| |
Review:
|
|
2003 was the year of The Frames. (It's true
-- expect a UN declaration any day now....) This was the first
of their three releases during the year. It is an EP made specifically
for their Australian tour, featuring the excellent Headlong
from the For the Birds
album, as well as 5 tracks recorded live for an Australian radio
station.
Headlong is a great tune, and we actually get two versions
of it here, the album version to start things off, and an energetic
crowd sing-along that is the 4th live track in. Both are quite
nice.
The live stuff starts off with a rocker, God Bless Mom.
You can hear the audience singing along, and lead Frame Glen
Hansard goofs around with the lyrics (managing to reference
both Black Francis and Tiffany in under a minute!). The real
star here is Colm Mac An Iomaire's violin work, which shines.
Right as that song is fading away, Hansard and lead guitarist
Simon Goode stomp on the overdrive pedals, and the band tear
into Pavement Tune. Up next is a wah-wah heavy version
of The Stars are Underground. Then Headlong, and
finally The Frames wrap it up with a cover of the song Heyday
by Mick Christopher. I am unfmailiar with Christopher's work,
but this is a fine pop song, and both The Frames and the crowd
have fun with it.
The whole EP is about a half hour long, and it is great great
fun. The Frames have a lot of charisma, and half the fun of
seeing them is the goofy sing-along atmosphere and the silly
stories that Hansard tells. You get these here, and listening
to it i can sense the tremendous energy this band has live.
Plus, the live tracks are well-recorded, so they sound great.
If you enjoy the Frames, then you need to track this down.
It is an Australian release, so might be a little rare. Even
so, i found it reasonable priced locally (in Atlanta). If you
are interested in hearing them, then this EP does feature many
great songs and could serve as an adequate introduction to this
fine band. On the other hand, if you are already a fan, then
none of the music here is new. They might be exciting new versions,
but i know that some people are content without such things.
Still, it's something to tide you over until The Frames tour
again.
|
|
