Modern Lovers "Live" 1977

It must have been more than 25 years ago I listened to this album for the first time. It's one of these you must have in your collection. Songs like "I'm a little airplane" and "Icecream man" still lingered in my mind and over the years I trapped myself regularly I was humming or singing these songs when I was in a good mood. Now I can make every mood good! I put on this LP and the sun is shining again!What makes a great live album? A faithful reproduction or superior reinterpretation of a studio classic? Audience rapport? Great guitar solos? Fantastic new songs? All of the above? Have I got the album for you.
For post-Beserkley Chartbusters Jonathan fans, this is THE album to have. It kicks off with I'm a Little Airplane, which is available nowhere else. Until the applause kicks in at the end of the song, it is as tight as Jonathan's best studio recordings from the era. It's goofy lyrics (yes, he really is a little airplane), joined with fun riffs and a guitar solo so good that Jonathan requested a second one, result in a thoroughly enjoyable two minutes. The song immediately segues into audience banter where a heckler accuses Jonathan of wearing the same shirt for two consecutive nights. Of course, Jonathan objects! Fortunately, he is not thrown off form and counts into a version of "Hey There Little Insect" that is superior in every way to the studio version. If you don't know the song, it's everything its title promises. From there, the band moves on to their biggest hit, the instrumental "Egyptian Reggae." Doesn't this album sound fun already?
And I haven't even gotten to the marathon rendition of "Ice Cream Man" that closes side one of the old album. This is a far superior version to the studio recording that brings out all of the song's promise of waiting for the ice cream man on a hot summer's day when you were six years old. The fake endings of the song as the audience begs for more is the high point of the album and guaranteed to bring a dumb smile to your face.
Side two has a hard time living up to side one, but that's like saying side one of Abbey Road doesn't hold up to side two. Not much to complain about here. A guided tour to the land of dinosaurs, New England, South America, and Kookenhakens is more than most of us deserve. The final song, "The Morning of Our Lives," is so sweet-natured and kind; do the cynic inside of you a favor and give this song a listen. It will make you wish you never grew up.
All in all, this is my favorite live album by any artist. Jonathan's hero, Lou Reed, did well with "Rock 'n Roll Animal," but this is better. gitit and have a great time! - Steve Lanzarotta (California, USA)The Modern Lovers:
Jonathan Richman (guitar, vocals) / Leroy Radcliffe (guitar, vocals) / D. Sharpe (drums, vocals) / Asa Brebner (bass, vocals)

traxfromwax:
1. I'm a Little Airplane 2. Hey There Little Insect 3. Egyptian Reggae 4. Ice Cream Man 5. I'm a Little Dinosaur 6. My Little Kookenhaken 7. South American Folk Song 8. New England 9. Morning of Our Lives
Recorded at London's Hammersmith Odeon in September 1977 at the Height of the Punk Movement.