"Wild & Free" reviewed on The Aspen Times - Fri. June 27, 08
The Radiators, "Wild & Free" (Radz Records) It’s been a lengthy, unusual trip for New Orleans roots-rockers, the Radiators. Condensing 30 years (with the original quintet intact!) into two CDs is tough enough, but factor in just how prolific primary songwriter Ed Volker has been, and it gets even harder. So give the Rads, who have never been great at capturing their appeal on recordings, for truly doing it right on “Wild & Free.” The band dug deep to find pristine reel-to-reel recordings from as far back as 1978. There is a nice balance of old, exotic material — “My Home Is On the Border” is a lovely one, “All Meat Off the Same Bone” winds through various segments — and hot-quite-hits — “Like Dreamers Do,” “Doctor Doctor,” both heard in excellent live versions here. Even the committed Rads fan might find some new nuggets here: “The Forever Man,” “Stand By Me, Baby,” presented in demo form. And the band offers a brand new one, the upbeat, catchy “The Girl With the Golden Eyes.” You might ask for more in the packaging — three full decades surely can be documented better — but musically, this compilation is a crowd-pleaser.
