I must confess, writing about Skunk Anansie’s 25Live@25 (Republic of Music) is mega hard. I keep jumping up and dancing about the flat, singing loudly and off-key. I’ve been listening to Skunk Anansie since 1995 with the song ‘Selling Jesus’. They haven’t disappointed. They don’t disappoint with this live retrospective either. If you are a major Skunk-head, you are going to flat-out love this album. If you are a newbie, welcome! You are going to love this album.

Skin, Cass, Ace, and Mark are super tight on this production. Everything flows beautifully and it’s an aural phenomenon to behold. The song choice is a great overview of their long and storied career. It’s truly a best of the best. All the favourites are here ‘Charlie Big Potato’, ‘Because of You’, ‘I Can Dream’, ‘Twisted’, ‘Weak’, ‘(Can’t Get By) Without You’, ‘Selling Jesus’, ‘Tear the Place Up’, and much more.

Of course, 25Live@25 is not one continuous live album, and legendary producer/mixer Jeremy Wheatley has pulled the songs from various live performances Skunk Anansie has had over the years. One of my favourite aspects of this live compilation is the prominence of Cass’ bass playing. The bass lines don’t just augment the rhythm of the songs, Cass raises the bass to a harmonious instrument that weaves melody in and out of and around the other instruments. This is a wonderful skill as Ace’s guitar playing is always in the right place at the right time; it’s supportive, it’s bombastic, it’s epic, all at the same time. It’s hard to pigeon-hole Skunk Anansie into one musical category. They have elements of Jazz, Funk, Rock, Metal, Alternative, and Punk.

The focal point of Skunk Anansie and their live show is Skin. She’s amazing. Her voice has gravitas. The timbre and pitch reach into your soul. From the first song to the fifteenth song to the twentieth song, Skin’s vocals remain strong and powerful. 25Live@25 is stunning in its presentation as the intonation of the songs themselves retain that “live” sound. It’s bold and strong like you are on the rail, but not overproduced and clean. 25Live@25 is a stunning and exciting album to listen to. It is chock full of classic Skunk Anansie songs and is a must buy as you will be playing it over and over again nonstop.

9 / 10

VICTORIA ANDERSON