“To me, live albums have always been the quintessential corner stone for any rock band’s catalog. I grew up on Aerosmith’s ‘A Little South of Sanity,’ AC/DC’s ‘LIVE,’ The Stones’ ‘Get Your Ya-Ya’s Out,’ and Zeppelin’s ‘How the West Was Won.’ There’s something beautiful about a band’s unbridled live energy mixed with an audience’s excitement that breathes new life into songs. The guys in the band and I have long been told ‘your records are awesome, but you’re even better live,’ and I think that sentiment comes across loud and clear on ‘Mayhem & Revelry.” – Marc LaBelle
I love that quote from Marc for two reasons, the first and most important to me is that he’s absolutely right about live records, but there’s also the fact that the records he names belie the relative youth of the band. I myself grew up on Aerosmith’s ‘Live Bootleg’, AC/DC’s ‘If You Want Blood’, Zeppelin’s ‘The Song Remains The Same’, as well as Thin Lizzy’s ‘Live and Dangerous’ and UFO’s ‘Strangers in the Night’. (Strangely The Rolling Stones ‘Get Your Ya-Ya’s Out’ is the constant).
As someone who has been listening with wonder since that first EP dropped, and who was lucky enough to catch them live back in April last year I can attest that even struggling with laryngitis (as he was in Melbourne) Marc Labell just may be one or Hard Rock’s best vocalists, certainly one of the best of the modern day. What grabs you about this record from the off is the clarity. The vocals stand out nice and proud in the mix, but the guitar might even just steal the show. And man those bass and drums sound great. It’s a record where the mix is just right and it seems to drop you right in the room. That mix for me is the key here: it sounds unadorned, raw and welcomingly in your face: and that of course is where Dirty Honey sound their best.
SIDE ONE (NORTH AMERICA)
Opening the record with huge riff of their first single from their second album ‘Won’t Take Me Alive’ we’re right out of the traps and into a world of Aerosmith funkiness and Rock and Roll abandon that perfectly encapsulates the strides the band made musically between albums. It sounds so free and so natural – teh sound of a band who knows who they are and where they want to go. That solid start is consolidated by the huge live one-two of ‘California Dreamin’’ (Great solo John) and ‘Heartbreaker’ which are almost indivisible in any Dirty Honey live set. And it’s that opening salvo that sets the tone for the record which is remarkably for any band with just the two records and an E.P. under their collective belts ‘All-killer-no-filer’. If you’re not hooked by now then you’re no musical brother or sister of mine…
The first ‘North American’ side of the record consists of live staples with 5 of the songs in the ‘Dirty Honey Live Top 10’ and the remainder following closely behind. It’s a side that is solid as a rock and delivered with abandon and interestingly closes (as does the ‘European’ side) with a couple of extended workouts. ‘Dirty Mind’ (which references being ‘new’ so presumably dates back to a 2023 date) is a little dirtier, a little bluesier, and has a great breakdown; and the first album stomp and groove of ‘Tied Up’ is just great Rock and Roll.
The real change of pace comes with the wonderful ballad ‘Coming Home (Ballad Of The Shire)’ which shows that real depth with its “blue sky” acoustic guitar and a vocal that has more than enough power to feel that Zeppelin echo through the decades. It’s a beautiful song and one that is even more perfect live than it was on the record. It’s the extended workouts that close the album though that show you why Dirty Honey is so essential to see live.
First there’s the roars from the crowd for the first bars of ‘Another Last Time’ – a song that just has your drifting on the melody and is one of my absolute favourites live. It’s a huge sing-along moment and as timeless as it is beautiful. And we close wonderfully with ‘Rollin’ 7’s’ one of Dirty Honey’s biggest songs. Here it crawls along wonderfully, infused with funk and swagger before easing back then rolling again into a Hard Rocking crescendo. Namechecking Canada you presume it was recorded at one of the 2022 dates meaning that a lot of this material is a good few years old.
Sonically we’re sounding great and we’re only half way!
SIDE TWO (EUROPE)
With that much fire upfront the ‘European Side’ is a little different in that it features a few lesser played tracks and omits a few that I was sure would be there (but more of that later). Side two opens with ‘Can’t Find The Brakes’ and when you read down the tracklist the record as a whole has more of a feel of two shorter shows than of one complete set, making two pretty perfect sides of vinyl.
‘Can’t Find the Brakes’ of course is a storming song and picks up the pace with a driving beat, funked up bass and crashing guitar. It’s the start of run of songs that really spells out not only who the band are but what they can do. ‘Satisfied’ for example sounds like a bonafide lost classic from the mid 70’s with a soaring melodic chorus to seal the deal and is surprisingly not a set regular. ‘Roam’ has had even less of a look in as far as live outings go and it’s a song I adore. In my review of the second record I said that it “ just might be this album’s crowning glory starting out low key and building to a crescendo by way of a slow lilting ballad that swells and spikes full of passion and emotion, it’s stunning.” I can confirm that live is sounds astonishingly good.
‘The Wire’ sounds huge as it always does and ‘Don’t Put Out the Fire’ keeps the groove going but it’s the closers that are inescapable. ‘Scars’ sounds huge and sees all the band firing on all cylinders during the elongated jam: but when they play ‘When I’m Gone’ which starts with a searing solo by John before the rest of the band join him jumping into that huge groove, it reminds me of seeing them back in Melbourne Australia and realizing how huge this band deserve to be. Dirty Honey is a band who hasn’t recorded a bad song and if you’ve seen them in concert you’ll know. If you haven’t been acquainted yet then this is a hefty live record to whet the appetite.
‘You Make It All Right’ is an interesting choice to close the record as a whole. I remembering hearing the song the first time I played ‘Can’t Find The Brakes’ and being completely taken by it. On that record it has some wonderful swelling keys and a real soulful vocal. Here ‘live’ and without those keys it refocuses on John Notto’s mesmerizing guitar. I was always surprised it had been played so few times live but here it sounds to me like a perfect way to close.
Like many cherished live records were back in the day, this is an album cobbled together from various performances in both the U.S. and Europe (though sadly none from Australia the only other continent they have played so far). Thankfully it doesn’t sound like a patchwork/ Sonically it is remarkably cohesive, a whilst the setlist itself has never been played live before I’d love to see this live as it appears her somewhere down the line.
Like any live recording though there will be songs you love that didn’t make the cut. I was surprised that staples like ‘Break You’, and ‘Down The Road’ weren’t on here, even ‘Gypsy’ I thought might make the set. The biggest surprise though was the omission of the Zeppelin riff and Plant-like vocal that drive ‘Get a Little High,’ a fun strutting rocker that busts into a huge chorus. It’s a huge song, great fun and it’s inescapable live. But hey, that’s splitting hairs surely?
As live albums go this just may be my favourite of the millennium so far. Is it up there with the greats of yesteryear? Well it might well be soon, only time will tell. In the meantime just sit back and enjoy a world class band at the top of their game.
9 / 10
‘Mayhem & Revelry (Live)’ is available everywhere now! LISTEN AND BUY HERE!
Side A – North America
Won’t Take Me Alive | California Dreamin’ | Heartbreaker | Dirty Mind | Tied Up | Coming Home | Another Last Time | Rolling 7’s |
Side B – Europe
Can’t Find The Brakes | Satisfied | Roam | The Wire | Don’t Put Out The Fire | Scars | When I’m Gone | You Make It All Right
