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Back in 2018, Omnivore Recordings released a never-before-heard recording from The Choir. Artifact: The Lost Album was a delightful trip back in time with the Cleveland garage-rock outfit. The rock ‘n’ rollers made their first splash with a 1966 single (“It’s Cold Outside”). The regional hit on the Canadian-American label earned them national attention when it was re-released on Roulette and charted on the Billboard Hot 100.  The band released a couple more 45s on Roulette through early 1968; a year later, one of the last iterations of the group recorded the album that became Artifact. (The rest of the story: when the remains of another group, Cyrus Erie, and members past and present of The Choir came together, the result was The Raspberries.) Now, Omnivore has turned its attention back to The Choir with the release of the band’s first-ever live album, Last Call: Live at the Music Box.

Following the success of Artifact, The Choir – Ken Margolis (keyboards), Phil Giallombardo (organ), Randy Klawon (guitar), Denny Carleton (bass), and Jim Bonfanti (drums) – made the decision to regroup in their hometown. Last Call: Live at the Music Box was recorded on September 20, 2019 at that favorite Cleveland venue. Over a lengthy and varied 23-song set presented here on 2 CDs, the band revisited original material from Artifact such as the catchy, stomping “Anyway I Can,” the harder-rocking “Ladybug,” urgent “I Can’t Stay in Your Life,” Bee Gees-meets-Procol Harum-inspired “Have I No Love to Offer,” music hall-esque “Mummer Band,” and more.  The passionate piano-driven power ballad “It’s All Over” provides a rare moment of respite in the energetic set; “For Eric” is a purely instrumental showcase.

The Choir also reinterpreted their 1966 debut “It’s Cold Outside.” Embracing their roots, they performed many of the songs that influenced them along the way which fans might have heard them perform in Cleveland in the ’60s – classics from Bob Seger (the concert-closing “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man”), The Kinks (“David Watts”), The Nice (their proggy instrumental take on the West Side Story classic “America” with dashes of the other Bernstein/Sondheim tunes), Billy Preston (“That’s the Way God Planned It” and “What About You,” the latter a showcase for background vocalists Tonja Schleicher and Lori Rizzo), Spooky Tooth (“Love Really Changed Me,” equal parts boogie and riff-rock), and even Jimmy Webb by way of Richard Harris (“MacArthur Park”).  Even without an orchestra, The Choir honored Webb’s majestic masterwork by faithfully playing it straight and in full as a prog-pop opus.

Procol Harum gets the most exposure here with the band’s fine renditions of the stately “A Whiter Shade of Pale” (the evening’s opener), “Shine on Brightly,” “Kaleidoscope,” “A Salty Dog,” and an encore of “Conquistador.”  Whether tackling ambitious progressive rock or amped-up pop like The Easybeats’ “Good Times,” The Choir conjures a raw, intimate, and immediate feel throughout Last Call: Live at the Music Box.

The presentation of the concert is top-notch.  The six-panel digipak includes a brief note from Al Kaston and remembrances from each Choir member as well as photographs of the concert. Last Call: Live at the Music Box vividly and potently captures a band playing for the love of music.  It’s out now in 2-CD and digital formats from Omnivore Recordings. You’ll find the track listing and pre-order links below!

The Choir, Last Call: Live at the Music Box (Omnivore, 2020) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

1. A Whiter Shade of Pale
2. Anyway I Can
3. Love Really Changed Me
4. Ladybug
5. Shine on Brightly
6. I Can’t Stay in Your Life
7. That’s the Way God Planned It
8. Boris’ Lament
9. What About You
10. Have I No Love to Offer
11. America

CD 2

1. Kaleidoscope
2. If These are Men
3. David Watts
4. It’s All Over
5. Mummer Band
6. For Eric
7. Salty Dog
8. Good Times
9. MacArthur Park
10. It’s Cold Outside
11. Conquistador
12. Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man