VITAL

This album may not have the best of sounds, but it shows the band at the peak of their energy, and there never has been a more brutal bass guitar than that of Nic Potter on this album. Hammill is in excellent form and screams away at the top of his lungs. The opener "Ship of Fools" is a real killer. The adding of a cello works wonderfully for tracks like "Still Life" and "Pioneers Over c" (watch out for the part where violin and cello go manic at high tempo while the bass guitar suddenly starts playing the slow rhythm of the beginning again). The only thing I hate is that the CD version misses 2 tracks (I can't get hold of the Japanese pressing), so I am really looking forward to the remastering Virgin is going to do this year and hope they won't leave out any tracks this time. One of my absolutely favorite live albums ever. Raw Power!