Your Favorite Band: Live
Ealasaid Haas

It's the general consensus among my friends that the Red Elvises are much cooler live than on CD. This is mostly because a significant portion of what makes them so much fun is their stage banter and incredible charisma. Sadly, neither of those come across in a recording. You get the fantastic musical ability and hysterical lyrics, but not the jokes and the vibe.

Well, now one of those two lacks has been remedied!

The latest album from the Elvises, Your Favorite Band Live at the Great American Music Hall was, as the title says, recorded live. Not all of the goofiness made it from the stage into the two CD recording, but enough did to give the feel of what it's like to see the guys live. You don't quite get the vibe, but you get the music, the lyrics, and the jokes. My favorite bit of banter is from the first CD, right before "Scorchi Chorniye." Oleg introduces the song, with Avi making comments in the background:

...very famous Russian gypsy song. It used to be in Russian. The problem is, our drummer doesn't speak Russian. (Avi: I don't speak Russian.) Besides Russian, he doesn't speak German (Avi: nope), Italian (Avi: Ay-talian!), French (Avi: Bonjour!), the list goes on. (Avi: Thank you very much.)...

The songs are a great selection from Surfing in Siberia, I Wanna See You Bellydance, and Better Than Sex. There are also three songs that aren't on any of the other albums! The first, "Telephone Call From Istanbul," is a bizarre, funky little number sung by Oleg. It's slightly surrealistic, and a real kick. "Flaming Cheese" is known to almost anyone who's seen the guys live. It's a medley of Mediterranean tunes, including Havah Nagilah. I defy anyone to sit still while listening to it once it gets rolling! Finally, "Blue Moon" is on the second disc. Hearing this song without being able to see Igor's patented vamping for the crowd is a peculiar experience for one used to seeing that number in concert. Although one can hear the crowd's screams, the song suffers without Igor's hip gyrations and Elvis channeling.

The known and loved songs (a full set list is available over at www.redelvises.com) are in fine form, and it's neat to hear them with different solos and the small changes that are an inevitable part of a live performance. They have a somewhat different feel from the versions on the studio albums, but don't lose an ounce of quality.

Overall, this is a great selection of the Elvises' work, and Your Favorite Band is as close as you can get to a live concert on a CD. It's not quite as mind-blowing as the real thing, but it's definitely very cool.