Live (The Smithereens EP)

Live
EP (live)by The Smithereens
Released	January 1988 [1]
Recorded	October 1986
Venue	The Ritz, New York City
Genre	Rock
Length	24:39
Label	Restless Records
The Smithereens chronology
Especially for You (1986) Live (1988) Green Thoughts (1988)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[3]

Live is a live EP by the Smithereens, released in 1988 by Restless Records. ^{[4] [5]} It was the first release in the Restless Performance Series, which was initiated in January 1988, releasing CD-only live recordings. ^[1] The EP contains six songs from a show recorded in October 1986 for MTV's "Live from The Ritz" concert series. ^[2]

The EP was reissued for digital download in September 2011 as New York City 1986 with the same track listing. ^[6]

Critical reception

Trouser Press wrote that "the six selections (a perfect cover of the Who’s "The Seeker" joins the group’s own tunes) [are] flawless, the performance crisp and exciting." ^[4] AllMusic felt that the EP "preserves the band in top form, with Pat DiNizio's vocals boasting a tougher edge than he displays in the studio and Jim Babjak's guitar gaining some additional on-stage crunch." They commented that the EP is likely to be appreciated by fans only, but also shows why the Smithereens were "a potent live attraction." ^[2]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Pat DiNizio, except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Blood and Roses"		5:42
2.	"Behind the Wall of Sleep"		3:20
3.	"Beauty and Sadness"		4:12
4.	"Alone at Midnight"		3:56
5.	"Strangers When We Meet"		4:10
6.	"The Seeker"	Pete Townshend	3:19

Personnel

The Smithereens

• Pat DiNizio  – vocals, guitar
• Jim Babjak  – guitar, vocals
• Dennis Diken  – drums, vocals
• Mike Mesaros – bass, vocals

Technical

• Susan Myers – front cover photography
• Dennis Diken – liner notes (November 1987)

References

1. De Savia, Tom (July 30, 1988). "Coast to Coast". Cash Box . p. 6. Retrieved June 29, 2021. The series was initiated in January with a Smithereen's live E.P., which made impressive noise within the industry. All "Performance Series" discs are C.D. only, all are live recordings.
2. Deming, Mark. "The Smithereens live - review on AllMusic". Allmusic.com. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
3. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 650.
4. "Smithereens". Trouser Press. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
5. Goldstein, Patrick (June 19, 1988). "Wild Style: While we're rappin', the good..." Los Angeles Times . Retrieved June 29, 2021. Our candidate is Restless Records' unique live CD-only series, which the local label inaugurated earlier this year with "Live" by the Smithereens.
6. "New York City 1986 (Live) - EP". iTunes.apple.com. Retrieved on 11 February 2018.

External links

• Live on Discogs.com. Retrieved on 11 February 2018.