a l b u m r e v i e w s


ICON / 1984: LIVE BOOTLEG
LABEL: EPILOGUE ENTERTAINMENT
OVERALL: 50%
Produced by: Dan Wexler
  1. Under My Gun
  2. Killer Machine
  3. Burning
  4. (Rock On) Through The Night
  5. Rock & Roll Maniac
  6. Hang Tough
  7. Hold Your Head Up
  8. Hungry For Love
  9. Rock My Radio
  10. World War
  11. Raise The Hammer
  12. Dancing With Danger
  13. On Your Feet
  14. Out For Blood
  15. Hold On Me
  16. Hot Desert Night
ICON came and went before their time.
Their music & style was always a little different than what anyone else was doing.
In fact the band's classic Night Of The Crime album was voted amongst the top releases ever in a Kerrang poll (When the magazine counted for something, at least).
A cult following still surrounds the band and that following is primarily why this live album exists.
The guys never recorded an official live album, but the shear demand for a new Icon release saw the band and management shift through archive bootleg's for material good enough to release.
And 1984: Live Bootleg is the result.
A VHS recording was found of one classic era gig - December 30th, 1984. This is that show, remastered and mixed for it's audio source and released finally this month.
So with that in mind you have to consider the quality of the sound recording and also consider how much of a die hard fan you are!
The album is tagged official bootleg for a reason. The sound is not much better than a good audience recording of any live gig. This is no soundboard master tape!
BOTTOM LINE: If you don't mind the lack of HiFi audio, then this album might be a worthy addition to your Icon collection. The songs are audible and fairly clean sounding - there is none of that usual bootleg distortion, but clearly this is for die hard fans and collectors only.
PRODUCTION: 25%SONGS: 80%VIBE: 50%ATTITUDE: 65%
ESSENTIAL FOR: Die hard fans and collectors only
DISCOGRAPHY:Icon . Night Of The Crime . An Even More Perfect Union . 1984: Live Bootleg

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