LOVERBOY
LIVE, LOUD AND LOOSE
Columbia/Legacy CK 62083
Produced by: Al Quaglieri, Paul Dean, Matt Frenette
Released: OUT / Website
GENRE: Pop Rock
OVERALL: 85%

  1. Working For The Weekend
  2. Lucky Ones
  3. Lady Of The 80's
  4. Take Me To The Top
  5. Jump
  6. This Could Be The Night
  7. Dangerous
  8. Lead A Double Life
  9. When It's Over
  10. Queen Of The Broken Hearts
  11. Lovin' Every Minute Of It
  12. Hot Girls In Love
  13. Turn Me Loose
  14. The Kid Is Hot Tonight

Live albums at their best are usually a spontaneous snapshot of a band at their best. I prefer such albums to be lifted from a single performance, with limited overdubs. But the problem that can arise there, is it is often hard to obtain a snapshot of the band's career from a single performance.
That leads us to the other more popular option of live releases. Taking a range of performances over the band's live history, or as is done here - through their peak period and compile it together.
That's what Bon Jovi did on their One Wild Night live album. But they failed miserably, providing performance gaps between songs, picking limp performances and leaving out any tracks from their best performance era.
Not so on Loverboy's one and only live release. I love this album!
As far as the compiling style of album goes, this is how it should be done.
The guys have taken a selection of their live performances between 1982 and their peak in 1986 and strung them together for a virtual greatest hits live album.
What Loverboy have done, that once again Bon Jovi didn't do, is cater to all the fans expectations with every hit included and a selection of top album tracks and live favorites. The band really had an impressive run of hits and this album includes them all.
Spirited performances of The Kid Is Hot Tonight, Working For The Weekend, The Lucky Ones, Lovin' Every Minute Of It and my personal favorite Queen Of The Broken Hearts are balanced by the inclusion of the band's best ballads This Could Be The Night and the haunting When It's Over. And all these tracks are joined by a continuous crowd noise - screaming and cheering away. It at least ads atmosphere to the recording and makes it seem that you are listening to the one gig.
BOTTOM LINE: One listen to the haunting thump of the bass guitar as the intro to Turn Me Loose to remember what a fine personality Scott Smith was and how sadly he will be missed from the music world.
His bass playing is the glue that hold together the live performances on this record and as the liner notes read, this album is a tribute to his spirit.
An essential purchase for fans of Loverboy and rock n roll in the 80's in general and a prime example of how good live records should sound.
PRODUCTION: 85% SONGS: 90% VIBE: 80%ATTITUDE: 85%
ESSENTIAL FOR: Every single Loverboy fan out there.



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