newbies to experience quite what Thunder were about years ago. The additional material works well as a stand alone too, making the release well worth the 2 and a half hours time investment! Got a long drive, or a book that doesn’t require too much thought and this is ideal company! Or, perhaps you were there and want to relive the night? Or maybe you just fancy a rock concert without having to go out, curled up in the sack with a brand spanking new version of an old friend. Either way, this will suit your chosen proclivity, and whisk you back to an easier time where things were simpler, phones didn’t have cameras and something called Trump was unlikely to kill anyone unless a particularly spicy Indian had been had the night before and you were in a very close proximity! Better days indeed!