Live albums are rarely necessary; they tend to be
contract-fulfillers, momentum-perpetuators, or tacit admissions of creative
bankruptcy. Even for a powerhouse live band like Oregon's Gossip, Live In
Liverpool
falls squarely into the unnecessary camp. Two years have passed since its last
studio album, Standing In The Way Of Control, which enjoyed surprising
popularity in the UK long after its American release. The title track became a
Top 40 hit across the pond, and the hyperbolic British found a delightful
Yankee curio in frontwoman Beth Ditto: a fat-and-proud lesbian with the
knockout voice of a Pentecostal gospel singer. Unsurprisingly, Liverpool was released in the UK
months before the U.S. The awkward shift in fortunes isn't lost on Gossip,
either. When the crowd sings along to "Coal To Diamonds," Ditto sounds
genuinely surprised: "I can't believe you knew the words to that song! So
weird! But amazing." The crowd remains rapturous throughout the performance,
and anyone who's seen Gossip understands why: Ditto is mesmerizing, the kind of
fiery, immensely talented singer rarely seen in indie rock. Listeners only get
half of it on Live In Liverpool, but the CD comes packaged with a DVD. Regardless,
the live format suits Gossip well; "Yr Mangled Heart" and "Jealous Girls" are
particularly powerful, as is the band's dance-punk reworking of George
Michael's "Careless Whisper." Gossip's success, however late-arriving, is well-deserved.