Ever After...Live

Not only was it a surprise to see the Mission back on the road in 1999, it was a real shock to see them releasing new and reworked material. For his next trick, Wayne Hussey proves his new staying power with a document of 1999's Resurrection tour. A mostly live album, Ever After proves that the Mission were no hacks when it came to performances. Their power on this disc is obvious at the outset with the "rock god" chord that takes you out of the intro and into a hyped-up version of "Beyond the Pale." Unfortunately for this collection, which musically is the best the Mission have sounded in a decade, the quality of the mix is hard to get through. It sounds muddy, and there is far too much background noise. All faults aside, of which there are but few, this live collection is well worth the buy. The band swaggers through the best of the past, with tracks like "Sacrilege" and "Deliverance" maintaining their original power. Tacked on at the end is a studio cover of the Osmonds' "Crazy Horses," which is just as heavy and rocking as the rest of the album. Mission fans will not want to miss this.