Original album cover and UK alternative album cover
The King Biscuit Flower Hour album is a live recording of 14 Tracks by the Alarm recorded at The Metro, Boston, USA on 29th June 1983. It also includes a bonus interview with Mike Peters. The album was released in the USA as a CD in May 1999 on the King Biscuit Flower Hour Records label, catalogue number B00000I9E1 and in the UK on King Biscuit Flower Hour Records, catalogue number KBFHCD028
Track listing
For Freedom
Marching
Reason 41
Up For Murder
The Deceiver
The Stand
Blaze Of Glory
Third Light
Tell Me
Across The Border
Sixty Eight Guns
Unsafe Building
Marching On
We Are The Light
Bonus Interview
Press Release
The new live album “King Biscuit: The Alarm” is now available and it is Brilliant!!!!The album contains 14 tracks recorded live by The Alarm in 1983, at The Paradise in Boston MA. This is a MUST for any Alarm fan. The Album chronicles The Alarm in their early days. It is better than most any bootleg album I have ever heard. You can buy it at your local store, or order it on the net from (Steve Fulton)
Web Site Review (Steve Fulton)
King Biscuit: The Alarm – 1999 King Biscuit Records
There has always been a huge gap in album catalog from the Welsh band The Alarm: a scorching live album. Sure, the band recorded two of the best rock albums of the 80’s (1984’s Declaration and 1985’s Strength), but hearing The Alarm “in-the-studio” was only half the story. In it’s time The Alarm’s live performances were nothing short of legendary. They didn’t merely “take-the-stage” but more accurately “held it hostage”, blasting their unique mix of acoustic guitars, stomping rhythms, and fiery vocals to a frantic and amazed audience left gasping for breathe and screaming for more. The band released an the E.P. in 1988 called Electric Folklore: Live, but that 6 song disappointment did more to show how The Alarm’s troubles as unit in the late 80’s than display their sheer magnificence as a live band
Now, in 1999, 8 years after then band broke up, King Biscuit Flower Hour has released a live album that should fill the live-album gap, and at the same time, finally secure The Alarm as one of the 80’s most underrated bands. Recorded in late 1983 at The Paradise Theatre, Boston MA, “King Biscuit: The Alarm” is a marvelous testament to The Alarm as a band who were song-writers and performers at heart, as well talented musicians. The album begins with an outstanding version of For Freedom from The Alarm E.P. and doesn’t let up until the bands strums the final chords of the beautiful We Are The Light from the Declaration album. King Biscuit included the full-set, nothing has been edited or deleted. Only a couple of the band’s well-known hits were written in 1983 (Sixty Eight Guns, The Stand), so the set is filled with sparkling performances of songs that were buried on albums, or very early singles. This is a great advantage, because it proves that The Alarm were not only a very unique band with many varied influences, but also were more than the anthem-spouting rabble-rousers the music press dismissed them as in the 80’s. Diversity is really the key to the success of this album. Not only are the songs multi-faceted, but so are the musicians. Mike Peters sings lead vocals on nine of the fourteen tracks, but guitarist Dave Sharp takes the lead with four stunning performances (including brilliant versions of Tell Me and Across The Border), and even bassist Eddie MacDonald belts out his “unknown soldier” epic, Third Light. The two best tracks are the emotional sizzler Blaze Of Glory, and the storming rocker Unsafe Building, the first song The Alarm ever recorded
The only fault I can find with the album is that the well-known songs sound rather tepid compared their recorded counterparts. Even this is understandable however, as these are merely early versions of songs that would one-day become classics. Also, because the album includes the full set from the show in contains two versions of Marching On. It seems odd, but since the song is amazing, it takes nothing away from the the performance
After the show concludes, the listener in treated to very good, recent interview with Alarm front-man Mike Peters. The 10 minute segment includes some hilarious and interesting insight from Mike Peters photographic memory of Alarm history
As live show, this CD is highly entertaining. As a historic document it provides amazing insight into one of the 80’s best bands. As an album it is thoroughly enjoyable and gets my highest recommendation
(Page updated 10/03/2024)