The Skids - Masquerade Masquerade: Live

Long before Green Day conquered all with their brand of pop-punk, The Skids were trailblazers, thanks to the mildly eccentric vocals of Richard Jobson and the mildly revolutionary guitar work of Stuart Adamson (leader of the criminally underrated Big Country and seminal influence on the likes of The Edge). That distinctive and warming tone is evident throughout the 22-song live set, recorded mostly at London’s Hammersmith Odeon, and supplemented by six cuts from Glasgow’s Apollo. Among the honourable mentions are the spiky opener Circus Games, replete with fine fuzz riffs and the silly vocal pronk of Of One Skin. Then there’s plenty of choral singing numbers, and the classic nonsense of TV Stars (refrain: ‘Albert Tatlock!’). However, some horrendous vocals wreck the likes of Animation and Happy To Be With You.