Molken Records (www.molkenmusic.com)
by Daniel Brantley
posted December 1, 2008
Their hair, long and fluffy. Their sound, raw and in harmony. Their essence, rock and roll.
The year was 1990. King’s X was in London, playing at the Astoria Theatre. While precious little was made of the concert at the time, a VHS recording mysteriously appeared recently, and was put alongside audio of the event. To say this is a great find would be the understatement of a 20-year King’s X fan’s career.
The video starts with “King,” followed closely by “What Is This?” “We’re going to try to do almost everything we know tonight for you,” bassist/vocalist Dug Pinnick announces before launching into “Out of the Silent Planet.” Sound familiar? That’s because it is. For diehard fans, this line gives away that a few tunes are taken from the quasi-bootleg live CD, Ride the Lightning. While all new recordings would be great, it’s exciting to have a visual to go with the verbal.
Having announced plans to play “almost everything” they know, King’s X makes their way eight more tracks. With two albums, 22 songs at the time of the concert and two bonus songs from the concert as extras, it’s clear that a number of songs didn’t make it to the DVD for one reason or another. According to the bonus material, the reason is that audio wasn’t recorded for the entire concert. The loss is ours.
Despite the missing tunes, “Summerland,” “Mission” and other early classics are included. “Over My Head,” one of the most beloved tunes by King’s X, is one of them. If you’ve never seen King’s X live, this song sums it up, though this early version lacks today’s crowd participation and Pinnick’s preaching to the crowd during the break.
Though the DVD’s packaging lists a single date for the concert, the various outfits (including Pinnick going from shirtless to suddenly wearing a short-sleeved shirt at the end of the video) say otherwise. Enough about that.
With a gargantuan Texas flag draped behind the group, a couple songs – “Goldilox” and “Everybody Knows a Little Bit of Something” in particular – are heavy on the cheese factor. But look close enough and the same cheese is present in all modern rock albums. At least this cheese has an original sound that’s easy on the ears.
daniel.brantley@yahoo.com
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