Surfing the web before writing this review, Crud stumbled upon this piece of strange weirdness – some nutter’s tribute to Johnny Borrell involving him dancing round his room to ‘Golden Touch’ with a Borrell print out pinned to his face. Indeed. In the interests of impartiality, and for the converse viewpoint check this. So for a man who implores such bipolar reactions in people (and that is by no means restricted to these two links), a man who knows there are other people on stage with him but probably can’t make out anything more than outlines, a man who probably dreams about his own face, and sings like the Fonz trying to impress chicks with his Elvis impersonation, it seems a little strange that he should settle for the front cover of their first DVD release featuring bassist Carl Dalemo. But anyway.
For a full concert DVD release so early on in their career, capturing the full 90 minute Brixton Academy show from October 2004, this is understandably ropey on occasion. The smooth cinematic shooting style and crispness of the recorded sound, thrusts them under a scrutiny they can’t always stand up to. Johnny hits whatever targets it is he’s aiming for throughout and from these perspectives plays faultlessly, but Carl and Bjorn sometimes look like a few more seasons at the Bull & Gate might have done them some good. There is the repeat feeling that they’re not quite ready for this level. Yet this is the band that went on to headline Alexandra Palace a few months later and hit the top 10 with ‘Somewhere Else’. They’re not the only band moving at a speed alien to logic, that’s become only too common over the past few years, but it might have been worth holding off to see where a second album took then.
Of course the gig is packed with gems from the excellent debut, some (‘In The City’, ‘Up All Night’, Which Way Is Out’, ‘Vice’, ‘Fall, Fall, Fall’, ‘Stumble & Fall’) sharply delivered and some (‘Rock n Roll Lies’, ‘Get It & Go’, ‘Rip It Up’) appearing flimsy under the lights. Of course Borrell pushes it too far most times he opens his mouth, personified by the ridiculous Atlantic English accent he talks in like he is the centre of all things. He hears screaming in his head, anyway, we presume. All their (mostly average) videos so far are included here, but the real value comes from the bonus live tracks taken from soundcheck at the LA2, Andy Burrows’ first gig with the band at the tiny Bull & Gate and ‘Golden Touch’ from infamous gig on the roof of the Bricklayers Arms in East London. As the title says so unimaginatively, this is a Razorlight DVD, and to be fair that’s exactly what you get.