Live albums have always been interesting documents of a band. They are the bridge between a band’s songwriting and studio work, and their ability to go out and reproduce it live. But more than that, they remind us that those are two different media. If the studio is about planning and balance, the stage is about spontaneity and excitement; if the former is music made with designs on longevity, the latter is music made in the moment. A good live album strikes a balance between the two.
And Live on Long Island is a great live album. A straight-off-the-desk recording, it captures the vitality and attitude, as well as the sheer groove and grit of Bad Mary as a live experience.
From the explosive opening of “Soapbox” to their kick-ass cover of Queen’s “Tie Your Mother Down,” it’s an album that is all things to all people and it reminds us of many things. That Bad Mary write great songs, songs that are designed with the live show in mind. They can then transform them into the perfect first-in-the-air rock and roll party. It reminds us that while any live album loses some of the nuances of the recorded medium, this, like any band that understands the live arena, is a band that is happy to swap that polish for swagger and attitude, raw attraction and power.
But, more than anything, it reminds us that Bad Mary is the most badass rock and roll party treading the boards today. Making records is all well and good, but I’m old school, and I want to know if a band can cut it live. Live on Long Island is the sound of a band not only cutting it live but ripping it to shreds and leaving it utterly destroyed on the floor.
