The Tubes have released their Mondo Pulp: Live In Europe 2016 to remind us all what we will be getting if we go see the quintet live these days. These two CDs contain tracks from the band’s early days, a smattering of covers and of few of the latter-day hits.
What’s particularly fun about this set is all the different styles the band mange deftly. There are loud instrumental moments, like the rangy guitar opener “Mondoverture,” the slowed down blues read of “Route 66,” and even a true progressive turn on “Up From The Deep.” They manage the beginning of the set with lots of horn, guitar interplay, with an almost a 1950s lounge feel, especially on “You Never Can Tell.” Only the “James Brown Medley” can top that.
The distinctive synth sweep and punky guitar riff of the classic “Mondo Bondage” keeps the band pretty much locked and loaded. There’s a competent stab at Gene Pitney’s “Liberty Valence,” (with Fee Waybill reminding the audience that Burt Bacharach wrote the music) then “White Punks On Dope,” “She’s A Beauty,” and “Talk To Ya Later,” all peppered in to finish the set off.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
