Thunder – Live At Islington Academy; Live At Leeds
Live albums are performance part and recorded parcel of music release life.
In rock, there’s the traditional/ old-school double live album, showcasing and promoting a band or artist the peak of their commercial and/ or performance powers; now there’s "official bootlegs," which beat the recording pirates at their own game.
Then there’s the special moment live recordings, especially collectable and sought-after when it’s a band who always put on a show while having a bloody good time doing it (reciprocated by the audience).
British rock stalwarts Thunder tick the above boxes with two previously unreleased live recordings.
Live At Islington Academy captures the band during a special end of year performance that came off the back of their recently completed 2006 UK tour promoting then current album Robert Johnson’s Tombstone.
Planet Rock Radio, in the throes of organising their first annual Planet Rock Xmas Party event, approached Thunder about performing in front of around 800 lucky rock fans.
What made this December 2006 show all the more special was the fact it was kept pretty quiet, as band frontman Danny Bowes (in fine voice throughout) recalls: "No-one in the audience seemed to have a clue that we would attend the party, let alone play, so they were all pretty shocked when we stepped on to the stage!"
A very hot venue got even hotter as the band ramped the Planet Rockin' party up from the get-go with the gritty, rock-blues strut of 'Loser,' from 2003’s Shooting at the Sun.
From there it was a Thunder-ous good time of fan-favourites/ classics including raucous renditions of 'River of Pain' and 'Back Street Symphony,' an 800 voiced backing for slow-build tour-de-force 'Low Life in High Places' and a similarly vociferous backing for the Stonesy swagger of 'I Love You More Than Rock 'N' Roll.'
There was also a place for a couple of choice cuts from Robert Johnson’s Tombstone – the raunchy rock and "hormones with legs on" (now there’s a line) roll of 'The Devil Made Me Do it,' and a stompingly great version of the bluesified title track.
The set, or rather the party, ended, na-na na-nah-na na-na-naturally, with an extended, party-vibe’d sing-a-long of obvious encore number 'Dirty Love.'
In rock, there’s the traditional/ old-school double live album, showcasing and promoting a band or artist the peak of their commercial and/ or performance powers; now there’s "official bootlegs," which beat the recording pirates at their own game.
Then there’s the special moment live recordings, especially collectable and sought-after when it’s a band who always put on a show while having a bloody good time doing it (reciprocated by the audience).
British rock stalwarts Thunder tick the above boxes with two previously unreleased live recordings.
Live At Islington Academy captures the band during a special end of year performance that came off the back of their recently completed 2006 UK tour promoting then current album Robert Johnson’s Tombstone.
Planet Rock Radio, in the throes of organising their first annual Planet Rock Xmas Party event, approached Thunder about performing in front of around 800 lucky rock fans.
What made this December 2006 show all the more special was the fact it was kept pretty quiet, as band frontman Danny Bowes (in fine voice throughout) recalls: "No-one in the audience seemed to have a clue that we would attend the party, let alone play, so they were all pretty shocked when we stepped on to the stage!"
A very hot venue got even hotter as the band ramped the Planet Rockin' party up from the get-go with the gritty, rock-blues strut of 'Loser,' from 2003’s Shooting at the Sun.
From there it was a Thunder-ous good time of fan-favourites/ classics including raucous renditions of 'River of Pain' and 'Back Street Symphony,' an 800 voiced backing for slow-build tour-de-force 'Low Life in High Places' and a similarly vociferous backing for the Stonesy swagger of 'I Love You More Than Rock 'N' Roll.'
There was also a place for a couple of choice cuts from Robert Johnson’s Tombstone – the raunchy rock and "hormones with legs on" (now there’s a line) roll of 'The Devil Made Me Do it,' and a stompingly great version of the bluesified title track.
The set, or rather the party, ended, na-na na-nah-na na-na-naturally, with an extended, party-vibe’d sing-a-long of obvious encore number 'Dirty Love.'
Live At Leeds, recorded in March 2015, was part of a three-date arena tour in support of Wonder Days, one of the band’s finest offerings across their now fourteen studio album discography.
Like the 2006 Planet Rock Party show, this performance carried its own backstory – that of rhythm guitarist & keyboardist Ben Matthews settling back in (hence the less shows/ larger venues choice) while in recovery from throat cancer.
Not only did that make for an emotional show for both band and audience, it was also a marker of the stature Thunder had now attained that they could command arena attention.
Mixing older favourites with no less than six cuts from Wonder Days (underlining the strength of the album) Thunder put on one of their best and emotionally charged shows of their 21st century lives, from the Thunderclap intro and ever-shifting shades of 'Wonder Days' to, 16 songs and an hour and forty minutes later, encore finale 'Dirty Love.'
Highlights here are plentiful – hard rocking and melodic Wonder Days number 'Resurrection Day' took on stronger meaning ("we know who this is about" intro’d Danny Bowes), as did emotive ballad 'Broken,' led off by, and featuring, Ben Matthews on piano.
Classic 90s Thunder cuts, such as the dark and weighty 'Empty City' (special nod to bassist Chris Childs & drummer Harry James for the subtle groove on the downtempo sections), the bluesy melancholy of 'I’ll Be Waiting' and Danny Bowes at the top of his vocal game on blues-rock power ballad 'Love Walked In' also made their mark with the First Direct Arena audience, as can be heard by a crowd as highly charged as the band.
Live, Thunder always deliver, but these particular shows are definite, special must-haves for the fans.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ
Like the 2006 Planet Rock Party show, this performance carried its own backstory – that of rhythm guitarist & keyboardist Ben Matthews settling back in (hence the less shows/ larger venues choice) while in recovery from throat cancer.
Not only did that make for an emotional show for both band and audience, it was also a marker of the stature Thunder had now attained that they could command arena attention.
Mixing older favourites with no less than six cuts from Wonder Days (underlining the strength of the album) Thunder put on one of their best and emotionally charged shows of their 21st century lives, from the Thunderclap intro and ever-shifting shades of 'Wonder Days' to, 16 songs and an hour and forty minutes later, encore finale 'Dirty Love.'
Highlights here are plentiful – hard rocking and melodic Wonder Days number 'Resurrection Day' took on stronger meaning ("we know who this is about" intro’d Danny Bowes), as did emotive ballad 'Broken,' led off by, and featuring, Ben Matthews on piano.
Classic 90s Thunder cuts, such as the dark and weighty 'Empty City' (special nod to bassist Chris Childs & drummer Harry James for the subtle groove on the downtempo sections), the bluesy melancholy of 'I’ll Be Waiting' and Danny Bowes at the top of his vocal game on blues-rock power ballad 'Love Walked In' also made their mark with the First Direct Arena audience, as can be heard by a crowd as highly charged as the band.
Live, Thunder always deliver, but these particular shows are definite, special must-haves for the fans.
Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ