It's been a long road for Lita, having been away from live performances for the better part of 15 years. What this album does showcase is that she can still sing, and she can still play guitar as effectively as she ever has. The band gels together nicely, and the crowd seems enthusiastic. Lita's byplay between songs sometimes seems a little forced or clichéd, but perhaps that worked for the audience when it was recorded. Surely there is no need to tell your audience to "check out these lyrics" as she does before "Hate". If they've come to see you play live then I'm sure they've already checked out the lyrics.
After opening up with the Elton John cover "The Bitch is Back", Lita showcases her new material to good effect. "Relentless", "Living Like a Runaway" and "Devil in my Head" all come across as good hard rock songs, which all have that extra grunt here in a live setting than their studio counterparts are able to show. "Back to the Cave" and the rollicking "Can't Catch Me" from the Lita album keep the good vibe of this album rolling.
The older songs, such as "Out For Blood" and "Dancing on the Edge", sound really good here, much better in the live environment they deserve than on the under-produced studio albums that they came from. Here they sound like the full blooded hard rocks songs they always should have been. The same can be said for new songs like "Hate", which really benefits from the harder edge the live sound gives the song.
The album finishes with arguably the two biggest songs of her career, "Close My Eyes Forever" and "Kiss Me Deadly". While they both sound great, there are a couple of times when it just sounds like Lita is trying to sing too perfect, instead of letting that live voice come on through. Just a small observation in the whole scheme of the album.
This is a veritable greatest hits compilation in a live setting, and it all comes together rather nicely. For anyone who has followed Lita's career this is a pleasant surprise, and verification of the talent she has not only as a guitarist and singer, but as a writer. Whatever had been the motivation to move away from music, her return with Living Like a Runaway was proof she still had something to give, and The Bitch is Back... Live is further proof that she and her band can still pull it off on the stage. probably not one for the fence-sitters, but fans will enjoy this release.
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