I always liked The Tubes. As a gift for my 18th
birthday my then girlfriend/now wife decided to let me choose 3 albums for a
gift. I decided on three albums by people I’d never heard up to that point in
time. One was SIREN by Roxy Music, the next BORN TO RUN by Bruce Springsteen
and the third was the debut album by The Tubes. Odd to look back now and
consider that all three were critical darlings but never had a hit at the time.
So to say I’ve been listening to the Tubes since they began is not just a catch
phrase but the truth.
The band had its ups and downs over the years but in 1981,
after releasing 5 albums that didn’t sell well, they finally hit it big it big
with the album THE COMPLETION BACKWARD PRINCIPLE. The album produced their
first hit single with “Talk to Ya Later” and they began making appearances on
shows like SCTV. The thing about the band was that their claim to fame lay in
their live shows, much talked about stage performances where any and everything
could happen. This new release captures some of that.
The show Musikladen in Germany featured numerous bands at
the time and The Tubes was one of those. This DVD captures their entire
performance on that program in concert format, complete with dancing girls and
the off color antics of lead singer Fee Waybil, antics that by today’s standards
aren’t quite so alarming.
With the exception of the earlier mentioned single from the
album most won’t recognize the songs being performed here. But that’s the thing
about The Tubes. While their music was well written, well performed and
contained some witty lyrics it wasn’t the songs so much as those live
performances that gained them notoriety. That one of these shows is actually
captured and available on DVD is something fans should be thrilled with.
That being said there is a down side to this as well. The
technology at the time was severely lacking when it came to concert films. Even
the most spectacular and popular bands at the time weren’t being recorded live
with the best of equipment. Because of that there are moment while watching
this DVD that you’ll wonder if it’s a disc playing or if someone broke out the
old VHS player to show this concert to you. Yes the transfer is good but the
source material was lacking.
But that’s the only bad thing to say about this. As a fan of
the group I enjoyed being able to see them live for the first time other than
snippets of them on various TV shows. I was glad that a record of their
performance was now available. Songs like “Mr. Hate” and “Attack of the 50 Foot
Woman” are able to be enjoyed in a live version along with other great songs.
If you love The Tubes this will be a must have for your
collection. If you’re not familiar with them listen to a CD and then pick this
up rather than dive straight into the live area. To do so might scare you off.
Then again who would ever have thought Alice Cooper would be considered tame
and mainstream. For something just a tad different, enjoy The Tubes and get a
glimpse of this concert.
Click here to order.
No comments:
Post a Comment