DVD Review: Echo and the Bunnymen Live From Liverpool (B-)

Echo and the Bunnymen Live At Liverpool (2001)
Starring Echo and The Bunnymen
MPAA: UR
Grade: B-

Review by Bobby Nashville

I remember seeing Echo & The Bunnymen back in the 1980's. They were opening up for New Order. New Order was my favorite band at the time but by the time the evening was over, I had switched allegiances. Moody, mysterious, yet not bogged down with the gloom and doom that hampered the other Goth/new wave/punk bands of the time, Echo & The Bunnymen were impressive.

Fronted by legendary singer Ian McCullough and original band member Will Sergeant, the group playing the Live at Liverpool concerts (they cut two shows into one long concert presentation here) does an impressive job. Twenty three tracks are performed from the Paul McCartney Hall in Liverpool. Starting with Rescue and following up with Lips Like Sugar, its clear from the start that Ian's voice has matured a bit (the nonstop chain smoking probably hasn't helped) but there is no doubt that the man can still work that rock star thing damn well.

The entire song list for Echo & The Bunnymen Live at Liverpool is excellent. King of Kings and Never Stop sound absolutely fantastic. There are some nice lulls with Ian doing his best Jim Morrison, and some nice full out rockers, such as The Back of Love and The Cutter. Tracks from Ocean Rain and Songs to Learn and Sing seemed to resonate best with me, but maybe that's just because those are my favorite Echo & The Bunnymen albums.

The visuals here are good, but not great. Ian stands in one spot most of the show doing his best to act aloof and cool, but let's face it, that's always been his style. The rest of the band also pretty much remains in one spot all night though not lending much to the excitement levels. To spice things up, film footage is video transposed in the background throughout the shows. From what I can tell, the footage consists of home movies of the band's early days and various shots of scenery from the road. This helps a little bit, but not enough to make this an incredible looking looking disc. The quality of the band's performances however more than make up for these faults.

Echo & The Bunnymen Live At Liverpool is a pretty good DVD of some great performances by one of the most underrated rock bands of our time. For devout followers of the band, this DVD is a must have.

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