antiReviews: Firehouse: Bring Them Out Live! Review By Scott Vile

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Label: Spitfire Records 
Release Date: 7/18/00 

1. Intro
2. Overnight Sensation
3. All She Wrote
4. Lover's Lane
5. Hold Your Fire
6. Dream
7. When I Look Into Your Eyes
8. Acid Rain
9. Bringing Me Down
10. Don't Walk Away
11. Love of a Lifetime
12. Reach For the Sky
13. I Live My Life For You
14. Here For You
15. Don't Treat Me Bad

I must say, when I received this CD I was NOT optimistic. I have not been a fan of the recent hair-metal live CD fad. From L.A. Guns, Guns N Roses, Dangerous Toys, Motley Crue, Enuff Znuff, Junkyard, to (insert your favorite 80s band here _________ ), it seems that every hair band and their fat sisters are regurgitating their old material in the hopes of an additional paycheck. As a general rule, the recordings are either of recent shows but poorly recorded, of old shows recorded back when they had money, highly overdubbed in the studio, or if you're really lucky, a combination of the three. I'm very happy to report that the Firehouse CD is an exception to this rule! 

Recorded in Osaka, Japan, in April 1999, the band was smart to go where the bulk of their fans are so they can get a good, energetic recording. Not that the band didn't cheat; Bill Leverty once confessed that certain songs were played during their recorded Japanese concert more than once to keep mistakes at a minimum. 

But for the most part, the band sounds really good in this live recording. Surprisingly, the bass and drums are both highly audible. In fact I'd say the volume level of each instrument is about perfect. Firehouse says they take pride in making their songs in concert sound just like the albums, and this CD proves that they are successful in that regard. 

It's too bad that after playing the same songs for a decade, the band isn't improvising and changing the songs to keep them interesting. It must be boring for them to play each song straight from the book. It's boring for me as well. Why buy a live CD when you can basically get the same effect by playing your old records with cheering in the background? This is possibly more of a personal preference, I'm sure some fans don't like when bands stray too far from the original versions.

 The track listing is varied, including material from every album but of course focusing on their more successful first two CDs from the early 90s. It is a good way of giving the fans the old songs they want while showing that they do take pride in their recent work. 

Your happiness with this album ultimately will come from your opinion of Firehouse. If you were never a fan like me, this won't appeal to you. Back in the day I thought rockers like "All She Wrote" and "Don't Treat Me Bad" were cool, but I didn't respect their ballads that are still played at nearly every wedding and Senior Prom ("Love Of A Lifetime" and "When I Look Into Your Eyes"). But I'm sure the Firehouse die-hards out there will love this. The recording and performances are strong, and that's the only really important factor. 

The Band:

CJ Snare � Vocals
Bill Leverty � Guitars
Perry Richardson � Bass
Michael Foster � Drums

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