Alive in America on CD

In 1979, Graham Parker was at the peak of his powers-a top selling album with Squeezing Out Sparks, and several tours into his association with the Rumour, one of the best live bands of the 70s. This show from Denver hits all the great moments from the aforementioned album, as well as tunes from previous albums, and each and every one of them sounds better in this iteration than they did in the studio.

Bob Andrews's keyboards lend piano flourishes to songs, Brinsley Schwarz is at his best on lead guitar, Bodnar and Goulding keep things pinned down nicely, and Martin Belmont's second guitar provides the perfect backing for Brinsley to do his thing.

And then there's Parker himself. His songs, always urgent, gain even more immediacy in this setting... every song seems to be a matter of life and death to Parker. From sharp to soft to full throated, you'll never hear Parker sing better than this.

This album is electric in all the right ways. You hear every word, every syllable of GP's