While not as good as Live (X Cert), this does have some things to recommend it. First, it was recorded a decade down the line and was able to draw from a wellspring of generally excellent material written since X Cert was released. Secondly, at this stage of their career,
the Stranglers remained just about relevant and were still a robust live act, though some
Stranglers fans reacted warily to the presence of brass on favorites such as "Down in the Sewer." So thanks for the live album but no thanks for the awful packaging, intended to cash in on the success of "All Day and All of the Night." The Stranglers' workmanlike hit version of
the Kinks' chestnut is incongruously added to the end of the album. [The 2001 reissue adds eight more songs, including "Shakin' Like a Leaf" and "Nuclear Device."] ~ Alex Ogg