SLF plan to have a busy 30th anniversary year, with a new studio album, a substantial touring schedule and a status-affirming documentary slated to be directed by Don Letts. Jake Burns’ crew continue firing on all cylinders – one in the eye for anyone who thought their ‘army on the streets, bricks and bombs’ inspirations might be anachronistic these days.
Kicking off their celebrations, this double-disc features a ‘fan night’ concert staged in London during Bruce Foxton’s tenure with them (the sleevenotes studiously avoid giving us the actual date) and an ad-hoc collection of bonus tracks. The concert set list is predominately drawn from their gritty mission statement, Inflammable Material, and its follow-up, Nobody’s Heroes. The extras feature early drummer Dolphin Taylor, acoustic versions of Silver Lining, Listen and Wasted Life cut as B-side material, and a couple of demos recorded by Burns, Foxton and Taylor under the name Go West, after SLF folded for the first time in the early 80s. And there’s a live-cut of Alternative Ulster recorded at the Barrowlands in 1993 with The Almighty’s Ricky Warwick guesting. Nothing too startling here, but it is a useful reminder of a band that sharply described their political situation from the grassroots.
