...Long before the Internet we realised that a lot of people were starting to follow us around, seeing show after show and enjoying cross continent road trips with their friends, with the band suppling the itinerary and the sound track. Very flattering. We also began to realise that bootlegged tapes were changing hands amongst the few and faithful. Again very flattering, yet a little disconcerting given the marginal sound quality of some of them. For years people had been asking about the possibility of a live record. "Maybe ... someday" was all we ever thought. We were in no hurry to release anything live. There were always new songs that demanded more immediate attention, so we never seriously considered the idea. The thought of doing a 'best of ... live' compilation culled from years worth of tapes never appealed to us. The task of going through all that material is more than a little daunting. Besides, live records done that way often fall short of re-creating the live experience. After all, a live show is just that ...an experience, with every set having an ebb and flow all its own. That's hard to create if you're stitching together excerpts from over the years. Sounds and moods can change from night to night let alone from year to year.

I've been at every gig in body, mind and spirit in varying degrees, since the days of Monkees covers. On the nights when everything is clicking and the music flows out of you, mixing with what the other guys are doing easily and naturally, there is no better feeling in the world. As I sat down and began to listen to the shows from the last tour, I started with the ones that had been noted as being especially vibey. Among these was the Detroit Cobo Arena show. It was as great as I remembered it. We had hit the ground running that night. From the instant the intro drum loop to "Grace Too" went up there was a tingle of electricity. I felt it. When the band kicked in, it was still there. There was something there on tape beyond just the notes. We'd somehow managed to record the electricity of the moment. I have to admit that it gave me goose bumps and as I listened on, the show got better and better...

tth home