Mogwai - Special Moves

Ah, the live album. So many classics exist in this particular field that many modern bands have struggled to put together live albums that do their work justice. And when I say classics, we're talking mostly in terms of "classic" rock as well - Nirvana's Unplugged, Thin Lizzy's Live and Dangerous etc. etc. A few modern bands have taken them on, notably My Morning Jacket with their epic Okonokos set and Sigur Ros with the film related Hvarf/Heim album, but it would be a stretch to place these albums as "essential" releases.

Mogwai also fit this release to a live film, entitled Burning, but have elected instead to select a different tracklist for the CD release. Hardly surprising, for a band so centred on making albums in this modern patienceless musical landscape. On a full listen, the most obvious thing is the sense of progression the band have clearly aimed for through the course of the record. Opening with the slow burning double of I'm Jim Morrison, I'm Dead and Friend Of The Night, and shifting through the gears to culminate in the punishing one-two of Like Herod and a pummeling version of Glasgow Mega-Snake, this release could serve as a gentle introduction to a new listener, saving the harsher material for the end of the LP.

It's interesting to note the fact that the last Mogwai album, The Hawk Is Howling, was their first entirely instrumental effort. The few songs here which do feature vocals, such as the gorgeous, robotic melodies on Hunted By A Freak, are some of the strongest efforts in Mogwai's catalogue. Mogwai are also constantly accused of being that "quiet - loud -quiet -loud" band, but the glorious epics 2 Rights Make 1 Wrong and Mogwai Fear Satan rely solely on their simple, gliding tunes instead of constant shifts in dynamics.

These are some of the strongest versions of Mogwai's songs heard to date, especially compared to the Government Commissions set released a few years back, mainly as that was a straightforward collection of session tracks. When compiled with such care and recorded to capture the band in full live flow, this ranks as a strong demonstration of a band at the height of their live powers.

9/10