exit... stage left (1981) – rush: mercury records, SRM-2-7001

The live album, like vinyl in general, is something that’s become an anachronism. Back in the 70’s, particularly, live albums were a staple of the record industry. Every band seemed to have at least one live album, and many had two or three. Not only was it a very cheap and easy way for the band to satisfy part of their recording contract obligation, but it was also a very cheap and easy way for the record company to make more money off the fans. Pretty much a win-win situation.

But it was actually a win-win-win situation, because the fans were able to get a front-row seat to a virtual concert by a band without having to pay the high ticket prices, and with the ability to re-live the concert over and over again.

Besides, live albums were cool. You got to hear some stage banter; the setlist was almost always awesome; many of the songs were often different interpretations or versions (usually longer with more exploration) than the original from the album; the roar of the crowd gave the music an added element of energy and vitality; and inevitably, the music was authentic – no studio enhancements or fixing mistakes. It was the band, their instruments, some amplifiers and a microphone. It was real. Or, at least as real as recordings from multiple shows at multiple venues, cobbled together in a studio and arranged by engineers and producers could be.

By 1981 Rush had released eight studio albums and, in a very polite manner, managed to become one of the biggest bands in the world. Exit … Stage Left was their celebratory live album.

Side 1: The Spirit of Radio Red Barchetta YYZ
Side 2: A Passage to Bangkok Closer To The Heart Beneath, Between & Behind Jacob’s Ladder
Side 3: Broon’s Bane The Trees Xanadu
Side 4: Freewill Tom Sawyer La Villa Strangiato

Now, Exit... isn’t Rush’s first live album. Five years earlier they released All The World’s A Stage, but the boys only had three album’s worth of material from which to draw, so the songlist was a bit limited. With Exit..., Rush had managed to expand their repertoire considerably, allowing them to put together a truly impressive set, in both size and quality.

Of course, with a larger repertoire comes the inevitable griping about what’s left out. In Exit... the the absence of songs like Working Man, Lamneth, 2112, and Limelight are as noticeable as the inclusion of songs like Barchetta, Bangkok, Xanadu, and Strangiato.

Damn, it’s tough when you’ve got so many kickass songs.

What is interesting is that, in a very clever little bit of design, the album jacket pays homage to all eight previous studio albums, despite the fact that the songlist completely ignores their first and third albums, only includes one song off their second and fourth, and has a song that isn’t on any at all. Still, Exit... is quite a little journey through Rush’s first seven years of life. More than that, it does a great job capturing the band at their musical and creative peak.

The flow of the album is also quite well thought out. Side one opens with what is essentially side one of Moving Pictures, the album for which this tour was in support. All three songs are energetic and immediately set the proper mood. Side two begins to form a transition between the new and the old, and the fun and thoughtful. Side three features the more navel-gazing songs, where the band gets to wallow in their musical fetishism, much to the listener’s appreciation. The album wraps up with a one-two-three lineup that can only be called awesome, ultimately closing with perhaps one of the most incredibly indulgent pieces of music ever, begging the listener to whip out a bic lighter and hold the flame high.

I admit that as a kid this album got a lot of play, and it’s one of the albums to which I listened consistently throughout the years. So this listen didn’t so much reignite any long-buried memory as much as rekindle my affinity for live albums, and a reaffirmation of just how cool they are.

Up next: Movement of Jah people.

everywhere at once (1983) - the plimsouls: geffen records, GHS-4002

One of the cruelest myths in American folklore is that the only ingredients for success are willingness to work hard, tenacity to remain dedicated, and a reasonable level of talent. That’s all it takes.

That sure sounds good in a Horatio Alger sort of way, and really seems to be the central core of the egalitarian American dream. You know, the whole nose to the grindstone, be willing to sweat and suffer, keep getting back on the horse, and reap the reward.

Too bad it’s a load of crap. Because if it were true, then Peter Case and The Plimsouls would have been mega-stars. Although, when they first came around, it looked as if that would indeed be their fate.

The Plimsouls were yet another one of the many incredible bands to sprout from the ridiculously fertile soil of the late 70’ - early 80’s LA music scene. The 1980 release of their debut EP, Zero Hour immediately drew attention from influential LA radio station KROQ, and their local acclaim continued to grow with the 1981 release of their self-titled album.

By 1982 the Plimsouls were a constant presence on radio and in clubs in LA. They brought intensity, clever writing, musical accomplishment, and a sense of sardonic wit. Their style was more folk and blues than punk, experimental, or electronica. And, it’s safe to say that The Plimsouls were the West-Coast doppelganger of REM. Or, vise versa if you want to go in chronological order.

Everywhere At Once was their second studio album, released in 1983.

Side 1: Shaky City Magic Touch Oldest Story In The World Lie, Beg, Borrow And Steal Play The Breaks
Side 2: How Long Will It Take? A Million Miles Away My Life Ain’t Easy Inch By Inch I’ll Get Lucky Everywhere At Once

Looking over that list of songs, one would think that the Plimsouls finally managed to get national recognition and were on the same sort of trajectory as their counterparts, REM. Particularly when you add in the movie Valley Girl featured the song A Million Miles Away.

But even with buckets of talent, a quiver full of great songs, exposure in a hit movie, the support of a major radio station in one of the top two markets in the country, and the sort of dedication required to play countless gigs in countless clubs, success for the Plimsouls remained a million miles away (sorry, I couldn’t help myself).

Everywhere At Once peaked at 186 on the Billboard charts, and even though they continued to be wildly popular in LA, the Plimsouls never seemed to be able to break out. Perhaps it was because the country was only able to abide one musically gifted power-pop band with roots in traditional American music, and REM was the one. Or, maybe it was just that the Plimsouls never had that one MTV video needed to truly break into the national consciousness. Whatever the reason, the Plimsouls continued to play together for only a short while after Everywhere At Once, before lead singer/songwriter Peter Case decided to go solo, effectively ending the band.

Happily, the album remains. And it is great. Songs like How Long Will It Take?, A Million Miles Away, and Everywhere At Once continue to be as catchy and lively as they were when they were released. There’s very little musical cliché to make the songs sound dated or stereotypically “80’s” pop. Quite the contrary.  The band’s reliance on established American music, including use of groovy organs and harmonica, give the songs an evergreen feel. Even when released, the songs couldn’t be easily categorized as contemporary, since they sounded as if there were equally in place in the 60’s or 70’s.

The only thing that really dates the album is the fact that so much current pop music relies on exactly the sort of temporal clichés that the Plimsouls avoided: derivative electronic enhancement, heavy use of formulaic bass, and artificial autotune and studio cleansing.

In the end, the most enduring legacy of the album is how it showcases just how good music can be when it relies on the simplicity of instruments, rather than the artifice of producers.

Up next: Canadians politely take over the world.