Mission Accomplished...But the Beat Goes On – The Rezillos

Having decided to split, the Rezillos decided not only to complete a final set of shows but to record the last one in Edinburgh for a farewell album. Mission Accomplished is a frustrating conclusion, though, in that what sounds like a great performance -- one augmented with a series of songs and covers that didn't turn up anywhere else -- is recorded so poorly. It's a bit odd in that engineer Tim Summerhayes went on to do a fine job on many other live recordings in future, most notably Gary Numan. But the quality is that of a high-end bootleg taped in the audience rather than through the mixing board, when a full sounding effort would have just been amazing through and through. That said, things aren't completely muddy or anything so shoddy (even if some of the audience members sound less wrapped up in cotton wool), and the performance is indeed a spirited one for a fanbase audience on holiday -- the concert was staged two days before Christmas. Fay Fife sometimes sounds a bit harsh on the higher notes and near the end of the show is notably hoarse at points, while Eugene Reynolds has moments of breathlessness and slight gasping throughout. But the band keeps everything moving in high speed hijinks and there's really very little to complain about at the end of the day. As for the rarer numbers, originals like "Thunderbirds Are Go" and "Teenbeat" keep the sixties fascinations at full throttle while merry covers of "Land of A Thousand Dances," the Kinks' "I Need You" and a rollicking "Ballroom Blitz" slot in perfectly among the band's own material. The album was rereleased (minus "Destination Venus") on the CD version of {^Can't Stand the Rezillos. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide