The Wildhearts Strike Back Explained

The Wildhearts Strike Back
Type:live
Artist:The Wildhearts
Cover:TheWildheartsStrikeBack.jpg
Recorded:25 April – 12 May 2004
Length:1:31:00
Label:Gut
Producer:Jase Edwards
Prev Title:Coupled With
Prev Year:2004
Next Title:Geordie in Wonderland
Next Year:2006

The Wildhearts Strike Back is a live album by British rock band The Wildhearts. Recorded at various shows during a UK tour between April and May 2004, it was produced by Jase Edwards and released on 25 October 2004 by Gut Records. The album reached number 18 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart.

Background

The Wildhearts Strike Back is the band's first official live album released in the UK,[1] following 1998's Anarchic Airwaves: The Wildhearts at the BBC, which is considered by the band not to be an official release,[2] and 1999's Tokyo Suits Me, which was released in Japan only.[3] It features recordings taken from a number of shows on a UK tour during April and May 2004, namely at Liquid Room in Edinburgh, Leeds Metropolitan University in Leeds, Rock City in Nottingham, the Carling Academy in Liverpool, The Leadmill in Sheffield, the Hammersmith Palais in London, the Roadmender in Northampton, and The Waterfront in Norwich.[4] The double album was released on CD, enhanced CD and vinyl – the enhanced CD includes the music videos for "Vanilla Radio", "Top of the World", "Stormy in the North, Karma in the South", and "So into You".[3]

Reception

Commercial

The Wildhearts Strike Back registered at number 18 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart.[5]

Critical

The Wildhearts Strike Back received mixed reviews from critics. MusicOMH columnist Vik Bansal described the collection as "better than the majority of live albums you'll come across", but conceded that "the casual fan ... is pretty unlikely to shell out their hard-earned [money] on this".[6] A review published in the Manchester Evening News claimed that "the 2004 tour dates documented on this double disc live album are a worthy illustration of the band's power and abilities", but suggested that "despite the high quality sound recording, most of the songs on The Wildhearts Strike Back suffer due to the neat and tidy way the album is constructed, demeaning the flow of a live concert".[7] Conversely, a writer for the website Punktastic claimed that the use of recordings from multiple live shows "gives the album a better feel for the live experience that The Wildhearts have been famed for during their lengthy existence", concluding that "this is just about everything [the band] could want from a live album".[8]

Personnel

The Wildhearts

Additional personnel

Charts

Chart (2004)!scope="col"
Peak
position
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)18

Notes and References

  1. News: The Wildhearts Strike Back – Live Album . . 16 October 2004 . 17 March 2024 .
  2. Web site: History 1998 . . 17 March 2024 .
  3. Web site: Discography . . 17 March 2024 .
  4. The Wildhearts Strike Back . . 2004 . . 17 March 2024 .
  5. Web site: Wildhearts songs and albums: full Official Chart history . . 17 March 2024 .
  6. Web site: The Wildhearts – The Wildhearts Strike Back . Bansal . Vik . . 25 October 2004 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130619030702/https://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/the-wildhearts-the-wildhearts-strike-back . 19 June 2013 . 17 March 2024 .
  7. Web site: The Wildhearts – The Wildhearts Strike Back (Gut Records) . . 1 November 2004 . 17 March 2024 .
  8. Web site: The Wildhearts – The Wildhearts Strike Back . Mark . Punktastic . 3 November 2004 . 17 March 2024 .