Back in 1997, just as they were releasing their second album 1977,
Ash were popular enough to headline five consecutive nights at London's Astoria.
Live on Mars: London Astoria 1997 celebrates this stint -- and, by proxy, the 20th anniversary of 1977 -- by cherry-picking 18 highlights from these concerts.
Ash seem brash, bold, and very, very loud as they charge through the barbed hooks and sunny melodies that characterized their earliest pop-punk. Where 1977 spotlights the songcraft of
Tim Wheeler,
Live on Mars captures
Ash's exuberance, and that's enough to make this album seem like something more than a nostalgia trip. [
Live on Mars: London Astoria 1997 was also released on LP.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine