Recorded 32 years ago today in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA, this is the second live album by Christian alternative rocker Steve Taylor. The performance includes songs spanning his solo career in the '80s and '90s and even a few songs from the band Chagall Guevara which Steve Taylor was the singer and co-songwriter. Steve Taylor is known for satirical, sardonic lyrics that point out humorous and sometime hypocritical attributes of modern culture as well as for a fun rock show. Some of his '80s stuff, especially, is at least as much disco as rock, so it's fun to hear these more rock-focused live arrangements. The recording isn't perfect, but it captures well the energy, performance and crowd engagement of his live show. This is actually the first time I've heard this album because it only recently became available on streaming, I think, and I haven't yet found a CD copy for my collection as I wasn't really listening to Steve Taylor much in these early years of my life. "On The Fritz" gets an extended, slowed-down intro and then really ramps up by the end of a six-minute runtime. "Hero" also starts out slow and builds as well, and "Bannerman" is a salute to those who hold up the "John 3:16" banner in the end zone at football games. Maybe it's not the best introduction to Steve Taylor's career; there's a few compilations of his works for that. But this is a fun peek into his live shows. (I think the album title is pronounced like "live concert", so "live-er".) Steve Taylor went on to start the record label that made Sixpence None The Richer a hit band, direct a few films, has more recently recorded a few music projects in the last decade, and is currently on a small run of tour dates this fall. He also is on the faculty of Lipscomb University.

Release Year: 1995
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