"7 Seconds. . ." - something that can be deciphered in any number of ways. The
length of their songs? Maybe the suggested duration of their career at
the onset of the punk revolution? The amount of exposure the average
listener can endure among all of this indescribably loud ruckus? "7
Seconds," as a band, is none of these things, with the possible exception
of the last suggestion provided one's never yet mustered up enough nerve
to stand in front of this hard-core collision set to tight-fisted speed
ravaged dramatics that have carried this band into the ongoing sphere of
punk influence they exist in to this day. "Scream Real Loud - Live!"
is further evidence of a recorded domination that's set the precedent
for the so-called California Punk scene for the last twenty years.
Don't dare think of the pop-infused punk wanna-bes that invaded our turf
in recent days - they've never been about that. Just give up any
associative properties to this shiny, happy, sing-along crap disguised as
a tart-faced, preppy-like valiant, who sees things in pretty colors and
the world as one - or something like that.
I've been exposed to a full
ten cuts from this live recording and I swear I can't tell where the
last song ends and the next one begins! About the only place where
Kevin (Seconds) himself draws a breath is to rant and badger the
unruliest of the crowd somewhere after "Young Till I Die," and didn't my
jaw just drop to find out this ain't a Limp Bizkit show! It must've
been some scene at Hollywood's Troubadour on the night of April 29th of
this year. I mean, in direct meaning of the word as well as its
significance for housing live shows, it had to have crumpled to the
ground mere seconds after they left the stage!
"Real Loud. . ." is a follow
up to their first release for Side One Dummy, that being "Good To Go,"
and as far as live albums, this is pure pounding satisfaction "If the
Kids are United" indeed! Sing along if you wish, but screaming is the
undoubted weapon of choice here, though either way you'll be hoarse
within minutes!
Spanning their massive collection of odds, ends, and
other various assortments of high-speed reckless endangerment,
twenty-six tracks in all are featured including those from way back in
their formative days, namely "The Crew" and "Walk Together, Rock
Together," which shakes the foundations as the set closer.
The music, the message, unity, "7 Seconds" and "Here We Go Again Kids"
