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I saw The Boomtown Rats at the isle of Wight Festival. I thought the set was out of this world. I've been looking at the full setlists for longer performances and really the set seems perfect. Well done!
I saw The Boomtown Rats at the isle of Wight Festival. I thought the set was out of this world. I've been looking at the full setlists for longer performances and really the set seems perfect. Well done!
It's pretty good, but not quite perfect. For a start, it's an hour too short Any non-festival set should have the eight top twenty singles, as well as Joey and Eva Braun. So that only leaves about 6-8 songs to select if they play for the standard hour and a half.
I'd prefer Don't Believe What You Read to Having My Picture Taken, and would like to hear Blind Date, Do The Rat, Living In An Island, Barefootin', House on Fire and Kicks. I also think Dave should get an airing.
But all in all, just some tinkering for the odd gig rather than wholesale changes.
I'd agree on the 8 Top 20 singles (why Banana Republic left out?) but would prefer Picture to Don't Believe. Also think Keep it Up would be great and Drag me Down & Dave from the last album.
Would go with Elephant's Graveyard over House on Fire if both not possible and Hurt Hurts. Apart from first verse amnesia, Graveyard from Hurtwood came over very well I thought on You Tube and I have long believed the chart position of this song (26) bears nowhere near enough relation to how good it is.
Agree Joey & Eva Braun essential.
Do The Rat over The Boomtown Rats any day of the week.
I'd agree on the 8 Top 20 singles (why Banana Republic left out?) but would prefer Picture to Don't Believe. Also think Keep it Up would be great and Drag me Down & Dave from the last album.
Would go with Elephant's Graveyard over House on Fire if both not possible and Hurt Hurts. Apart from first verse amnesia, Graveyard from Hurtwood came over very well I thought on You Tube and I have long believed the chart position of this song (26) bears nowhere near enough relation to how good it is.
Agree Joey & Eva Braun essential.
Do The Rat over The Boomtown Rats any day of the week.
I think Up All Night and Never In A Million Years might make good additions. I have to be careful what I wish for because Geldof too often seems less than familiar with the intricacies of his own songs. You just have to listen back to Diamond Smiles from Hurtfield to see why the record is way better-same for a lot of the live versions.
He also got the lyrics of Elephants Graveyard mixed up at Ifield, and sang the 'sun shines bright, twenty four hour night' last verse as verse two. Ok minor quibbles when you are in the presence of greatness. Live versions are always hit and miss for me, they are never consistent.
The consensus amongst the regular posters is that The Boomtown Rats is substandard. Maybe if it was just a bona fide chant to encourage the audience, it would be ok, but the verses are pretty mundane, and it's not too clear what the song is about. Do The Rat is infinitely better, and beggars the question why it has never been played, by the reformed band, or by Garry and Simons outfit?
My choice from In The long Grass would be A Hold Of Me, with Drag Me Down an option also. Lets hope the October tour means the airing of some new songs. BTR and his partner(I think) mentioned that they had heard another new song that sounded like a Bob solo track (At Chagstock).
-- Edited by noelindublin on Tuesday 30th of July 2013 12:13:43 PM
The consensus amongst the regular posters is that The Boomtown Rats is substandard....
... Do The Rat is infinitely better, and beggars the question why it has never been played, by the reformed band, or by Garry and Simons outfit?
I can't say for sure if it is good, bad or indifferent as I only really heard it in Cork and it was at the end of the night. My feeling is it wasn't that good, but then I never thought much of Mondays when I first heard it...
... I suspect the reason it hasn't been played for many a year (not sure it has been played live since 1978) is that it is more of a novelty song, and I suspect the band want to be taken seriously. Do The Rat was pretty good live and had the audience participation aspect that can go down well at a gig. And with only six or seven tracks to play with, I'd be surprised if Do The Rat made an appearance.
noelindublin wrote:...hope the October tour means the airing of some new songs.
There might be one or two changes, but having only played one proper date so far, I think they will play the Cork set will be pretty representative of what will be played on the tour. I suspect the double Dublin date would be most likely for a try out of something, but after that I'd expect the set to be more or less set in stone.
noelindublin wrote:...hope the October tour means the airing of some new songs.
There might be one or two changes, but having only played one proper date so far, I think they will play the Cork set will be pretty representative of what will be played on the tour. I suspect the double Dublin date would be most likely for a try out of something, but after that I'd expect the set to be more or less set in stone.
Maybe if the band writes a new song they think is really good, and will stand up to a live airing, then they will go with that. I only bang on about new songs because I have been listening to the old stuff for so long. I am more fascinated by what new direction the band may take.
Has Banana Republic been played in any of the recent gigs? I thought it might be being left out on purpose and that's why 8 top twenty singles mentioned.
Agree off V Deep that Million Years and Up All Night would sound great. Always had a soft spot for He Watches It All as well, which I think would have made a far better single than Charmed Lives. I've seen Talking in Code done live and there always seems to be an extra verse thrown in.
Has Banana Republic been played in any of the recent gigs? I thought it might be being left out on purpose and that's why 8 top twenty singles mentioned.
Agree off V Deep that Million Years and Up All Night would sound great. Always had a soft spot for He Watches It All as well, which I think would have made a far better single than Charmed Lives. I've seen Talking in Code done live and there always seems to be an extra verse thrown in.
Banana Republic has been played everywhere except Isle of Wight (and maybe Seenland).
He Watches It All is the best track on V Deep, and definitely in my top ten Rats songs, but they never played it live as far as I know.
Thankfully Banana Republic has been shortened from the ten minute plus jamming session Geldof solo used to indulge in. Versions at Cork, Ifield and Devon are now much more like the record. And all the better for that.
Re Talking In Code: the version on V Deep had lyrics printed on the album sleeve that were not sung on the actual track:
And then if A = BSometimes what you say isn't all that it seemsAnd if C = 3Inscrutable view with a new slant on thingsAh semaphore girlI love the taste of you dressed up in greenBut you're talking in codeI don't understand but I won't make a sceneCos when you....etc.
Wonder why this verse was not included on original album? Maybe it would have made the song too long, but I doubt it. I've always liked To The Bitter End, but people just don't seem to get Geldof's weary, resigned cynicism. I quite like it!
V Deep is full of very competent Rats tracks, and for me the whole is more than the sum of its parts.
-- Edited by noelindublin on Wednesday 31st of July 2013 12:41:18 PM
Has Banana Republic been played in any of the recent gigs? I thought it might be being left out on purpose and that's why 8 top twenty singles mentioned.
Agree off V Deep that Million Years and Up All Night would sound great. Always had a soft spot for He Watches It All as well, which I think would have made a far better single than Charmed Lives. I've seen Talking in Code done live and there always seems to be an extra verse thrown in.
Banana Republic has been played everywhere except Isle of Wight (and maybe Seenland).
He Watches It All is the best track on V Deep, and definitely in my top ten Rats songs, but they never played it live as far as I know.
And then if A = BSometimes what you say isn't all that it seemsAnd if C = 3Inscrutable view with a new slant on thingsAh semaphore girlI love the taste of you dressed up in greenBut you're talking in codeI don't understand but I won't make a sceneCos when you....etc
Wonder why this verse was not included on original album?
Probably sounded too much like Stage one mathematics. Or just plain old rubbish.
V Deep is full of very competent Rats tracks, and for me the whole is more than the sum of its parts.
I have the opposite view. It has some very good tracks dragged down by some pretty poor tracks. I was listening to it in the car the other day waiting outside another kid's party. But just as I started to enjoy it suddenly something like Charmed Lives, Talking In Code, The Little Death or Skin on Skin crashes in and ruins it. Up All Night, House on Fire and especially He Watches It All all stand up well in isloation and The Bitter End and A Storm Breaks also more than make the grade.
And then if A = BSometimes what you say isn't all that it seemsAnd if C = 3Inscrutable view with a new slant on thingsAh semaphore girlI love the taste of you dressed up in greenBut you're talking in codeI don't understand but I won't make a sceneCos when you....etc
Wonder why this verse was not included on original album?
Probably sounded too much like Stage one mathematics. Or just plain old rubbish.
V Deep is full of very competent Rats tracks, and for me the whole is more than the sum of its parts.
I have the opposite view. It has some very good tracks dragged down by some pretty poor tracks. I was listening to it in the car the other day waiting outside another kid's party. But just as I started to enjoy it suddenly something like Charmed Lives, Talking In Code, The Little Death or Skin on Skin crashes in and ruins it. Up All Night, House on Fire and especially He Watches It All all stand up well in isloation and The Bitter End and A Storm Breaks also more than make the grade.
I think Talking In Code and Skin On Skin are pretty good. It's remarkable, for me anyway, but the vast, vast majority of the Rats songs , I have always liked. I can count on one finger the number of their songs I actively dislike. Maybe that's why I so look forward to any new album-the Rats together have some strange magic going that is pretty unique, to my ears anyway. Must have been specially designed to suit my temperament.
I have the opposite view. It has some very good tracks dragged down by some pretty poor tracks. I was listening to it in the car the other day waiting outside another kid's party. But just as I started to enjoy it suddenly something like Charmed Lives, Talking In Code, The Little Death or Skin on Skin crashes in and ruins it. Up All Night, House on Fire and especially He Watches It All all stand up well in isloation and The Bitter End and A Storm Breaks also more than make the grade.
I think Talking In Code and Skin On Skin are pretty good. It's remarkable, for me anyway, but the vast, vast majority of the Rats songs , I have always liked. I can count on one finger the number of their songs I actively dislike.
Talking In Code and Skin On Skin aren't songs I dislike in the same way as say Another Piece of Red or Charmed Lives, but are songs I don't really care too much for. They are probably half decent B-sides, but neither would be essential listening. If side one of the album had been Up All Night, House on Fire, He Watches It All, The Bitter End and A Storm Breaks, the other side would probably never have got played again. You could probably do likewise with Mondo Bongo. Two albums with great songs, but too many mediocre and poor ones dragging them down.
There isn't a bad song on the first four albums,its only the fifth,I'd listen to anything from the first four,Another Piece of Red live is the nuts,.
The Rats just Rock For me,play anything..
Never liked the Bitter End particularly but do like Skin on Skin and Talking in Code is reasonable. Funny how different songs grab us all differently. I empathise with Noel's comments and have often felt there must be something about me that makes me like virtually everything they have ever done. I find Geldof's voice particularly captivating and expressive in ways other singers have not achieved. Just a handful of songs really disappoint me which is not bad going out of the dozens written. 2 of them are on V Deep. Still now, I will put on an album and hear something I hadn't noticed before.
The other day I fancied changing one Greatest Hits cd for another for the car and went with the green and pink 10 track one which may be a Columbia release version for the US - it's still in the car now and pouring with rain so not going to look for it - but basically, I could not believe how different Elephants Graveyard sounded to the Loudmouth version I had been listening to for weeks. What's that about - it must have been recorded differently or something, or less treble, more bass or whatever...I've noticed this kind of thing before. On certain Cds, the initial drum beats on SLAY will make my car speaker rattle and on another, it will cope with it no bother.
In the late 80s/early 90s, I had an Aiwa stereo tape to tape affair with vocal fade (bit of a karaoke gimmick). It suppressed the vocals but didn't get rid of them totally but nevertheless made for some interesting Rats recordings and brought instruments to the fore in ways I had not noticed before. The track it dealt with best was Banana Republic which became virtually an instrumental!
Any non-festival set should have the eight top twenty singles, as well as Joey and Eva Braun. So that only leaves about 6-8 songs to select if they play for the standard hour and a half. 
