WARTS AND ALL

It's difficult to be objective about Patto's only Live album, Warts And All due to the poor quality of the recording which is at best of mediocre bootleg quality. It was released in 2000 by drummer John Halsey from a recording he made on a cassette recorder at The Black Swan in Sheffield. As it's the only live recording available of Patto it is of interest to fans of the band but unlikely to appeal to anyone else.

Despite the poor quality it's clear that the band put on an enjoyable though not perfect performance and each instrument can be heard clearly enough at least. They run through a selection of the jazz/rock tracks that appears on their first two and best albums as well as a few tracks that weren't like the rock n' roll standards Let It Rock and Route 66. Despite a great guitar solo from Ollie Halsall on Let It Rock I nearly always find these sort of cover versions a bit tedious. Much better are the Patto originals: the laid back You, You Point Your Finger although an unusual choice to kick things off is played in fine style. There's the jazz orientated tracks like Money Bag, Magic Door and Air Raid Shelter. Magic Door is perhaps the best of the three. Of the rockier moments after a ropey start San Antone features another excellent Halsall solo. Government Man, Tell Me Where You've Been and Sitting Back Easy also all make welcome appearances.

It's a shame that this is the only official live recording available of this excellent and under appreciated band. Despite the ropey quality I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to buy this cd which has now long since sold out. In accordance with the PA rating system I can't award it more than 2 stars but for fans of the band, for the music and performance 3 ½ stars.