King’s X – “Live Love in London”

After more than 20 years in the music business King’s X still remains a force to be reckoned with. This immensely talented trio of musicians has been releasing solid, critically acclaimed discs that have stood the test of time. For the band’s newest offering they have released, Live Love In London, a CD/DVD that I feel captures the highlights of their longstanding career.

With 15 studio releases to choose from the set list for this show must have been difficult to narrow down, but I think this is a fantastic cross section of tunes spanning the years. Of course all of the fan favorites are present and accounted for; as far as I am concerned no King’s X show would be complete without tunes such as “Goldilox,” “Over My Head,” and “Black Flag.” But it was with great pleasure that I found some of my favorite, though probably less popular, King’s X tunes on here as well. As a fan of the band from the very beginning I was super stoked to hear “Pleiades,” (from their 2nd album Gretchen Goes To Nebraska) and “What Is This,” (from Out Of The Silent Planet). I literally grew up on these two records and they are timeless classics as far as I am concerned.

Live Love in London was shot in January of 2009 at the Electric Ballroom in London, UK and it captures the intensity and the intimacy that is a King’s X live show. The band is even better in a live setting where they let loose a little bit and include more than a few extended plays that allow guitarist Ty Tabor to showcase his guitar prowess. It is no surprise that after all of these years performing the band has gotten very comfortable on stage. This is immediately evident in the way vocalist/bassist Dug Pinnick casually banters with the sold out crowd. The energy of the venue is palpable and the relationship between the performers and the crowd appears to be incredibly intimate. At times it really feels as though there is no separation between the band and the fans.

I have said it before and I will say it again, for the most part I am not a fan of live discs. More often than not I feel they are an exercise in futility and the vibe of the performance usually does not translate well to a recording. Live Love in London is the exception to the rule. Fans of the band will absolutely dig this disc and for those not familiar with the group, I think this is a perfect way to become acquainted with their enormous body of work.  [ END ]

Track Listing:

CD1:
01. Groove Machine
02. Alright
03. Pleiades
04. Move
05. What Is This?
06. Lost In Germany
07. Black Flag
08. Pray
09. Dogman
10. Go Tell Somebody
11. Julie

CD2:
01. Looking For Love
02. Summerland
03. Over My Head
04. It’s Love
05. We Were Born To Be Loved
06. Goldilox
07. Visions
08. Moanjam

Run Time: 46:00 (CD1)
Run Time: 53:00 (CD2)
Release Date: 10.25.2010