The Alarm chose to address the career crisis precipitated by their declining record sales by emphasizing their live act in the form of this six-song EP, recorded in concert at the Wang Center for the Performing Arts in Boston on April 26, 1988. Lead singer
Mike Peters took the opportunity to criticize American radio and quote
Woody Guthrie.
Electric Folklore: Live effectively demonstrated that the group was a powerhouse live, but did not, in and of itself, reverse their fortunes, getting to #62 in the U.K., and, in the U.S., where nobody's ever understood what EPs are for, only to #167. What they really needed was a hit, and it was getting hard to understand why a band that seemed to want to write an anthem every time out couldn't get one. [This EP was expanded to a full length release in 2002 with eight additional songs.] ~ William Ruhlmann