Toad the Wet Sprocket

On September 30, 1992, Toad the Wet Sprocket played the Arlington Theater in their hometown of Santa Barbara, just at the point at which they were breaking through to national stardom. Twelve years later, this archival document of their performance appeared, the four band members augmented on-stage by keyboardist Bruce Winter. It offers what followers of the band would expect: a tight set of 19 tunes, almost all of them drawn from their early albums, signifying their position among the most popular bands treading the interface between R.E.M.-influenced alternative rock and the mainstream. Renditions of all of their early hits are here, including "Walk on the Ocean," "All I Want," "Come Back Down," "One Little Girl," and "Fall Down." It's short, however, on the repertoire oddities that some collectors value in live albums -- even "Brother," which was initially buried on the So I Married an Axe Murderer soundtrack, came out on the rarities collection In Light Syrup, though "Fall Down" was a ways off from being released at the time it was played in concert here. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide