The comparison to Elvis Costello is quite obvious here. The thing is, Graham Parker pre-dated Costello. Based on the first disc (which is actually the more recent concert), I’d say the reason Costello got so popular is that he was better. Don’t get me wrong, taken one song at a time that performance is strong, but taken as a whole, it’s way too monolithic and kind of boring. In addition Parker has a tendency towards repeating the choruses to the point where the can become tedious. Now, all that said, the second performance is so much stronger. I can’t imagine ever listening to the first disc again, but that second disc I’ll be spinning in the future.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2012  Volume 5 at lulu.com/strangesound.

More punky in some ways, this is not, however, punk rock. It’s another good song.

While everything here begs comparisons to Elvis Costello, this tune really sounds like Mr. Costello.

Although there are no big changes here, this is still a high energy rocker that’s quite cool.

Some of the melodic elements here rank up with the best on the disc.

Here is one of the highlights of the set. There’s sort of a soulful groove to this, and that makes it a bit of a change. There’s a bit of reggae later, too.

Raw and punky, this is a change, but not really a standout.

This might have been fun if you were there, but on a live album the whole “don’t get excited” part is way too repetitive and this is a boring tune. It’s a real snoozer.

After the lameness that was “Don’t Get Excited” something special was needed to regain interest. This track, a slow moving ballad with a lot of Elvis Costello in the mix does the job pretty well. It rocks out a bit more later, but never really rises beyond a power ballad approach. It stays pretty melodic.

We get a bit more of a classic rock vibe to this number.

There’s some reggae in the mix here and this is a rather interesting tune. There is a shift later in the tune to a more punky section. That’s a nice touch and elevates the piece a bit. The repetitiveness really gets mind-numbing later on this tune, taking it from the interesting grouping to the boring set.

An energetic number, this is good, but suffers a bit from the monolithic nature of the whole set. It has a cool punk air to it, though. Again, the repetition is used beyond the point of being effective.

The introduction here is quite Police-like. This reggae-inspired number is a nice touch and a bit of variety. It’s one of the stronger pieces here. The instrumental segment on this is among the best of the disc and features both some noteworthy keyboard work and blistering guitar soloing. That said, you can’t ignore the bass, either.

A healthy dose of rockabilly is added here to great effect. It succeeds in bringing some change to the table and that makes this a highlight. Of course, the slide guitar and honky tonk piano don’t hurt, either.

Another highlight, this really feels a lot like 1970s Rolling Stones and it has some more smoking hot guitar work.

The retro keyboards bring a bit of gospel vibe to this while the horn sections bring it into the vein of R & B. Again, this is far superior to anything on the first CD. The melodic guitar solo is not only a great touch, but nicely extensive.

With this cut we’re back into material more along the lines of the first set. It’s actually quite a strong rocker taken by itself. After the monolithic first disc, though, this really feels pretty samey and suffers from that effect.

Combining Chuck Berry with punk rock, this is a nice touch. It’s another that stands above a lot of the material here and it really rocks. There’s even a little (or one could say “a lot”) rockabilly on the guitar solo. There is definitely a Rolling Stones vibe here, too.

This slower rocker has a lot of class and charm. It’s another highlight with some rock and roll blended with blues and soul. The bass guitar really drives this thing, but that doesn’t mean the guitar plays a backseat because it gets some smoking hot soloing. The horn section is a nice touch here and this really is a great tune. There’s an extended jam here, but it never gets boring or tired.

Here’s another where the similarities to the first disc don’t do it any favors. It’s actually a cool, classic rock inspired song. If one listens to this disc of the set first, it’s great. Once you make the journey through the sometimes tedious first CD, though, it just sort of feels too much like the bulk of that set.

While the label is still affected by the snafu mentioned in the previous track review, this is a slower moving number that’s pretty classic, but also falls victim to feeling too much like the monolithic first disc of the set. That said, there’s a great killer retro keyboard sound on this along with some tasty guitar work.

Think this was one of Parker’s hits because I remember this soulful number. It’s a great tune and one of the highlights of the set. It ends with a killer bluesy rock outro.

There’s some serious reggae on this tune and it’s another highlight. The rendition on the other CD was quite strong, but this one’s better.

Feeling a lot like Chuck Berry done by the Stones, this is another great tune. It has a lot of energy and style and it works quite well. I particularly dig the guitar soloing on this.

This Stones like stomper was one of the best tunes on the first disc. I think this version is stronger than that one, but they are both quite tasty. The horn section adds quite a bit and the guitar just plain screams.