"Nail in The Coffin" by Tattoo Molly

If you read my review of Tattoo Molly's debut album ‘Power' or if you played it (preferably you've done both), you may have been at least mildly intrigued by the inclusion of a single live recording: "Nail in The Coffin".

It's a bit unusual isn't it? Sometimes artists include live tracks on extended versions of albums but to have just the one nestling in there certainly caught my eye.

Personally I like quirkiness (and the band acknowledge that this is quirky) & it attracts attention which again can't be bad.

However working musicians will immediately assume that some more mundane circumstance might have been responsible & they'd be right. The band intended to include a studio version on the album but ran out of time to do that: luckily they had a high quality live recording ready.

However they've since repaired the omission & Hallowe'en sees the release of the single "Nail in The Coffin" so you can have both.

I'll be honest: I thought the version on ‘Power' worked just fine: it fitted nicely & at the time I thought having an example of what they sounded like on stage was no bad thing & in fact I applauded how the studio tracks managed to convey the same energy & power: in a direct comparison situation, it was a challenge they responded to most effectively.

Tattoo Molly are one of those bands whose reputation is based on performing & the energy of gigs: capturing that on record is important but also something of an endeavour. There are significant numbers of well known groups whose most respected albums are live ones and I've had conversations with various local ones where I've felt that live recordings might present their talents more effectively than more clinical ones.

I certainly would not be surprised if somewhere down the line, Tattoo Molly decide on a  full live album themselves.

So has the decision to release this version paid off? Has it met the impact of the previous release? Can it have surpassed it? Well those are questions for each individual fan, but speaking for myself, in addition to the obvious fact that they planned a recording & so are totally entitled to go ahead with that however belatedly, I think their decision was justified.

The motivation was as outlined above: Tattoo Molly were not looking for an opportunity to radically rework "Nail in The Coffin" so don't expect string quartets nor a switch to cajun style.

Where I detected a difference was the extra glee injected into the performance: I'm not sure the source of this factor (and it's the sort of thing one might expect more in a live version) but I'm willing to speculate that after what might be understandable tension around the release & reception of the album, the feedback from that gave them more confidence that what they were up to worked & hence allowed them to relax & enjoy the recording. Perhaps.

The song itself has a natural swagger in the manner of prime AC/DC and this aspect is possibly enhanced too here. In their own words: "it's got powerhouse vocals, a riff you'll be humming for days, and the kind of energy that'll make your listeners feel like they've got front-row seats. It's raw, it's real, and it's ready to get listeners buzzing" and they don't exaggerate not deviate from the truth.

Tattoo Molly completists need this single but Tattoo Molly fans will see it as offering a slightly different angle on the song they already own & so complementing it.