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“Ginger gave me two instructions: “Loud guitars and loud crowd”….I didn’t have a choice in either as that’s what was captured during the recording” – producer Dave Draper
Bastard Facebook memories. Rubbing it in every day with reminders that on this day, whatever year it was, that you were at a gig. Zuckerberg and his algorithms can take a flying fuck. Post after post coming back to haunt you years later when the gig scene is non-existent. It’s got to the stage as soon as the notification comes through, it gets ignored straight away. And how many of these memories involved The Wildhearts? Quite a few it would seem.
With the release of the ‘Renaissance Men’ album last year, The Wildhearts proved precisely why they are still the most vital band that the UK has produced in decades. While other bands opted for apathy, The Wildhearts went for the sledgehammer effect, and with the fab four of Ginger, CJ, Ritch, and Danny back together again, the live shows that followed were explosive. A live album was surely a given, and fans’ prayers were answered with the announcement of ‘30 Year Itch’. At this point, special mention has to go to Round Records for making the entire album available as an upfront download to everyone who pre-ordered, and looking at all the smiling faces on Twitter, quite a few people did. The gatefold LP version is absolutely gorgeous by the way.
So then, if you have caught The Wildhearts live since May 2019 then chances are that ‘Dislocated’ opened the show. And it is this snarling, foaming-at-the-mouth beastie that kicks off 17-tracks of mayhem that spark so many memories of being squashed up on the barrier screaming “…don’t leave me, don’t leave me…baby don’t leave me alone…” at the top of one’s lungs and caring not a jot what others thought. Starting a gig with a new track is always a risky move, but considering that ‘Renaissance Men’ was THE album of 2019 (and, whisper it, hasn’t been bettered in 2020), then new material was welcomed with open arms, and pint glasses raised. Especially the pulsating ‘Diagnosis’ with its Quo-meets-Motorhead power-packed punch and the live version included here is bloody stunning, ditto ‘Let ‘Em Go’, classic Wildhearts tracks which prove that they really do still make like them like that these days.
Expertly produced by Dave Draper, ‘30 Year Itch’ is a full-throttle romp through the enviable back catalogue of a band at the top of their game some 30 years after their first time around. How can you listen to ‘Everlone’ and ‘Suckerpunch’ and not break out the air drums? Draper has it so that you feel that you are sitting alongside Ritch Battersby as he lives up to the first syllable of his surname and batters the living shit out of his kit. Damn, he sounds fucking incredible. As does his bandmates. There is something special about Ginger with CJ and Danny at his side, and Ritch at his back. Hard to explain. But you need to witness it to understand it. Setlist wise; the album dips in and out of “greatest hits” bangers like ‘TV Tan’; ‘Vanilla Radio’ (”… Where’s my Elvis…”); a stupendous, uplifting version of ‘Sick Of Drugs’ where, if the crowd doesn’t make your arm hairs stand on end, then you need to check your pulse; ‘Caffeine Bomb’, and of course ‘I Wanna Go Where The People Go’. Mixed in alongside these staples are choice cuts like ‘Anthem’; ‘The Jackson Whites’; ‘Urge’ (Danny’s bass – oh my giddy Aunt!) and ‘Someone Who Won’t Let Me Go’ – something for everyone really.
“As far as I’m concerned this is a classic album by a unique band playing timeless songs that don’t fit into any established genre. Is it rock? Is it punk? Who cares, it’s The Wildhearts.” – Ginger Wildheart
Can’t really top Ginger’s quote, so why bother? File under “essential listening”.
Available 4th December on Round Records, more information here. And while you are in the mood to drop some coin, check out the pre-sale on CJ’s new album, here.
Also, check out Ritch on the brand spanking new track from Grand Theft Audio, here.
Review – Dave
