Heart of a Punk Soul of a Rasta

The Vaccines
Live in London

Aside from the fad for recording gigs LIVE as they happen and offering them to attendant faithful to purchase after the said gig - like both Madness & PiL have done in recent times. The LIVE album or official BOOTLEG seems to be as rare as a cockerel with a full set of dentures. The LIVE recording has long gone out of fashion, mainly, I think, because they're either horrid or sublime. The REM "Live at the Olympia" from a couple of years ago was for me a case of the former rather than the later, but The Vaccines "LIVE in London" is an official bootleg that can be shoved fairly and squarely in the mightily sublime camp.

The BOOTLEG does no more than capture in aspic The Vaccines LIVE sound circa 2011. The sound is rough round the edges and Justin Young does quite a bit of warbling, especially on "We're Happening", you can almost feel him bouncing up and down as he sings. Listening to this record does make you feel you are witnessing a whole set from start to finish, nothing seems contrived or out of sync, I guess because it isn't. From "Ra Ra" to "Norgaard" this is The VACCINES, it's not hype that's made them, it's their simple immediacy, blink and you'll have missed them.

It would be nice to think that some other bands could give the LIVE LP a go. Perhaps someone will have balls big enough to record a new original album completely LIVE. Yeah you're right don't look for it, it'll never happen. And what's my favourite LIVE album? Well I'm glad you asked, that's easy peasy its "Burning Spear LIVE 1977" recorded at The Rainbow, every time I listen to it I can believe I'm there, even though in truth I never was.