LLOYD COLE & THE COMMOTIONS : LONDON 1985

1. Charlotte Street
2. Down On Mission Street
3. Patience
4. Why I Love Country Music
5. Rattlesnakes
6. Minor Character
7. Brand New Friend
8. Grace
9. Four Flights Up
10. Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken?
11. Speedboat
12. 2CV
13. Forest Fire
14. Pretty Gone
15. Perfect Skin

Label : no label

Venue : Hammersmith Odeon, London, England

Recording Date : September 1, 1985

Length : 59:12

Quality : FM recording (A+)

Review : London 1985 captures Lloyd Cole & The Commotions at the Hammersmith Odeon in London on September 1, 1985, in a BBC Radio 1 In Concert broadcast recorded at the height of the band's early success. The set leans heavily on the debut album Rattlesnakes, with "Charlotte Street," "Perfect Skin," "Speedboat" and the title track sitting at its core, while the newer songs from Easy Pieces, including "Brand New Friend," "Grace" and "Pretty Gone," show the band's sound growing brighter and more confident. The Commotions play with a bright, jangling energy, and Cole's literate, world-weary songwriting and dry delivery come through clearly, from the wry "Why I Love Country Music" to the urgent "Forest Fire." Broadcast straight from the stage, the recording captures a young band in fine form at one of London's best-known venues, and it remains a fine document of the group at its peak.