Rockpile recorded their installment of the German TV show Rockpalast in January 1980, a few months before the appearance of their lone LP,
Seconds of Pleasure, but at that point, the quartet were a fixture on the new wave scene, touring constantly and appearing on solo LPs by their co-leaders
Dave Edmunds and
Nick Lowe. All this is a roundabout way of saying that
Rockpile wasn't hurting for material: they drew heavily upon
Edmunds' solo records in particular -- 13 of the songs on this 17-song setlist appeared on one of
Dave's LPs -- interspersing a few rock & roll oldies along with songs from
Nick, plus a showcase for
Billy Bremner. The sound may be slightly hollow -- a curse of live music on television -- but the performance is robust, gaining momentum and verve as it speeds along. The set is very similar to the one chronicled on the 2011 release
Live at Montreux 1980 -- it's from the same year, after all -- but the rawness of
Rockpalast gives it the slight edge.