Search - The Alarm :: The Alarm - Greatest Hits Live

Mike Peters could never let go...maybe we should be thankful

02/19/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Odds are that if you're reading this, you need no introduction to the Alarm, a band whose story reads like a Greek tragedy, complete with hubris, meteoric rise and tragic flaw leading to inevitable destruction. The story even includes a character who seems doomed to wander the halls of memory, forever trapped by his own demons. That character is Mike Peters, a man who at some level seems unable to get over his own very public desertion of his band just over a decade ago.In an interview around the time of the release of The Alarm's final album, "Raw," Peters hinted at his displeasure that the band had drifted from his hard core roots. "Raw" was an attempt to re-capture that spirit. But it was already too late: the band had fragmented beyond repair. Mike left the band onstage at Brixton Academy in June 1991. He has since said that he felt an artistic need to make his exit public, because the band always did everything in public, but it seems that he's never quite gotten over the personal shame of what must have seemed like a betrayal of his friends and fellow band members.Peters has an artist's soul that has never quite been matched by an artist's genius. Certainly, Peters' own albums since the demise of the Alarm have been unremarkable. He and the Alarm always seemed to believe that they were something more than what they really were: a fun, energetic band. Alarm interviews (and concerts) were always laced with hyperbolic turns of phrase like "the best album of all time" and homilies about great musicians they had known (or just heard of). It seems that -- either because he feels he's lost his edge or because he must continually apologize for his departure -- Peters must rake over the coals of the past until there is nothing left to rake.This new album is Mike Peters' latest in a continuing effort to keep the spirit of the Alarm alive...through re-releases, concerts, a web site and now the formation of "The Alarm 2000." None of the other band members appears (though he dedicates "One Step Closer to Home" to the others). The songs have the energetic ring that made the Alarm so much fun, that made Peters yearn to return to the original sound, and that first hooked me back at the UCLA concert in '86. In this respect, Greatest Hits Live is a success and any fan of the band would be delighted to hear that old sound one more time. By the same token, there is nothing really new here. If you've heard the Alarm from the "Strength" era, this album will sound familiar. There are no enlightened re-interpretations of the old material, no new tunes, nothing that would make you go out of your way to hear this.But that's something that was always unaccountable about The Alarm, even at the height of their hubris. Even when they weren't doing anything remarkable, their enthusiasm was infectious. Even when they were running out of energy, their energy was captivating. Mike Peters, alone among the band, has clung to this energy and enthusiasm, and that's a virtue impossible to ignore. Bizarrely, while you might find it difficult to recommend this album, it still captures your attention and compels you to listen. After more than ten years, Mike Peters is still going out in a blaze of glory. His hands are still held up high."

The Alarm returns, kind of

12/08/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First thing you should know is that there are no original Alarm members here other than vocalist Mike Peters. If that hasn't made you lose interest, what you will find here are decent and faithful to the original (for the most part) performances of the old Alarm songs. A couple of the tracks, "The Chant has just begun" and "Howling Wind" are just short excerpts of the song.As I said the performances are mostly faithful to the original, but the backing vocals are weak here, and there is no piano, so any piano parts, like the intro to "Spirit of 76" are played without the piano, leaving it sounding a bit lacking.For me, some of the most interesting points are "One step closer to home", because I feel Peters breathes new life into the song. (I don't care much for the Nasally, out-of-tune vocals of Dave Sharp, who sang it on "Eye of the Hurricane"). Also "Unsafe Building" is a mesh of the '81 and '90 versions.This CD really doesn't screem "must own", but it's nice in that it covers much more territory than "Electric Folklore"."

The Alarm continues!

Burritoman "USA" | Pennsylvania | 08/27/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Alarm were one of the very best groups of the '80's, and they seem to belong to that era. It's hard to imagine The Alarm in 2002, but it's sure nice to know that Mike keeps the band alive. And this is as true of an Alarm album as you could ever hope for. If you're in the group of fans that believes The Alarm were every bit as great as U2, then this is a must-have release."