I have to be honest and say I do not know much about The Aliens. The apparently had a brush with fame in the 2000’s as a somewhat reformed Beta Band minus Steve Mason. I can’t find any information on where this live concert was recorded or when only that it was beamed down from a moonbase. They do however say “goodnight London” and that “Newcastle can sing better than this” This beautiful 2LP set was recently released on Drone Rock Records.on transparent blue (disc 1) and transparent yellow (disc 2)
Blending mixtures of folk, electronics and psych I can best describe this release as somewhat of a blend of The Damned, The Stranglers and Classic Rock, maybe a touch of Floyd in there. The first five tracks pretty much run in this vein. But starting with “Billy Jack”, which would have fit in pretty well as a rocking 70’s tune, things start to get funky. Robot adds a bit more funky with the keys, bass and piano bringing a much more rock feel. The Happy song is a glorious Elton John style romp. The album close with the 8:30 Rox which is a bit of a medley bringing back parts or Robot Man and Helter Skelter. Overall this is an outstanding live LP and I would classify it as an excellent party album. It really has a somewhat festive feel to it. Check out the leadoff track Setting Sun, which is a real rocker, below.
