Recorded before "Crazy Horses" established
the Osmonds as the biggest scream dream since the heyday of
the Beatles,
Osmonds Live is nevertheless a solid document of Osmania at its most delirious. With audiences less choreographed and malleable than they would become in later years (a downside of the subsequent
Around the World live album), this is the sound of teenaged mania at its purest and its rawest, a never-ending barrage of screaming, keening ecstasy that is already peaking before the band even takes the stage, and continues on its merry, maddening way long after the last roadie has left the building. The Motown medley so poorly delivered on the
Osmonds album opens the show with all the pizzazz that its studio incarnation was lacking; further medleys later in the set capture the band hitting gospel and (briefly) rock & roll with equally passion. In between times, meanwhile, a barely audible
Donny squeaks gallantly through his hit "Sweet and Innocent," while "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" and "Proud Mary" both get energetic workouts. Of course, the hits-to-date wrap things up in triumphant style -- and the girls just keep on squealing. It's an awesome sound. ~ Dave Thompson