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Baterz "Live and Well"
format: album, released: 2001

review by James Andean


Live and Well, Baterz' live album, charms by its simplicity. Recorded live
at a pub in Adelaide, it is just him and his acoustic guitar, and he carries
the songs wonderfully. These are straightforward, energetic, heartfelt
performances of songs primarily drawn from Out of Hell (though a couple of
Bedridden songs are included for good measure), tackled at a brisk pace and
with plenty of verve. The atmosphere is laid-back and relaxed, the crowd is
fully appreciative (some of the requisite 'banter with the crowd' is really
quite amusing), and Baterz himself is in fine form.

The main reason to buy this album, however, is the songs not available
elsewhere: "Nothing is Too Mundane", the remarkably grotesque "Down to the
Dump", "Goth", "Pole Sitter", and "Foreign Objects" - particularly the latter
two. It is for the witty "Pole Sitter" that Baterz reserves some of his most
earnest and impassioned delivery - listening to him here, it is probably a good
thing that he has not chosen to be a 'singer-with-a-cause', or a message, as
we would probably all be putty in his hands. As for "Foreign Objects", it is
decidedly one of his finest songs, an exploration of the fading of love with
time and age, viewed of course from a skewed and jaw-droppingly bizarre
perspective. Perhaps only here does he outdo the earnest vigour of "Pole
Sitter" - a truly brilliant performance that unquestionably confirms his talent.
This song is absolutely essential - the album is worth the price of admission
for this track alone.