(c) 2023 Perris Records
- Saturday Night
- Hammer Swings Down
- One Million Miles
- Bang Go The Bells
- Sinking In The Sand
- Desperate
- Maryanne
- She Likes To Give It
- Bad Blood
- Crash And Burn
- Shot Of Love
- Love Blind
- Sally Danced
- Kid Goes Wild
Derek Davis--Lead Vocals, Guitars
Ron Freschi--Guitar, Backing Vocals
John Matthews--Guitar, Backing Vocals
Robb Reid--Bass, Backing Vocals
Jamey Pacheco--Drums, Percussion
In 1989, Babylon AD release, in my estimation, one of the best debut albums of the decade, period. Yeah, yeah, Guns N Roses this and Poison that. For my money, Babylon AD's debut was better than either of those, and if it was possible to wear out a CD due to continued playing, my copy of that self-titled album would likely have melted down. 1992's Nothing Sacred got nearly as much playtime from me, although it never really hit me the way the debut did. I even stuck around through the next decade, waiting for something new, which finally came with 2000's American Blitzkrieg, which while darker and angrier sounding, was still a pretty solid record. The band went dormant for more than a decade, although a collection of pre-Babylon AD demos was released in 2006, which was pretty cool, if unspectacular. But in 2014, seemingly out of nowhere, the band rumbled to life with a 4 track EP, and then in 2017 the band returned with a bang, surprising fans with a new album, Revelation Highway, which actually turned out to be everything a fan could want, and MORE, as that was an excellent return to form that is probably my second favorite from the band, even though it came out 28 years after the debut! So, when I heard that the band was going to release a new live album, I was definitely on board!
To be fair, this is not the first live album the band has released; it is actually the third. Additionally, it isn't really all that new, as I have read that the new disc is culled from a couple of shows from 2015. I'm honestly a bit confused, however, as this new live record contains four songs from Revelation Highway, so I'm not sure if they had been playing a few of these songs live since they reformed, or if this live material was actually recorded at a different time than I had understood. It makes little difference, I guess, as this setlist is quite a bit different than the one for Live At XXV, which was released in 2015, and I wanted to hear the new songs in the live setting.
I have to admit I was a little surprised the new release opened with a track that likely very few people in the knew, but Babylon AD does just that by starting off with "Saturday Night". That's a pretty gutsy move, in my opinion...I mean, a nostalgia band opening with new material? Wow! Regardless, after a brief intro from the club emcee, the band comes out swinging, and they pull this track off to perfection, making it sound like they have been playing it for years, and the crowd sounded like it reacted well to the hard-driving rocker.
Long-time favorite "Hammer Swings Down" hits next, and it hits hard, as you would likely expect. This has always been one of my three favorite songs off that debut album, and the crowd is definitely appreciative. The guitars sound great and the rhythm section is firing on all cylinders, driving this rocker at full force. Granted, Davis has lost a bit of the top end of his range, but the snarl of his voice is still there, and he still sounds powerful and in full command of the songs presented here. The guitar solo is altered a bit from the studio recording, but that's fine with me, as it is simply more evidence that this is a band that is actually playing live here. I'll take those slight imperfections anyday!
Another new track is up next, and the partially acoustic "One Million Miles" comes off sounding very strong here. I kind of wonder if the tracklisting isn't altered here, however, as slipping this track in between "Hammer..." and the next track, the bombastic "Bang Go The Bells," doesn't make a ton of sense. There are audible gaps between all of the songs here, so there is no attempt to present this as one long, flowing show. And I'm completely okay with that. I just wonder at the placement of a couple of tracks (I'll give you another example in a minute). Regardless, the band sounds great on this new tune, the crowd is sounding highly appreciative, and then things get NUTS with "Bang Go The Bells"! This is a song that really should have skyrocketed the band to a level they were never able to reach, and it is a staple of their live sets no matter where you see them play. Davis obviously still really enjoys delivering this rocker in the live setting, and the band shows up in full force here. This is probably the best of the three officially recorded and released live versions, in my opinion.
American Blitzkrieg gets represented with "Sinking In The Sand" next, and I was really happy to see this song on the setlist as it is definitely one of the best tracks on that studio album, and the band sounds like they were having fun playing it. There seems to be some issues with Davis's microphone, or perhaps its in the mix, but his vocals while talking to the crowd about being recorded live are very low and rather hard to hear. He sounds perfectly fine when it comes time to sing, so my guess is this is a mixing issue and does nothing to detract from the performance.
The debut album is back in the forefront with "Desperate," the quasi-power ballad that should have been all over MTV in 1989 and 90, and once again the crowd shows its pleasure at what the band is delivering here. The guitars are excellent, and Davis absolutely owns the track on this live performance. This is how a live song should sound, in my mind - faithful to the original that people love, but still showcasing a band that is feeding off the energy of a thankful crowd that loves what they are being treated to. I typically hit repeat a few times when I cue this track up.
Rocker "Maryanne" from the debut follows, with another new track, the mid-tempo, slow-burner "She Likes To Give It," which is actually a pre-debut track (it appears on the demo compilation before making its way onto Revelation Highway). The alternating of new and old tracks indicates a couple of things to me. First, it's obvious the band knows what its fans want to hear, hence all the tracks from the debut album making this setlist (7 in total). Second, the guys are obviously proud of, and confident in, the new music, which slides into the setlist almost seamlessly throughout this package. I do wonder how much re-arranging was done to the track order, as the songs were taken from two different shows and, as I previously mentioned, there are gaps between the tracks as you work your way through the disc. None of this really matters in the end; it's more just curiosity on my part.
"Bad Blood" grooves its way into the set next, and one of the two singles from the Nothing Sacred album smokes in this live version, with plenty of sass to the vocals and a load of raw rock n roll attitude to the music. The guitar work sounds really strong here, especially on the solo section, and the drums hit hard throughout the track. This is one of the tracks that has shown up on all three live releases from the band, and one that always sounds great. The band is so tight, and Davis always manages to inject a lot of life into this track, which is why it is always such a crowd pleaser.
"Crash And Burn" is yet another Revelation Highway track in this setlist, and it slots in very well next to the other harder-edged material in this live set. "Shot Of Love" from the debut makes its way into the mix next, and I have always loved the mid-tempo punch of this track. Once again, the lead guitar work here is stellar, with plenty of emotion packed into the run from Freschi, and Davis can be heard pumping up the crowd in the background. The backing vocals are handled really well here, which is not always the case in a live recording, and overall, this is just another example of what this package does really well.
I was kind of surprised "Love Blind" made this setlist, as this is one of the three new tracks that showed up on the Lost Sessions EP, but it is such a great song that it fits perfectly! (I went back later and checked, and it actually also shows up on XXV Live, which I had obviously forgotten about.) I really wonder if the band has more of these songs from the unfinished pre-American Blitzkrieg album laying around, because this is some really good stuff.
The album wraps with two more from the debut album, with the bluesy rocker "Sally Danced" up first. This song is executed almost to perfection, with the different guitar styles and tempo changes handled expertly. This has long been one of my favorite album cuts from that debut and I am glad it's offered up here. Unsurprisingly, the aggressive, metallic rock of "The Kid Goes Wild" closes things out, much to the pleasure of the raucous crowd! Davis deftly handles the spoken section that was originally done by the legendary comedian Sam Kinison, but it's his aggressive vocal attack throughout the rest of the track that really adds the exclamation point to this blisteringly heavy guitar rock classic. There really is no other way to close out a live performance by Babylon AD that would be acceptable - the band knows it, the fans know it, the crowd eats it up - and everyone, whether in attendance at the shows or listening to the album, can walk away happy following this performance.
There are a couple of curious song omissions here; I'm curious why "Psychedelic Sex Reaction" wasn't included from Nothing Sacred, and I would probably have put "Magic Mary" or "One Way Ride" from American Blitzkrieg in the mix also. (To be fair, I possibly only pick those AB songs because they are two of my faves from that record...)
The mix is raw, to be sure, but not in a "recorded-on-a-boombox" way; these are soundboard recordings from full club concerts. I just mean it is obvious there isn't a ton of polishing done in the studio on these albums, and nothing stands out as glaringly obvious that it was re-recorded or touched up after the fact. What you hear on this disc is likely what you heard if you were in attendance. Again, I understand the gaps between the tracks as far as rearranging the song order goes, and it does allow for individual songs to be taken off the disc and dropped into a mix or played on the radio (yeah, right!) without having to do any mixing or fading.
All in all, this is a very enjoyable live recording of one of the bands that I always thought should have been one of the biggest bands of the genre in the 1989-1991 timeframe. The debut is an absolute must-own for even passing fans of the genre, and this is the best of the three live releases the band has out there, especially with the mix of old and new songs...and no cover tracks.
Do not miss your chance to sang this one, folks! Jump over to Perris Records and grab one before they are gone!
Rating: An absolutely crankable live set from the Babylon AD boys! Crank it loud, folks...I crank it at 8!
