For me, the Killer Dwarfs’ second live album, Live, No Guff! had two barriers to hurdle. First, I bought it at the concert where I first saw them live, when they and Kick Axe opened for Helix, and they were fantastic. How could a recording live up to that?
Second, I wasn’t super keen on their previous live album, so I had my doubts about this one. (In hindsight, I think that was due to the recording quality on Reunion of Scribes, the true-to-life gaps between songs, and the fact it works better as a video recording).
So how does Live, No Guff! measure up?
Fantastically.
Any live album should make the listener feel they are actually at the concert, even if this means editing reality. The band recorded Live, No Guff! at live performances in Toronto, Ottawa, Whitehorse and Vancouver, rather than the single Toronto concert that was Reunion of Scribes.
Singer Russ Graham keeps the between-song banter to a minimum, but there’s enough to let you know the Dwarfs are having fun. During a lull in “Doesn’t Matter,” Graham tells the audience that maybe he’ll be prime minister one day “once I learn how to do all that math and stuff.”
The lineup on this album is Graham on lead vocals, Gerry Finn on guitar, Johnny Fenton on bass, and Darrell Millar on drums. The audio mix of electric and acoustic guitar, bass, vocals and drums is excellent.
The feeling is of a seamless blow-by-blow tour of the Dwarfs’ greatest hits. (Sadly, they still don’t play “We Stand Alone” on this recording, either).
The band plays songs spanning its entire career, from “Heavy Mental Breakdown” off debut album Killer Dwarfs, to the title track for Stand Tall, to Big Deal’s “Union of Pride,” the electrifying “Comin’ Through” from Dirty Weapons, “Hard Luck Town” from Method to the Madness, and the title track for Start @ One. It’s a clever way for a band whose albums are divided between various record labels and independent releases, some of which are out of print, to issue its own “greatest hits” album.
Having seen Killer Dwarfs now as both opening band and headliner, I’d say Live, No Guff! gives the best of both worlds. It sounds like a band professionally keeping things tight, playing together seamlessly, and still having a great time with the audience. I’d put it at the top of my favourite Killer Dwarfs albums, as well as near the top of my favourite live albums.
It’s also the perfect intro for anyone who’s never heard them before, and unlike some of their classic albums, it’s relatively easy to get hold of. Well worth the price of admission.
Live, No Guff!
- Killer Dwarfs
- 2018, EMP
- Five stars out of five
