 |
Artist: Venue: Country: Date: Recording: Sound quality: Media: |
The Hooters Vernon's, Levittown USA June 23/24, 1980 Soundboard 10 CD-R (80 minutes) |
LEVITTOWN '80 - VOLUME TWO
1. Happy Birthday Billy 1.15
2. Trouble In Paradise 5.45
3. World's Apart 8.52
4. Soon You'll Be Gone 2.45
(Blues Busters cover)
5. Tears Of A Clown 3.27
(Smokey Robinson cover)
6. Ain't That Peculiar 5.45
(Marvin Gaye cover)
7. Just Can't Figure Out (How It Comes About) 4.21
(The Mighty Diamonds cover)
8. Love On The Line 4.33
9. Walking Hand In Hand (Beside You) 2.48
10. Talking & improvisation of 500 Miles 2.54
11. Best Friend 3.05
12. The Lone Ranger 3.42
13. Fightin' On The Same Side 2.40
14. Fire 4.21
(Bruce Springsteen cover)
15. Misery Loves Company 4.49
16. Who's That Girl 2.52
17. I Saw Her Standing There 4.51
(The Beatles cover)
18. (You've Gotta Walk) Don't Look Back 4.07
(Peter Tosh cover)
19. Happy Birthday Billy 0.30
20. Little Sister 6.22
(Elvis Presley cover)
Total time: 79:46
This is a very rare soundboard recording from Levittown (the hometown of the drummer David Uosikkinen), 1980. It is one of the oldest if not the very oldest soundboard you can get from this band - in fact it is not even a radio broadcast. This was three years (!) before their debut LP Amore. You can hardly hear any audience because of the soundboard sound and the few people in the audience. The reason why it was recorded at all is because it was the birthday of the soundguy Billy McKutchison so that's why they sing "Happy Birthday Billy".
Recorded at a bar the first year the Hooters excisted this is a very cool and interesting show not the least from the "band-historical" point of view. Alright the band isn't always a complete working unit at this point, but what can one expect? Still there's a bunch of interesting covers never performed on any other recording of the band as far as I know right now. Some of them are; "Fire" (Bruce Springsteen), "Tears Of A Clown" (Smokey Robinson), "Just Can't Figure Out" (The Mighty Diamonds) "I Saw Her Standing There" (The Beatles), "(You Got To Walk And) Don't Look Back" (Peter Tosh) and "Ain't That Peculiar" (Marvin Gaye). The 8 minute long "World's Apart" must also be a cover, I just don't know by whom. If you take a look at the setlist you see that most of the songs are in fact covers, many of which I don't know anything about. They are a mix of reggae and ska songs mostly.
Something cool is also that they announce an acoustic set (which they don't do) at the second part of the gig and Rob starts singing "500 Miles", and although he stops it after just a few seconds it is of course a proof that it was thought of as a possible cover as early as nine years before it was finally released.
I must also say, that although they didn't have their own set of songs it is perhaps clearer compared to shows from '81 and '82 that they want to play rock as well as reggae and ska influenced music. It's also cool to hear the earliest (?) recording of "Fightin' On The Same Side" although it doesn't sound too well rehearsed.
But what about the sound then, isn't that always a problem with these old recordings? Well, not with this one! I am amazed by the great soundboard quality considering this one is 20 years old! One interesting thing to note is the very clear stereo separation between instruments. A big belated thank you also to the guys for recording this - how many other acts can present a show from a high school in front of a small audience when they had just got started? Available on one 80 minutes CD-R.