It's funny, but with a name like "Big Head Todd & The Monsters," you'd think the press would have jumped all over these guys long ago. But such hasn't been the case. Still, it hasn't stopped them from releasing five albums, while maintaining a solid eleven-year career, quietly though they may have done it.

If there's one word that completely says it all about the band and their music, that word is "honesty." There's a sincerity within this band that's kept them together since the beginning, and keeps the fans coming back to see them in abundance with minimal promotion. "Live Monsters," their first live album, captures all of the excitement and superb craftsmanship that have been the staples of their endurance over the years, as they arrive today as fresh and determined as ever before.

This recording contains all of the classic "near hits" the band has accumulated thus far, and their songs go far in their own individual expressiveness, woven into one long masterpiece broken into several different segments, ranging from soul-gripping ballads to impressive blues-based rock jams. Some of my favorites include "Bittersweet," "Broken Hearted Savior" and a terrific version of "Circle" from the classic "Sister Sweetly" album released a few years back, as well as "Kensington Line," and the newer "Resignation Superman," from last year's "Beautiful World" release. There's also a live version of Zeppelin's "Tangerine" that first appeared in its studio form on the Zeppelin tribute "Encomium." Hard work, integrity, and the motivation to embrace the fans that have become an equal part of their existence as a band are the ideals that have perpetuated Todd and the boys' wholesome reputation they richly deserve. Another band, perhaps you may have heard of them, Hootie & The Blowfish, plays in a style somewhat similar, though more contrived, and strangely enough, even with all of their big time success, you still get the impression that it's a band that won't endure over the long haul. It's conceivable their novelty could already be wearing off and satisfied with a couple of major hits and high-figured paychecks, they've little left to motivate their ability to perform.

Just a possible formulation that might not ever come to fruition, but it serves to exemplify that something like BHTM could very well build further on the success they've already established and become an even stronger commodity in time. In any case, maybe hearing BHTM for the first time, on a live recording such as this, will entice those like me who have yet to have the opportunity, or even resisted, to get out and see them perform, or buy their records despite lack of commercial support. Hearing "Live Monsters" just might do that for you.