Album Review: Eric Church - Caught In The Act: Live

Artist: Eric Church
Release Date: April 2013
Label: EMI Nashville
Producer: Jay Joyce

Kitch's Rating: 9.5/10  

I’ll preface the below review with two salient points: Generally, I’m not a huge fan of live albums because they don’t usually manage to convey the full live concert experience as I’d like & I’m digging everything Eric Church is doing after I was nudged in his direction by a friend from the south, who was dragged along to one of his earlier gigs, not sure that she’d like what she was about to hear. Now, she’s a massive fan. I’m getting that way myself.

To put it simply, I haven’t heard a more engaging live album than this one. Church gained some notoriety for playing too loudly and for too long as a support act for Rascal Flatts, Church was kicked off the tour, and, for years, had been blacklisted by the Nashville community. During that exile, Church played wherever he could – including at clubs whose acts leaned more towards rock and roll than honkytonk country.

That rock influence is immediately apparent, as Caught In The Act: Live, a sampling of the best tracks from his first three studio albums, including plenty from his career-making effort Chief. Church’s music is heavy on studio recordings, and it feels a whole lot brawnier in the live environment. Caught In The Act: Live explodes with the hard-nosed “Before She Does”. The Tivoli Theatre in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is pretty much eating out of Church’s hand from the opening note of the first song.

Through – amongst others – “How “Bout You”, “Drink In My Hand”, “Country Music Jesus” and “Whole Lotta Boot Left To Fill” you hear Church’s macho outlaw swagger come to the fore, and it’s pretty obvious that he’s having the absolute time of his life. It’s loud, intense, heavy, and awesome. 

Interestingly, the last two tracks are somewhat less rocking than the rest. After the party anthem “Smoke A Little Smoke” Church plays “These Boots” and ends with “Springsteen”, the mid-tempo ballad that name-checks The Boss and talks about July Saturday nights and girls – Church paying homage to his hero. 

On second thought, I guess it’s not too surprising, given that it was the anthemic “Springsteen” that really catapulted Church’s career into the stratosphere, hitting #1 on the Billboard Country Charts as well as cracking the Billboard Top 100. It sold 2.4 million copies, going twice platinum in the USA. Yeah, now I can see why he closes with it.

What I love about Church’s rendition here, aside from changing the lyrics A July Saturday night to An October Tuesday night – which earned him a giant roar from the Chattanooga crowd – but he talks about connecting memories and melodies, an into to him singing a few verses of the Springsteen classic “Born To Run” as a bridge between verses of his own song. I’m a giant fan of Bruce Springsteen, so this drew me right in. 

Caught In The Act: Live is the perfect live concert to album production. Take a listen, and you can see why Eric Church is fast becoming one of country music’s most sought-after live performers. You won’t be disappointed.