KIM MITCHELL – I Am A Wild Party (Live) (1990 Alert)

Kim Mitchell’s solo career has been pretty spotty, but I think most fans own this live album.  Personally, I would rank it as a must-have.  If only it wasn’t so damn brief!  What is this, an EP?  Even by 1990 standards, when cassette was a primary format, 38 minutes for a live album from a musician with a career as rich as Kim’s…?

I Am A Wild Party (Live) kicks off with the title track, which was one of two “new” songs recorded at rehearsal. It’s actually an older song from the sessions of his 1986 album; the chorus ends with the line “I’m shakin’ like a human being.” This is now a Kim klassic, the kind of fun summer party rocker that he is known for.  The other new song is “Deep Dive”, a good hard tune with some greasy guitar groove.

Live highlights include the old Max Webster classic “Battle Scar”. As you may remember, that was Max Webster’s team-up with Rush. Here, bassist Peter Fredette (a great singer in his own right) takes Geddy Lee’s vocal. He does it extremely well, too.  Elsewhere on this album, Fredette sings the high parts on the ballad “All We Are”, which many fans consider better than the original studio version from Akimbo Alogo.

“That’s the Hold”, “Lager and Ale”, “Rock & Roll Duty” all rock harder than their album versions, let loose from the sterility of a studio, with Fredette wailing away in the background.   These are great live versions, with not a lot of crowd noise to distract from the actual musicianship and volume!

I think the album could have been 10 or 11 songs.  When the party sounds this good, you don’t want to leave.

4/5 stars