Hear the Sound; Feel the Fury
Well, here it is: The Ultimate Sound & Fury Concert.
This CD has been over 7 years in its inception, gestation, research, planning and execution, but finally I feel we have at least a workable version of the project.
The idea was to collect every version of every song played on the tour, and choose the best performances in terms of sound quality and musicality available. The real stumbling block was Better Scream. I had a copy of this on audience cassette from the Exeter gig, but the quality was pretty dire. Fortunately Craig managed to trace what I believe is the original copy of the boot (or pretty close) and it sounds better than any 25 year-old cassette audience bootleg deserves to. This copy only became known to me on the 11th of January this year, and this is one of the reasons the CD is finally appearing now.
Up for Murder was another song I couldn’t find on a bootleg from the era, but I was assured 3 years ago by a few folk at The Alarm forums that it was definitely played as an encore at least twice, so I’ve stuck in a recording from 1983.
On the up side, I believe that at least 3 of the tracks here are among the very best recordings the band ever made: Reason 41, Only the Thunder, and Unsafe Building are the best versions of 3 of the band’s best songs.
By the way, for the purposes of this bootleg The Sound & Fury Tour amounts to any gig played to promote the Declaration album, so that’s from January through to August 1984.
I’ve tried to keep the running order as faithful to the original set lists as possible, and this is helped by the band playing a pretty consistent order throughout the period. Disc 1 is the main set, with Disc 2 the encores.
Of course, the glory of the internet and modern technology is that, even after 7 years, this is still a work in progress. If better versions of any of the songs appear, or even if a new song played during this era come to light, we can add or change them later.
My biggest hope is that Mike Peters will decide to release something similar himself. Whilst this is unlikely, it’s quite possible that he’ll oversee an official (and cleaned up) version of some of the concerts here, and possibly make available a better quality version of Better Scream.
But for now, just enjoy the best and fullest possible version, of the best tour undertaken by the best live band in the world.
Enjoy.
The Peace Train/Declaration/Marching On
Always a great start to the Alarm concerts of the era, the performances here are particularly aggressive. Those who’ve seen the video of this Hamburg concert will know the band walked on to the stage and opened their set as if they were looking for a fight.
For Freedom
Another terrific performance of a great song. The acoustic opening is a brief reminder that The Alarm were so much more than just another post-punk thrash outfit, before kicking off into the main body of the song, where they immediately retain the initial frenzied pace.
Reason 41
This is possibly Dave’s best vocal and instrumental performance of this number. The mid-song call-and-response interaction with the crowd is lively, and the German crowd respond well.
Shout to the Devil
Various different takes were tried on the harmonica introduction for Shout to the Devil during the year, but this is the most impressive. The build through the drums, then rhythmic guitar is both ominous and insistent. The track builds through to Mike’s vocal ad lib, and a powerfully climactic, drum-led finish.
The Deceiver
The Deceiver’s mournful guitar & harmonica start occasionally sounded a little out of place if the band came in too heavy, but here it’s perfectly weighted.
Tell Me
Dave Sharp’s second best Alarm song, according to Mike Peters. It was often less polished than Reason 41, but here Dave manages to nail it perfectly.
Third Light/Across the Border
Another example of the band attempting different subtle changes during the tour – these two songs were almost always played adjacent to each other, and in this order, with Eddie’s Ringo reference at the end of the first song leading into a crashing start to the second. But all too often the join was clumsy and ill conceived. Not here though. Here they managed a seamless, almost obtuse link, with an interesting, not to mention wrong-footing change in groove at the start of Across the Border. And the ending? Wonderful!
Where Were You Hiding When the Storm Broke?
Another slightly different arrangement here, with an extended final chorus. Dave & Mike’s harmonica/guitar riff is particularly tight here, too.
Only the Thunder
Why the band ever changed the lyric and arrangement for this song is beyond comprehension. Acoustic guitar only, but a truly electrifying performance, nonetheless.
One Step Closer to Home
This ‘relatively new song’ was already way over 18 months old, but the band still hadn’t attempted to arrange it for the whole band. That would soon change on The Chant tour, but this was one of the last acoustic-only outings.
Unbreak the Promise
A different lyric, and using only a basic guitar technique, this is still an astonishing performance of a marvellous song.
Howling Wind
Great to hear The Alarm doing something a little bit different and inventive. Lest we forget, the live performances of Howling Wind in 1984 involved Mike on acoustic guitar, Dave on electric lead, with Eddie controlling a bass sequencer, whilst also adding an inventive ‘drone’ on e-bowed guitar. The guitar part in the middle is then shared between Dave & Eddie, taking it in turns to back the other’s e-bowed guitar with a drone of their own. They should have done this sort of thing more.
Blaze of Glory
It’s difficult to remember when hearing, and joining in with Blaze of Glory live was still a fairly uncommon experience. How many times had we held our hands up high in 1984? How many times since? A rock solid performance.
Guitar & Harmonica
Longer and more complex version would follow soon enough, but this was still an impressive prelude to…
The Stand
Another great example of a bit of call-and-response crowd interaction, and another tight performance of a classic.
68 Guns
A full steam ahead, take no prisoners rendition of The Alarm’s number 1 anthem. It’s good to hear the Swiss crowd clearly getting into the spirit of the occasion with full vigour.
Lie of the Land
If you’re going to give an encore you really should come straight back out and let the crowd know you’re in the mood for a bit of a knockabout. Anyone starting to flag would be immediately reinvigorated by this performance.
Legal matter
And the baton is handed to Dave, who brings more of the same energy to proceedings.
Up for Murder
Seldom played on the Sound & Fury tour, we actually had to lift this from a concert in 1983 to get a useable version. Once again, very tight.
What Kind of Hell?
Live outings for this song were pretty rare in 1984, until The Chant tour at the back end of the year. This may be the only time it was played on the Sound & Fury leg.
The Chant
A very early version of the band’s most disregarded single. Perhaps here we can hear what they were initially intending before the producers got in the way.
Second Generation
A shame they never really cracked this in the studio, as it could have been more than just a b-side.
Unsafe Building
In my books, this is the best performance ever recorded of the band’s debut single, and one of their finest live performances ever.
Band Introductions
You know who they are.
We Are the Light
A fantastic show-closer on most nights, with all 4 of the band stage-front.
Better Scream
Rarely played Pete Wylie cover. The quality dips here, and this is the only audience recording used on the compilation. At least it’s listenable, and the performance is extremely sprightly considering how late in the set it was played.
Bound for Glory
You have to take your hat off to the Swiss crowd here. Despite hearing a completely alien song in a foreign language for the first time, they pick up their place in proceedings very quickly. And when the crowd is this up for it, you’ve just got to have a great time performing the song.
Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
A classic cover and a timeless way to end the evening, with the crowd singing the band off the stage.
Steve W.
Download {2 parts} -
Part 1 -
http://rapidshare.com/files/195568908/The_Ultimate_Sound___Fury-_Disc_1_-_The_Main_Set.zip
Part 2 {the encores} -
http://rapidshare.com/files/195573754/The_Ultimate_Sound___Fury-_Disc_2_-_The_Encores.zip
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