X: Live At The Whiskey A-Go-Go : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

First you ask why. Double live albums are usually the province of superstar acts trying to kill time between studio records. And although the Los Angeles band X may be among the strongest American bands of the Eighties, it isn't exactly Fleetwood Mac on the pop charts. Live at the Whisky a Go-Go on the Fabulous Sunset Strip certainly offers ferocious onstage versions of many of the quartet's best songs, but it's unlikely that a double live set will bring in the unconverted.

But let's not quibble. Live at the Whisky is not going to set any Billboard charts on fire, and it includes only four tracks the band hasn't recorded before (and one of them, "Skin Deep Town," about Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is among X's most obvious finger pointers), but Live at the Whisky overflows with first-rate performances that state X's case as persuasively as any of its studio albums. The conventional wisdom has been that X's quality has dipped since the band moved from the hip indie label Slash to big bad Elektra, but what's most impressive about Live at the Whisky is its consistency. Newer tunes like "Burning House of Love" and "In the Time It Takes" stand beside early standards like "Los Angeles" and "Unheard Music" without slouching, and new guitarist Tony Gilkyson replicates the departed Billy Zoom's raunchy, chunky lead lines on the older songs while grafting on some welcome twists and unexpected knife-edge turns.

Live at the Whisky showcases one of today's most fervent groups scorching onstage. That's reason enough for it to exist.