Toad the Wet Sprocket – Welcome Home: Live (Legacy)

First time on vinyl for Record Store Day

1992: I was driving around with my 15-year old cousin, Billy, with the cassette of fear by Toad the Wet Sprocket in the car stereo.  All of the sudden, he started singing along.  “Huh”?  I exclaimed.  “How do you know this song”?  To which Billy said, “It’s a hit on the radio.”  I was confused.  How could Toad the Wet Sprocket, a band I had played on my college radio station have a Top 40 hit?  

The song in question was “All I Want.”  And, after a long gestation period (the parent album was released 13 months prior), the single finally peaked in September of 1992 – the exact month of this concert recording, Welcome Home: Live.  Toad the Wet Sprocket, a jangly (often described as “mellow”) quartet from Santa Barbara, were coming back to their hometown at the exact moment their song was a hit on the radio.

This magical evening is making its vinyl debut for Record Store Day.

Let’s get this out of the way – Toad the Wet Sprocket were NOT mellow live.  As someone who’s seen them several times, their concerts eclipsed their studio albums in just about every way.  The set opens with “Walk on the Ocean” – not even issued as a single yet.  Here, singer Glen Phillips’ voice is grittier, and the band’s accompaniment is more aggressive and tighter than the album version.  

This set also finds the band at an interesting crossroad – still holding on to the understated (dare I say “gloomy”?) jangle that dominated their pre-commercial era.  Yet, this is where you truly appreciate their growth.  The original studio versions seem to be recorded in black & white, where the live takes are now in color.  So, songs like “One Little Girl,” “Way Away,” and “Scenes From a Vinyl Recliner,” are greatly improved in this concert setting.  

“All I Want” comes surprisingly early in the set, and it sounds fabulous – shimmering and confident.  There’s more muscle behind “Before You Were Born,” and a funky groove to the odd, “Butterflies.”  

Their more somber material, like “Torn” and “Chile,” seem both great (because the band performs them so well) and oddly out of place (because the screams from the crowd clash with the dark subject matter).  It’s no wonder these songs would eventually be phased out as the band would write and record newer (dare I say, better) material.

Even at the peak of their fame, Toad were still trying out new material.  “Brother” would eventually find its way on the So I Married An Axe Murder soundtrack, and then the In Light Syrup compilation, while the uncharacteristically ferocious “Fall Down,” wouldn’t be released for another two years, on their next album, 1994’s Dulcinea.

Welcome Home: Live proves that Toad the Wet Sprocket were a fantastic live band.  Thankfully, the guys are back together and you can see the evidence yourself.  —Tony Peters