The new disc features clips from an early 2000 performance at The Galaxy Theater out West -- bringin' the "world" closer to home as it were -- actually for those not in the know, "Tubes World Tour" is actually a song from their '76 "Young & Rich" release and is as good a place to start as any.

An outlandishly outspoken introduction is the first sign that something incredibly odd is about to take place… not from an audio perspective necessarily but remember we're talking about a band that had some pretty quirky moves in their day… well the title track sounds surprisingly rich and true to its original form -- great opening and even better follow up -- their biggest hit to date, '83s "She's A Beauty," from the "Outside/Inside" release that saw them break the big time to commercial success only to prophetically drop the "Love Bomb" squarely on their own achievement shortly thereafter. It wasn't a bad album (In fact I'm a little aggravated they didn't include "Piece By Piece" or "Come As You Are" but then, who else would notice?) at that but it did signal the start of their untimely demise for a band that still had plenty left to offer -- it was just that nobody seemed to know what to make of them… or what to do with them.

"Digidoll" is one of two brand new tracks featured here and sounds about as close to vintage Tubes music as anyone would care or admit to remembering. It has that New Wave sort of bounce to it -- a hi-tech hybrid reminiscent to what forward-looking sentiment might've been in the early '80s with nary a trace of mainstream acceptability built within its very loosely structured foundations -- this along with "Loveline," the other new one are the only two with featured lyrical content -- and again, any way you look at it, no surprises -- astounding when you consider how difficult their own music must have been to replicate even at the time they first played it.

"TV is King" is the real surprise here, from the silent breakthrough in '79, "Remote Control." A great album that yielded some of their best music ever, and here, the second track comes across clear and crisp and maybe a little too short compared to what I remember. Disappointed though they couldn't come up with "Turn Me On" or "Prime Time," perfect with the female vocalist, Lesley Paton, by the way, who does her thing with the expected duet with Fee on "Don't Touch Me There" cruising back to the "Young & Rich" release. The instrumental talent's always been there right from day one and though we're looking at some serious studio cover-up here, they've done themselves, and their fans, wherever they may be, proud… okay, there they are.

I was wondering whether they recorded the damned thing in a library or something cause I heard barely a whisper until "Tip Of My Tongue" finished and then all of a sudden there's this massive awakening! They finish up strongly with the expected classics -- "Mondo Bondage," and "White Punks on Dope," going all the way back to their self-titled debut and then of course wrapping up with everyone's lost classic, the old MTV fave, "Talk To Ya Later," and I only wish readers could catch some of the quips that go song for song in the descriptions supplied by Fee himself -- priceless. They haven't quite succumbed to that middle age slowdown and folksy AOR graveyard like many of the remaining last gasps of their peer group and even though they may always be destined to remain at the low rung on the ladder of success, at least they're having fun with it!