FM - Tough It Out Live
Album review by; The Dark Cookie
I have to start with a confession, me and the Mrs. have been fans of FM ever since “Indiscreet” came out in in 1986 and have seen them many times in the intervening years from Reading “Rock” Festival (when it did rock!), dodgy sports halls with awful acoustics to small to medium club venues where the band can be seen plying their trade at least once a year in normal circumstances. I’m hoping to see them again in a few weeks at Rock and Blues festival, probably the longest spell in between FM gigs since the band reformed in 2007. And it probably was on the triple header tour back in 2019 where FM, GUN and DAN REED NETWORK went out and performed their 1989 albums in their entirety, in the case of FM their album “Tough It Out”.
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And this my friends is the live album recording that very event. “Tough It Out Live” gives us the album in full, played live by the current iteration of the band and in order, we even get a guest appearance by the much-loved original keyboard man Mr. Didge Digital to boot. Disc 2 gives us a set list of deeper cuts form the bands extensive back catalogue, some of which I don’t recall being played live in a very long time!
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Disc 1 is very easy to summaries, the songs are a familiar and comfortable as a pair of well-worn pair of slippers, delivered by a band so sharp you could cut yourself if not careful, and with the added warmth both the live arena and years of honing their considerable skill can only bring. Too be honest whilst I love the original album it did suffer from the same thing many of their AOR bedfellows did in the era, the good old 80s over-production. Both the fact that Steve Overland’s voice has aged like fine cask kept Whiskey, and the ability to recreate the sound without the fuss give all the songs an extra something.
Now the only gripe, for disc 1 is the faithful recreation of the album, including its track listing. What works on two sides of vinyl doesn’t totally work pacing-wise for a concert, but that is a minor thing, as all these songs are warm and familiar and take us back to that time with ease.
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So, onto disc 2. Again, with the traditional “Mighty” intro we jump into “Digging Up The Dirt” from the “Heroes And Villains” album, as fine example of post return FM, a more mid-paced number, similarly “Tough Love” from “Rockville” exemplifies the light but heavy stylings of FM’s latter period. That said we get the amazing bluesy ballad “Hard Day In Hell” from 92’s “Aphrodisiac”, definitely one that should be in their live set more! And to prove they can really rock, the guys hit us with “Wildside” from “Metropolis”.
I’m not going to list every song and album its from. Its enough to say Disc 2 give the fan enough of an overland, sorry overview of the band’s breadth and style to please. Yes, it isn’t the “Hits” but it is a damn fine collection of songs and makes me want to pull out the originals envelope myself in their warmth. Heck they leave their fine cover of “Heard It Though The Grapevine” till last, which shows off Steve’s pipes and Jim’s chops to their fullest. The guys are touring again next year and we will be down front singing our hearts out! See you there.
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5 out of 5.
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Track listing;
CD1
1. Intro
2. Tough It Out
3. Don’t Stop
4. Bad Luck
5. Someday (You’ll Come Running)
6. Everytime I Think Of You
7. Burning My Heart Down
9. The Dream That Died
10. Obsession
11. Can You Hear Me Calling?
12. Does It Feel Like Love
Feels So Good
CD2
1.Digging Up The Dirt
2.Tough Love
3.Hollow
4.Dangerous
5.Hard Day In Hell
6.Wildside
7.Breathe Fire
8.Only The Strong Survive
9.Blood And Gasoline
10.I Ain’t The One
11.I Heard It Through The Grapevine
Musicians;
Jim Kirkpatrick – guitar
Pete Jupp – drums
Merv Goldsworthy – bass
Steve Overland – vocals & guitar
Jem Davis – keyboards
Social Media Links;
Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/FMofficial
Web; http://www.fmofficial.com/fmofficial/index.html
You Tube; https://www.youtube.com/c/Fmofficial
Twitter; https://twitter.com/FMofficial
Spotify; https://open.spotify.com/artist/3BxngwxP94n0itZ8q1hwf9#_=_