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As a frontman, Huey Lewis has always let the band's music speak for itself. It's no surprise, then, that nearly all of the songs in this live concert from Grugahalle in Essen, Germany, are straight-off-the-album arrangements with very little monologue in between. The sound quality is only average, but the performance is vintage Huey Lewis & the News: straightforward, energetic, and tight. The highlight of the set is a blistering version of "Workin' for a Livin'," featuring Huey on harmonica and guitarist Chris Hayes. The first encore includes "Buzz, Buzz, Buzz," featuring both Johnny Colla and Huey on saxophones. The second encore features a long harmonica solo by H.L. followed by an early, up-tempo version of "Bad Is Bad," which later appeared on the album Fore. This video is from a German television broadcast that aired on October 13, 1984, right around the time that the Sports album was released. In order to fully capture a live performance, it is necessary to put mics on the audience so the viewer can hear their reaction. Unfortunately, that is missing here. Also, the audience clips look like stock footage of German teenagers thrash-bobbing their heads and gesturing at the camera, seemingly detached from the performance on stage. This makes the whole concert video seem a bit contrived. But all in all, it's a good performance with a nice selection of tunes. It sure brings back a lot of memories. --David Martins
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