Live albums can be a bit hit and miss, and have gone drastically out of favour these days. Maybe it’s the fact that studio technology has come so far, and studio albums just sound so perfect these days that live albums pale by comparison.
Melbourne’s Jericco are making a bold statement to the contrary with their imaginatively titled live release ‘Jericco Live’ however. Recorded mainly at the sadly departed Excelsior Hotel in Sydney, as well as other venues across the nation, the band and mixer/producer Dylan Mitrovich have got the balance just about perfect on this live album: it’s polished enough to be highly listenable, but still raw enough to completely convince as a live recording. There’s obviously very little if any studio trickery been performed or any performances re-tracked in the post production, what you hear is what you get, and what happened on the night. There’s mistakes, flaws and imperfections, but this only adds to the experience. It sounds great purely because the band is extremely well rehearsed, the musicianship is rock solid and the performances air-tight. Plus that mixing job is highly professional.
And then there’s the songs. Jericco are an alternative heavy rock band whose tunes are full of life, colour, imagination and soul, and are set apart from the pack through the tasteful infusion of their Middle Eastern influences. The set is mostly drawn from their two previous EPs, but the presence of a couple of brand new songs is very easy to take, with opener ‘Monsters’ an absolute killer. And thankfully their showstopper ‘Promises Made of Glass’ makes a very welcome appearance as well. But the set is wall to wall quality, and it shows in the ecstatic reaction of the fans.
This live album is the next step in the enigmatic and fascinating puzzle that is this band’s career, and now only one piece remains: the debut long player. By the sounds of the new tracks on this live album, Jericco’s first studio album could be every bit as monumental and compelling as the respective debuts from their compatriots Cog and Karnivool. Apparently work has already commenced, and with the man responsible for the production on both Karnivool albums, as well as countless other profile Australian rock releases, Forrester Savell. Hopefully this won’t be too far away.
In the meantime, sit back and enjoy this beautifully crafted live album, it’s a joy to behold.
ROD WHITFIELD
