Review Summary: 801 Live is one of the most original and perfectly executed live albums in prog, played by one of the most talented lineups the genre has seen
Right after the legendary band Roxy Music disbanded in 1976, its guitarist Phil Manzanera and keyboardist Brian Eno decided to form a side project with the idea of performing a few live concerts. The band would be called 801 in honor of Eno's song
The True Wheel.
Manzanera and Eno went for Bill MacCormick on the bass (who had played with Manzanera in his Quiet Sun project), Francis Monkman (ex Curved Air) on the keys, the soon to be legendary drummer Simon Phillips and Lloyd Watson on the slide guitar.
801 performed three concerts with their original lineup with the latest one being recorded for a live release.
The LP consists of covers and songs from Manzanera, Eno and Quiet Sun's albums but are played in such a different way that they feel totally new. Probably the best example of this is the cover for The Beatles
Tomorrow Never Knows: One of the strongest points in the album, its synthesizers, pounding bass and echoing vocals give to an already odd song, an experimental yet fresh vibe.
That's one of the most interesting elements about 801 Live. Few albums manage to sound this adventurous while also being eerily calm and soothing. The unpolished vocals,the extremely dexterous bass and many distorted guitar passages create a frenetic and energetic atmosphere, particularly in
Baby's On Fire. But at other moments, with the fantastical work provided by Eno and Monkman on the synths, we can appreciate a spacey vibe just like in
Sombre Reptiles. A good idea of how these two styles blend together perfectly are
Fat Lady of Limbourg (which is enough to make the collectors edition worth getting, since it is a bonus track) or the epic-like
Diamond Head which simply is instrumental bliss.
Of course, a style as rich and diverse as the one in this record needs a production that's on par with its skilled playing. And the truth is that 801 Live's production is by far one of its most remarkable characteristics. It was the most praised aspect of this record back in the day by critics and even today it can be described as just perfect. Live albums tend to have a weaker sound quality that forbids many people to get into them (specially decades ago where there were fewer techniques to achieve a decent sound), but 801 Live was one of the first live albums in which all of the instruments and vocals were fed directly to the mobile studio mixing desk instead of just being recorded via microphones. This "Direct Injection" technique creates such an excellent quality that it rivals even the best produced studio albums out there.
While close to it, 801 Live is not a perfect album. The experimentation in some parts can be just too much, turning into what may be seen as wankery (even if this happens in very few, specific points) and
You Really Got Me while it obviously sounds more interesting than the original version by The Kinks, still feels out of place of a record like this one.
801 Live is the apex of a short lived band which featured one of those filled-with-stars lineups that you just don't see these days. With an original and revolutionary sound and a production that was very influential in the years to come, it is one of the best and most important live albums in the progressive rock genre and a must-have for rock and even electronic music fans.
In 1976 801 were:
Phil Manzanera - Guitar
Lloyd Watson - Slide guitar, vocals
Francis Monkman - Fender Rhodes piano, clavinet
Brian Eno - Keyboards, vocals, synthesizers, guitar
Bill MacCormick - Bass, vocals
Simon Phillips - Drums, rhythm generator
