What Do You Want from Live

What Do You Want from Live is the debut live album released by The Tubes, and was recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon, London.

What Do You Want from Live
Live album by The Tubes
Released	February 1978
Recorded	November 1977
Venue	Hammersmith Odeon, London
Genre	Rock, experimental rock, progressive rock
Length	72:42
Label	A&M
Producer	Pete Henderson, Rikki Farr
The Tubes chronology
Now (1977) What Do You Want from Live (1978) Remote Control (1979)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

Background

The Tubes toured the UK at the height of the punk rock era in 1977. Despite their somewhat out-of-step musicality, the band's humorous and manic stage show found favor all over the country. The cabaret-like shows lasted over an hour, ending with Waybill – in character as "Quay Lewd", a parody of a drug-addled rock star – getting crushed to death by a giant stack of (fake) speakers. NME pronounced the tour a great success, writing: "They came, they outraged, they conquered."^[2]

Track listing

1. "Overture" – 6:39
   • "Up from the Deep" – 2:00
   • "Young and Rich" – 1:27
   • "Madam I'm Adam" – 0:49
   • "Mondo Bondage" – 0:12
   • "Up from the Deep" – 1:00
   • "White Punks on Dope" – 0:20
2. "Got Yourself a Deal" – 4:30
3. "Show Me a Reason" – 3:28
4. "What Do You Want from Life" – 5:12
5. "God-Bird-Change" – 4:48
6. "Special Ballet" – 1:01
7. "Don't Touch Me There" – 3:48
8. "Mondo Bondage" – 3:25
9. "Smoke (La vie en Fumér)" – 8:20
10. "Crime Medley" – 3:05
    • "Sound Effect-Siren" – 0:08
    • Theme from "Dragnet" – 0:07
    • Theme from "Peter Gunn" – 0:34
    • Theme from "Perry Mason" – 1:13
    • Theme from "Untouchables" – 1:03
11. "I Was a Punk Before You Were a Punk" – 4:02
12. "I Saw Her Standing There" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – 2:57
13. "Drum Solo" – 4:20
14. "Boy Crazy" – 2:40
15. "You're No Fun" – 3:15
16. "Stand Up and Shout" – 3:30
17. "White Punks on Dope" – 8:33

Personnel

• Fee Waybill - vocals
• Bill Spooner - guitar, vocals
• Michael Cotten - synthesizer
• Mingo Lewis - drums, percussion
• Prairie Prince - drums
• Roger Steen - guitar
• Vince Welnick - keyboards
• Rick Anderson - bass
• Re Styles - vocals

Critical reception

Although AllMusic reviews the album very favorably, describing it as "witty and entertaining" throughout, it ultimately gives it three stars out of five because the audio portion of the show is simply unable to convey the full impact of a Tubes concert in their heyday. "The downside of What Do You Want from Live", says reviewer Donald A. Guarisco, "is that some of the numbers are less potent without the choreographed routines surrounding them ... this leaves the listener feeling like they're only witnessing part of the joke", adding wistfully, "if only someone would put out a video of one of the Tubes' shows from this era."^[1]

Charts

Chart (1978)	Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[3]	87
Canada (RPM)[4]	75
UK Albums (Official Charts Company)[5]	38
US Top LPs & Tape (Billboard)[6]	82