Badlands Badlands/TX,USA 1989

From the 1989 North American tour, which became their full-scale debut tour, the live performance in Dallas on December 8th was recorded on a recently unearthed FM on-air soundboard. Since it is a broadcast sound source, the encore is not recorded, so it is not complete, but since there are hardly any soundboard sources from this tour in circulation, it is still a must-see for fans. First of all, in the United States, where they performed as an opening act, unlike their visit to Japan in the same year, the stage was about 60 minutes, so the set was almost entirely made up of songs from their debut album, and there was a sense of unity. And Greg Chaisson’s bass suddenly rings out during the sound check before the show, Eric Singer’s drums in the intro to “Hard Driver”, and the late Ray Gillan’s three-dimensional vocals were particularly outstanding, and they were firmly controlled from the high tension vocals of “Hard Driver” to “Ball & Chain” to the delicate tone of “Winter’s Call”. Jake’s guitar is also in top form, and the playing and guitar solos in “Streets Cry Freedom,” with its dizzying scene changes, are a must-listen. Rather than metal, it’s a strong groove rock that emphasizes natural space, reminiscent of 70’s hard rock, and it’s a shame that it was so short-lived. 1. INTRO/2. HARD DRIVER/3. BALL AND CHAIN/4. THE LAST TIME/5. DEVIL’S STOMP/6. RUMBLIN’ TRAIN/7. STREET CRY FREEDOM/8. WINTER’S CALL/9. GUITAR SOLO/10. HIGH WIRE [Live at City Limits, Dallas, Texas, USA December 8th 1989 : soundboard recording] Ray Gillen – Vocal / Jake E. Lee – Guitar / Greg Chaisson – Bass / Eric Singer – Drums