An in-concert companion to 1981's Phenomenal Rise of Richard Strange studio album, The Live Rise was, in fact, recorded several months earlier, when Strange visited New York for a fall 1980 residency at Hurrahs. There, a stage show which had already taken the London underground by storm was honed into more or less its final shape -- just three tracks from Live Rise would not make it onto the studio set: I Make Plans, The Hero Runs Away, and "Preplay." Five more would receive just the minimum of tinkering. Compared to the slick studio versions, the performances here are very rough. Strange was appearing alone on stage, accompanied by backing tapes recorded earlier in the U.K., and sometimes it shows; the impact of I Won't Run Away, one of the most emotional songs in the entire cycle, is seriously lessened by its ramshackle appearance. What the songs lack in polish, however, they more than gain in energy. The opening The Phenomenal Rise of Richard Strange, emerging from a prerecorded snatch of antique Mack the Knife, has a martial brutality utterly at odds with the acoustic guitar with which it leads, while Gutter Press has an almost punk rock freneticism. It's also interesting to note the revisions which Strange was still making to the melodies and arrangements -- On Top of the World is noticeably different to its later incarnation. International Language, on the other hand, utilizes the taped backing track previously used for his first solo single and, as such, is already nigh on perfect. In essence, Live Rise stands more as a curio to be filed alongside its studio incarnation than as an album in its own right. But that is not to decry either the strength of the material or the importance of the show itself. Strange may not have been the first rock performer to take the stage with his entire backing band on tape, but he was the first to make a virtue of it. Come in and hear history being born! ~ Dave Thompson, Rovi

1		The Phenomenal Rise of Richard Strange
2		On Top of the World
3		I Make Plans
4		The Hero Runs Away
5		International Language
6		Gutter Press
7		Preplay
8		I Won't Run Away

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