|
antiReviews:
Firehouse: Bring Them Out Live! Review
By Scott Vile
Label: Spitfire
Records
Release Date:
7/18/00
-
Intro
-
Overnight Sensation
-
All She Wrote
-
Lover's Lane
-
Hold Your Fire
-
Dream
-
When I Look Into Your
Eyes
-
Acid Rain
-
Bringing Me Down
-
Don't Walk Away
-
Love of a Lifetime
-
Reach For the Sky
-
I Live My Life For You
-
Here For You
-
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
Purchase
online
tell
a friend about this article
Your
Turn, What do you think?
Fan
Speak:
none of your bussiness
i am in firehouse's fanclub and i liked
all thier cd's and by the way firehouse has a new bass player so if you
are gonna knock a band at least get your facts straight
Cote
yukkk rok sucks listen to pop be uncool
listen to rock
...end |