The Nomads - Made in Japan (Recorded in Sweden)

Yes, one more from the Nomads - for now, anyway. This mid-90's release showed that the guys had a sense of humor as they ripped off the classic Deep Purple cover for this Japanese release or a live album

recorded in the home Sweden. 1+2 Records was putting out some fine product for a while there (including my former band, the Alter Egos), though I've lost touch with them since.

This live set covers their heavy punk'n'roll material from their then-current albums (I don't have them in front of me so I'm forgetting what songs are from what albums right now) - like "Bad Vibes", "Primordial Ooze" (I'm assuming influenced by the Unclaimed album) and the riff-tastic "Surfin' in the Bars" - and updating old covers like "Five Years Ahead of my Time". There's the drivin' "Better Off Dead", the cool start'n'stop of "I Don't Know/I Don't Care", their take on Andy Shernoff's amazing "16 Forever" (they recorded a studio version of this for a single, as I recall), a vicious, even more atonal (but maintaining the cool licks/leads) "Fan Club" (Damned) then back to their own material for the blistering and self-explanatory "Wasn't Born to Work".

They go back to their beginnings for "Bangkok" and a Motorhead-ized blast-through of "Real Gone Lover". I always dug their wild'n'heavy reading of Link Wray's "Fire and Brimstone" and they take the Lyres' fairly mellow and innocuous "She Pays the Rent" and turn it into a monster rock'n'roll anthem. From here they move into their own "Blind Spot", then a smokin' "Rat Fink a Boo Boo", a cover of the Boys' tribute to the Ramones, "TCP" and then a finale of the Peter Case/Jeffrey Lee Pierce "Call of Your Dogs".

Again, I've been a fan of these boys for decades and dig damn near everything I've heard, so take this as you will, but this is a hot set of some great material played with fierceness and plenty of energy. Well worth it!