More than four decades ago, U.K. Subs helped form the foundation of the English punk community. In the decades since, the band has remained a key part of the community, releasing more than 20 albums along the way. Then late in 2022, the band announced it was calling it a career following the release of its final album, Reverse Engineering. That tour is continuing this month, with dates in the Czech Republic, England, The Netherlands, and Germany despite word that allegedly its September 2023 dates at the 100 Club in London were supposed to have been the end of its tour. Speaking of that series of shows at the 100 Club, Cleopatra Records released Friday, the band’s performance at the 100 Club on a two-disc CD/DVD set to serve as a marker for what was supposed to be the end of nearly half a century of U.K. Subs making music. The collection is imperfect but worth hearing at least once. The primary way in which it shows itself worth hearing is its editing and production. This will be addressed shortly. While the production herein helps the presentation, there are also items of concern, not the least of which being the set list. Also of concern is the lack of any liner notes to set the stage for the presentation. This will be examined a little later. These concerns are not enough to doom the recording but certainly do detract from the enjoyment. To that end, there is one more positive, that being the band’s performance. This will also be discussed later. Each item noted here is important in its own way to the whole of the recording. All things considered they make Last Will & Testament of U.K. Subs hardly the best live recording from the famed British punk act, but not its worst, either.
Last Will & Testament of U.K. Subs, the latest live recording from the British punk forebearers (and the band’s 18th live recording) U.K. Subs, is an intriguing new concert recording from the band. It is far from perfect but is still worth experiencing at least once. That is due at least in part to its collective editing and production. Considering that the 100 Club is clearly a very small venue, it would have been so easy for the sound to get so muddied down in itself, but thankfully those who handled the concerts’ sound editing in post-production did an admirable job of balancing the intense instrumentation and vocals in each song. Now give, there are some points at which front man Charlie Harper’s (yes, that’s really his name) band mates, guitarist Steve Straughan and bassist Alvin Gibbs’ vocals do seem rather low when they get to sing in place of Harper. But for the most part, everything is well-balanced. On the same note, the band’s own performance is well-balanced in consideration of the venue and the crowed noise. To that end, that aesthetic element gives audiences at least some reason to take in this concert.
On a similar note, the DVD portion of the concert’s package features well-edited video alongside that audio. Given the tight confines of the intimate club setting, there clearly were not a lot of points for cameras to capture the concert. Somehow though, those behind the lenses managed to capture it from various angles, giving audiences at home the best seat in the house. The cuts between shots captured in post-production do well to show just how packed the house was even for this band, which is one of the most established acts in the British punk scene. All things considered, the work that went into capturing the concert in-house and present it to home viewers is to be commended and creates a positive starting point for the recording.
While the production and editing that went into U.K. Subs’ new live recording gives audiences reason enough to take in the concert, the recording is far from perfect. It comes up short in two aspects, not the least of which being its set list. Over the course of its decades-long life, U.K. Subs released a total of 24 studio albums even among all of its lineup changes. The concert’s set list features 24 songs, too. The problem is that those 24 songs are lifted from a very targeted portion of the band’s catalog. The set list primarily spans the band’s first four albums – Another Kind of Blues (1979), Brand New Age (1980), Diminished Responsibility (1981) and Endangered Species (1982) while also pulling minimally from a small handful of the band’s other albums. Those other albums include 1993’s Normal Service Resumed, 1997’s Quintessentials, 2002’s Universal and the band’s final album, 2022’s Reverse Engineering. In other words, the set list is anything but career-spanning. This is important to note since the band’s shows at the 100 Club were supposed to be the grand finale for the band’s final tour. One would have thought the band would have taken the chance to really present so much more of its catalog and celebrate that collection of music.
Speaking of celebrating the band’s legacy, there are no liner notes to speak of celebrating the band’s legacy. Whether one is a seasoned fan of U.K. Subs or maybe a newcomer, it would have been nice to have had some kind of celebration in terms of at least some history or even a setup for the concert. Sadly though, none of that is presented, as there is not even a companion booklet to accompany the recording. It goes without saying that this definitely detracts from the recording’s presentation, too. Luckily for the band (and for Cleopatra Entertainment) even as concerning as these shortfalls are, they are not enough to doom the recording.
Keeping that in mind, there is at least one more positive to note. That positive is the band’s performance. Considering that Harper will himself soon celebrate his 80th birthday, that means he was 79 years young when the band performed its shows at the 100 Club. Considering his age, he still clearly had plenty of stamina, as he did band mates, who were only slightly younger than him. The band’s energy is constant and stable throughout the course of the 70-minute concert. One can only hope that one will be as spry as Harper and company when they reach that age. Staying on that note, it was interesting to see the energy being given back to the band by its audiences, whose own ages ranged from young to young at heart. That energy, coupled with the positive production and editing, makes for a concert experience that audiences will enjoy for the most part even considering the problems with the set list and the lack of any real tribute to the band’s legacy. All in all, the whole proves itself worth experiencing at least once.
The Last Will & Testament of U.K. Subs, the latest live recording from U.K. Subs, is an interesting presentation that is imperfect but still worth experiencing at least once. It shines in part because of its collective production and editing. At the same time, the lack of any history on the band and the clearly limited set list detracts considerably from its success. Luckily those shortfalls are not enough to doom the recording. The band’s collective performance works with the positive aesthetic impact of the editing and production to give audiences at least some more reason to take in this recording. Each item examined here is important in its own way to the whole of The Last Will & Testament of U.K. Subs. All things considered they make the recording a concert that punk fans will find worth experiencing at least once.
The Last Will & Testament of U.K. Subs is available now through Cleopatra Entertainment. More information on this and other titles from Cleopatra Entertainment is available at:
Website: https://cleopatra-entertainment.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CleopatraEntertainmentEnt
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cleopatra_Ent
More information on the recording is also available along with all of the latest U.K. Subs news at https://www.facebook.com/UKSubs.
