Culture Club Album: “River Sessions”

This is a nice little addition to your CC CD collection - a full-length LIVE concert by Boy and Company just as they were breaking big - warts & all, out of tune or not, the blue-eyed soul stylings and sheer star-making charisma of Boy are already on display here - buy early and often!

This album contains almost all of "Kissing to Be Clever" as well as "Church of the Poison Mind". It's the only official live release from this era. I can't even find any bootlegs from 1982-85, which is probably a good thing for them. The album may not be quite as good as the studio album, though Boy confessed the shows weren't up to par with the records, as it was akin to Beatlemania two decades prior, where the screaming girls weren't really paying attention to the music. They were elated to be within a square kilometre radius as their heroes. You know how it is. Still a fine recording not to be missed.

As a Culture Club kid in the 1980's I was always mesmerized by their sound and songs. Their songs still have a hold on me and the songs will always sound new and fresh to me. I will never get sick of them.