Live At Last

Following the release of their "comeback" CD, Bigger Than America (1996), Heaven 17 hit the road for the first time in their career, opening for Erasure. This CD is a souvenir of that tour. Recorded in Glasgow, Scotland, this CD serves as a "greatest-hits" live package. And truthfully, it is pretty good. For a band that had never toured in its history, Heaven 17 are remarkably tight in their performance, and augmented only by two background singers (who actually detract, as they tend to sing flat at times). The hits are here, "Fascist Groove Thang," "Temptation," and "Let Me Go" to name just a few. Plus, they delve into the old Human League catalog and do a credible version of "Being Boiled." And not surprising, they include songs from their Bigger Than America CD. These songs actually benefit from the live treatment, and sound much more energetic and exciting in comparison to the studio versions. The songs tend to stick to their original form, with the major exception of "Temptation," which they attempt to update, and in doing so lose the wonderful melody. The sound quality is adequate, but their choice of edits is odd. How many live CDs feature the band hyping the headlining band? This CD does. Also, the recording of the crowd is distracting at times, as it literally fades in and out throughout the CD. This CD may not win new fans, but older fans will enjoy it, and those lucky enough to catch them on the tour will have the opportunity to relive the show. It also serves as evidence that they are indeed a band, and can perform their own music live. This CD is also more of a return to form following their Retox/Detox (1998) release.