CleoRecs is releasing L.A. GUNS album “Live! A Night On The Sunset Strip“, the live recording that marked the first performance of the original line-up since 1995, kicking off what was a five week national reunion tour. Recorded in Los Angeles, in 1999, ”Live! A Night On The Strip” commemorates an L.A. Guns legendary
performance at the Key Club on Hollywood’s Sunset Boulevard, right in the heart of what was the Glam Rock central during the group’s late-’80s heyday.
It had been a while since the classic line-up of Philip Lewis (on vocals), Tracii Guns (on lead guitar), Mick Cripps (rhythm guitar), Kelly Nickels (bass guitar), and Steve Riley (on drums) had joined up on stage to perform all of L.A. Guns’ greatest hits, and after over 10 years, the energy and the chemistry between them was still intact.
From the first guitar strains of ‘Face Down’ all the way through to the closing moments of ‘Rip N Tear,’ the group is on fire. The album was produced by Guns N’ Roses’ Gilby Clarke and the sound quality is excellent.
Taken from the Vicious Circle album, the opening track ”Face Down” showcases a band at full cyllinders. Then they follow with the familiar sleaziness of “Sex Action” you instantly is reminded just how good this band truly is!
A trio of other L.A Guns stables kept the album moving before the new tune “Time” was introduced. While maybe not the best L.A. Guns song, it fits nicely into this live set and is proof that this was more than a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
Another selection from Vicious Circle, “Long Time Dead” was next with “Over The Edge” and fan favorite “Never Enough” keeping the party going. A third track from Vicious Circle, “Nothing Better to Do” sung by bassist Kelly Nickels not only put this album over the top, but shows how underrated is their their 1994 release Vicious Circle.
A brief but killer guitar solo segued into a bitching version of “Electric Gypsy,” quite possibly the pinnacle of the live set, before the ever popular “The Ballad of Jayne” and a mean and nasty “Rip N’ Tear” closed the album out. How a listener cannot be left with anything but a thirst for more is beyond me.
Part of the magic of a live album done properly is not merely to take a trip down memory lane, but it revisits those magical times while also proving the band still has a hunger and a passion.
This album not only shows that there was more left in the tank, but it so flawlessly weaved the songs found on it together that from start to finish, weakest to strongest, every song contained the same fire and energy.
Highly Recommended
1.Face Down 04:23
2.Sex Action 03:44
3.One More Reason 04:00
4.Kiss My Love Goodbye 03:48
5.Bitch Is Back 03:21
6.Time 05:06
7.Long Time Dead 03:48
8.Over The Edge 06:23
9.Never Enough 04:16
10.Nothing Better To Do + Guitar Solo 03:39
11.Electric Gypsy 04:32
12.The Ballad Of Jayne 06:17
13.Rip N' Tear 05:06
releases November 10, 2023
L.A. Guns – Live! A Night On The Sunset Strip 2023 Full Promo
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