Gossip - Live In Liverpool
(Columbia Records/Music With a Twist )
http://www.gossipyouth.com/

Live albums are a notoriously difficult breed to sum up, especially when you weren’t actually at the gig. These kinds of fellas are usually released as a treat for the devotees and although Live in Liverpool is a stop-gap to their fourth album (which will no doubt be a much-hyped affair), this 2007 gig does deserve a separate mention. Those who have witnessed the full-on ferocity of Gossip live spill out of their gigs with stories of naked Ditto, stage-diving and ear-splitting surprise covers, so it's only fair to let the rest of us in on the buzz, right?

Naked visualisation notwithstanding, the gig throws back to the frenetic energy of 70's New York CBGBs and sees the band comfortably stamp their unique style of electro-punk with rampant unruliness. The recording features tracks taken from their 2005 album Movement, hits from the most recent critically acclaimed Standing In The Way Of Control and is peppered with covers and a surprise inclusion of Swing Low from the band’s debut album, That’s Not What I Heard. Other highlights include Fire/Sign, Coal to Diamonds and Listen Up!, though their famous ska punk version of George Michael’s Careless Whisper is a bit of a letdown, ending the otherwise punk-packed album with a whimper rather than a bang.

That said, Beth Ditto, guitarist Brace Paine and drummer Hannah Billie offer copious amounts of energy, attitude and uncanny tune-smithery. All this combined with Gossip’s stratospherically inimitable style results in nothing less than live rock'n'roll at its best.

Ali Rees