A staple on the pub rock and new wave live circuits since their inception in 1976,
Rockpile didn’t record a record under their own name until 1980, by which time the tensions between co-leaders
Dave Edmunds and
Nick Lowe were beginning to reach a boiling point. They split not long after the ’80 release of their lone studio album,
Seconds of Pleasure, an LP they were supporting when they appeared at the Montreux Jazz Festival in August of 1980. That set was released 31 years later by Eagle Rock as the appropriately named
Live at Montreux 1980, marking the first official live
Rockpile release (not to mention the second official
Rockpile album overall). Even if
Rockpile were close to the end, they never play as if there were friction, charging headlong into their set from the moment “Sweet Little Lisa” kicks off the 16-song set list. Betraying the group’s origins as an
Edmunds backing band, the concert weighs heavily in
Dave’s favor -- he has ten songs compared to
Nick’s three, with
Billy Bremner singing “Trouble Boys” and "You Ain't Nothin' But Fine" -- which means it’s a straightforward rock & roll romp, relying on
Chuck Berry and
Eddie Cochran, relegating power pop to a passing mention with “Teacher Teacher” and “Girls Talk.” This isn’t a complaint, it’s a characteristic, and the group is in prime fighting form here, tearing through the set with muscle and purpose. Perhaps there are better
Rockpile boots floating around in the ether, but there are no complaints with this tremendously entertaining set. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine