Live albums are usually an afterthought, but this unfortunately brief but extremely satisfying live document is an important part of the Mary's Danish discography. The Los Angeles sextet were occasionally almost too eclectic on their studio albums, veering from style to style quick enough to give the listener whiplash, but these live tracks showcase the group at their best. Taken almost entirely from their debut album, 1990's There Goes the Wondertruck (only the hyperspeed "Tracy in the Bathroom Killing Thrills" is new; a ...
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Live albums are usually an afterthought, but this unfortunately brief but extremely satisfying live document is an important part of the Mary's Danish discography. The Los Angeles sextet were occasionally almost too eclectic on their studio albums, veering from style to style quick enough to give the listener whiplash, but these live tracks showcase the group at their best. Taken almost entirely from their debut album, 1990's There Goes the Wondertruck (only the hyperspeed "Tracy in the Bathroom Killing Thrills" is new; a studio version would appear on the group's second album, Circa, released later in 1991), these songs pack a mightier wallop than their comparatively tame studio versions. Even the ballad "It'll Probably Make Me Cry" is more powerful in its live incarnation, with singers Julie Ritter and Gretchen Seager belting the immediately catchy chorus with a lusty authority. The other live tracks are of the faster songs on the album, and they're both considerably speedier (the manic "Blue Stockings" is positively breathless) and a bit heavier, with the band's punk roots more in evidence than their funk-rock leanings. The sole studio track, a tongue in cheek version of Jimi Hendrix's "Foxy Lady," is cute but slight; the live recordings are the real reason to seek this album out. ~ Stewart Mason, Rovi
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