99% Fat- Thankyou and Goodnight

A live recording from Mr Coffee's album launch, I believe this is 99% Fat's final release. It contains mostly songs from Recipe For Disaster. The album can be downloaded from here.

Cutting the album some slack for being a live recording done in a local pub, the recording quality is passable (just). The horns sound quite strained (understandable considering they are competing to be heard over a raucous rock band...) and the snare has a distracting echo, but on a positive note the musicianship is very good for such fast and intricate ska songs. The sharp breaks and the crispness of the vocals are also highlights.

The list of Favourite Songs below is only songs where I particularly like this live version. Many of the other songs (Das Ist Muncher, Boar and Wine, The Right Mind, Chode, Creamy Dreamy, Why Carrot) are fine renditions but without anything particular to prefer them over the album version.

Much of the appeal of this live album is to do with the silliness associated with a live ska gig. For example, one of my favourite moments on the CD is in the instrumental break of Retreat Mafia, where the singer slips into the song with a heavy eastern-european accent:
Why for you kick my dog?
I call him Fark-Off
...completely immature and non-sequitur. Similarly, the banter about a place called "Stonehaven" at the end of Creamy Dreamy is fun silliness. As is the discussion about Oversized Novelty Setlists at the end of Forgotten Years.

Of the two covers on this album, Forgotten Years is an absolute cracker. Sometimes a live recording can be emotive than polished studio perfection, due to the rawness and spontaneity. This cover is a brilliantly gutsy and honest rendition of the Midnight Oil classic.

(Embarrassingly, I must admit that I don't enjoy any version of the song Holy Grail at all... I can't explain this shameful fact!)

The live energy of Gone Fishin is incredible, with the singalong parts being infectious even years later just listening to the CD.

The two original songs not on 99% Fat's other releases are Make No Mistake and Yeah. The funk-influenced verses of Make No Mistake are not to my taste, but the chorus is great bouncing fun. Yeah is quite similar to The Right Mind and the chorus is another example of live singalong greatness.

Favourite songs

Retreat Mafia, Forgotten Years, Gone Fishin, Yeah

Worthwhile?

This CD is exactly what makes a great live record- something that can be listened to years later and take you back to a fantastic evening. Also, many of the tracks are highly enjoyable in their own right.