The 1999 Party Tour: Live In Chicago, April 1974 (Live In Chicago, April 1974)

Album review

Don't be misled by the title: Man's The 1999 Party Tour is not a live record by a turn-of-the-millennium reunion lineup but a classic-era live set recorded in Chicago on March 21, 1974, when the Welsh progressive-pub rockers were on an American tour supporting Hawkwind. If only MCA had been able to get their hands on these tapes (which were bootlegged in the early '90s and officially released in 1998), this would have been a much more suitable live farewell than the bland and dispirited All's Well That Ends Well. Strangely lacking any material from the brand new Rhinos, Winos and Lunatics album, The 1999 Party Tour consists solely of five songs, ranging from a neatly concise three-minute version of the choogling Chuck Berry-inspired rocker "A Hard Way to Live" all the way to an epic 25-minute take on the live favorite "C'Mon" that seems like it's only, well, 18 minutes long. Even on that bit of outsized showboating, however, the playing is awesomely tight and the solos mostly avoid the usual pitfalls where eventually the guitarist realizes that he's just been playing scales for the last ten minutes. The best bits, though, are the Quicksilver Messenger Service-like psychedelic stomper "7171 551" and a ripping 15-minute take on the group's perennial closer, "Spunk Rock," that's probably the definitive collected version. The 1999 Party Tour is straight-up, splayed-leg, head-bobbing boogie in a vintage 1974 style. Yet somehow, unlike many similar live albums by many similar bands, it doesn't suck.

© Stewart Mason /TiVo