It could be argued: do we need yet another Tubes live album? This 1976 set is overshadowed by the later 'What Do You Want From Live?' (1978).

As a snapshot of the band that had already released two albums by the time of this recording, it fits the bill.

The opener 'Young And Rich'/instrumental overture and 'Tubes World Tour' emphasise the band's basic musicality. Their blend of jazz fusion, funk and psychedelia frequently evoked Zappa.

The instrumental passages were always interesting and the humour/satire element (again echoing Zappa) often overshadowed seriously good playing.

Things turned full circle in the band's later years, and they adopted a more straight-ahead musical and commercial approach with varying degress of success but never recapturing their halcyon years.

A worthwhile investment for Tubes freaks who want to relive the band's early stage set.

***½

Review by David Randall

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