Search - Buzzcocks :: Entertaining Friends

Best Live Buzzcocks

Michael Kulikowski | Knoxville, TN | 02/24/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Amongst all the live and demo sets out there, it's easy to forget that the Buzzcocks only ever had about 40 fully developed songs to their credit. Entertaining Friends is proof that though the versions proliferate, the songs remain the same. For much of the Buzzcocks oeuvre, live versions are in fact best, since they always got a tinny, bottomless mix out of the studio. This live set is clearly their best - the mix is a bit muddy, but played at high volume, you don't notice, and it approximates their buzzsaw attack quite accurately. The arrangements here are very similar to the studio cuts, though Sixteen and Breakdown are clearly superior and everything else sounds great. If you've only ever heard the studio albums and always wondered why the Buzzcocks were considered punk, listen to this and it will all make sense."