Description
Radio Sessions 1979-1981 is a collection of live performances by the British new wave band After The Fire, released on Angel Air Records in 2009. The 19 tracks featured on this CD were recorded at three different radio sessions between 1979 and 1981, a time when ATF were at their commercial peak. Throughout the 70’s and 80’s, radio sessions played a big part in any bands success in the UK. For After The Fire, this was no different: the opportunity to play live in an intimate and professional setting gave the band and fans the best of both live performances and LP sound. As founder member Peter Banks says, “these radio sessions were very important because they gave you status and helped with the awareness of the band as one could deliver a quality live performance.”
Musicians: Peter Banks, Andy Piercy, John Russell, Ivor Twidell (1979) / Peter King (1980-1981).
One-hit wonders in the States, having marched toward the top of the chart in 1983 with «Der Kommissar», After the Fire actually had a long and colorful history whose antecedents stretched back over a decade by the time of that hit. Multiple shifts in lineups and serious alterations in their sound dogged their career, but by 1979 the pieces were all coming together. Radio Sessions 1979-1981 finds the band readying for success, staging live concerts on a now annual basis for the BBC. The ultimate genre bender, ATF deftly melded the over the top keyboard extravagance of the likes of ELP against the edginess and aggression of punk and the pop sensibilities of the then fast-rising new wave. It was a potent combination on record, but it was even more impressive on-stage, as the group amply illustrates on the surprisingly incendiary «Joy», the angular «Suspended Animation», the compulsive «Can You Face It», and the kick-up-your-heels «Life in the City». Nor could maturity dampen their spark, as the 1981 set finds the remarkable «Dancing in the Shadows» sashaying into a more urban style, while «Sailing Ship» disembarks close to the same territory that U2 would soon claim as their own. This material may be unfamiliar to American audiences, but regardless, it’s ATF at their best. [Dave Thompson, AMG]
At their peak 1979-1982, After The Fire were signed to CBS Records who were trying to break them into the big time. The band ended up having some low level skirmishes with the British charts without ever making the big breakthrough. Mind you, it wasn’t for want of trying and ironically the big chart hit happened in America after the band had broken up. This CD features the band’s three BBC In Concert performances from ’79, ’80 and ’81 with each highlighting how tight the band were live and how vociferous their fans could be. Ultimately ATF deserved bigger props for their development of synth-led pop rock and these live performances take the listener from the more new wave sound of their 1979 thrash through material from their debut album to more assured performances later. Andy Piercy was always a compelling frontman and that comes across here as does the sheer musicianship of the band. From John Russell’s extended guitar solo in «Billy Billy» to the interplay between guitar and Peter Banks’ keyboards on «Take Me Higher», it’s evident from the 1981 recording that the band were getting stronger and better. So it’s a shame that it all came crashing down at the end of the following year. I have vivid memories of being glued to the radio in 1979 for the first of these In Concert performances so it’s a surprise to hear how much it sounded exactly as I remembered it. Only criticism is that they may have benefited from some tweaking and mastering. As it is, any fan of the band back in the day will want to hear these performances from their heroes again. [Mike Rimmer, Cross Rhythms, June 2009]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/radio-sessions-live-1979-1981/1709558667)
CD tracklist:
01. Joy (1979) – 3:17
02. A little Sun, a little Rain (1979) – 3:11
03. Laser Love (1979) – 3:05
04. Time to think (1979) – 3:32
05. One Rule for you (1979) – 3:14
06. Suspended Animation (1979) – 4:53
07. Check it out (1979) – 3:06
08. Like the Power of a Jet (1979) – 2:50
09. Laser Love (1980) – 3:27
10. Life in the City (1980) – 4:03
11. Can you face it? (1980) – 3:50
12. Who’s gonna love you? (1980) – 4:15
13. Billy Billy (1980) – 6:07
14. Frozen Rivers (1981) – 4:06
15. Dancing in the Shadows (1981) – 2:54
16. Sailing Ship (1981) – 3:39
17. Bright Lights (1981) – 4:09
18. Take me higher (1981) – 7:07
19. Starflight (1981) – 5:03
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