I caught a show of Graham Parker & The Rumour back in 1979 at Chicago's intimate Park West theatre during his support tour of Squeezing Out Sparks.  In a word, mesmerizing.  Satisfying.  A helluva show.

Renaissance Records has released a magnificent 20-track tour document of that point in time when Parker was highly peaked, surgent on the perfection that was Squeezing Out Sparks.  This disc was recorded at the band's April 9, 1979 US Tour kick-off show at The Old Waldorf in San Francisco and it is a bright light that illuminates intensely the room where your memory is stored if you were in attendance at any of his 1979 shows, especially this one.

Many of the great songs from that Arista release of Squeezing Out Sparks are here including the show opener, "Discovering Japan.". Others include the single, "Local Girls," as well as "Don't Get Excited," "Passion is No Ordinary Word," "You Can't Be Too Strong," "Love Gets You Twisted," "Saturday Night is Dead," "Nobody Hurts You," and "Protection."

Of course there are the excellent Mercury tracks represented here in this live setting.  Classics like the sly "Mercury Poisoning," "Heat Treatment," "Stick to Me," "Hey Lord, Don't Ask Me Questions," and a bunch of of other tracks that make this Live album, Live in San Francisco 1979, a pleasure to have in your collection.  This recorded show is certainly representative of the energy that I experienced firsthand at the Chicago show, which only serves to remind me of the potency of this band back in their prime period.

The audio is clear having been remastered creating a front and center feel as if you were sitting in a chair in front of the band, making this a personal experience of a sort.  The CD is completed by a simple 4-page booklet that lists the tracks and includes a bit of notes by Graham Parker written for the release of this album.

LIVE in San Francisco 1979 is highly recommended for Graham Parker fans that were and were not at his shows in the years of his ascension.  For those that have no clue, this is a helluva way to introduce yourself to one of the great bands of the '70s.