record reviews:

Smoking Popes

At Metro

(Victory)

The new live Smoking Popes album, At Metro, is a tease.  Due to “time limitations,” there are four songs that are on the second disc DVD which are not on the CD.  While those songs are great to watch on your home stereo, what are you supposed to do in your car?

Well, I guess I can’t complain, really, with 19 tracks on the audio CD.  This live album basically winds up being a second “Best Of” CD—this time with more heart.  This is a great recording of their first show after seven years of not touring.  The audience’s appreciation really comes across—but only in small spurts.  That’s the best part of this album:  unlike other live CDs, this one isn’t bogged down with more than 10 seconds of the crowd screaming, and you only hear them very rarely, not between every track.  The audio is great, even if the vocals at time seem a little too distant from the mic.

If you’ve heard of the Smoking Popes or are a fan of one of their most well known songs, “Need You Around,” this is a great intro CD, and the DVD is a good documentation of the show.  The camera angles aren’t fancy, but it gets you into the show and gives you a good idea of how nuts some people are.

Other things that make this CD better than the “Best Of” album—or worse, depending on your preferences—are the long, wandering solos.  It’s a live show, so of course they’re going to go off like that.  If you’re into that, great, more power to you.  If not, well, steer clear of tracks 11-15.

Finally, there are hard working turtles on the back of the album cover, so it’s a must-buy.

— Amber Henson

www.smokingpopes.net

More by this writer:

Metric - Live - March 23, 2006

Arctic Monkeys - Live - March 15, 2006

Isobel Campbell - Live - March 7, 2006

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