The Bongos - Columbia University, New York City, 8-21-1983

I'll bet a lot of people reading this are asking themselves "Who the heck are the Bongos?" They're not a very well known band, I think mostly because they were only together for a few years in the early 1980s (though there have been some reunion concerts much later). But if you're into 1980s New Wave music, as I am, I think you'll find them very good, perhaps a previously unknown gem.

I don't want to summarize the entire history of the band, so here's their Wikipedia entry if you're interested:

The Bongos - Wikipedia

Suffice to say they put out a debut album in 1982, "Drums Along the Hudson," that was critically acclaimed, but didn't sell much. In 1983, they released an EP that contained "Numbers with Wings," a minor hit and probably their best known song. Then in 1985, they released the album "Beat Hotel." It has good songs, but was criticized for being too slick and overproduced. They broke up before they could release any album, though it came out decades later ("Phantom Train"). Richard Barone, the band's lead singer and main songwriter, has gone on to have a low-key but critically successful solo career.

The Bongos are so obscure that it's rather surprising there's a bootleg of one of their concerts at all. But what's really surprising is how good this one sounds. In my opinion, it sounds exactly like you'd expect an official live album to be. The sound quality is great, and there are no flaws at all. There isn't even any dead air between songs. I suspect this was professionally recorded for a live album, but it never got released for some reason or another.

Anyway, if you're not familiar with the Bongos, this is a great place to start. It has all their best known songs (such as "The Bulrushes" and "Barbarella, plus a cover of "Mambo Sam" by T. Rex) done arguably as well or better than the studio versions. This band deserves to be better known.

This album is 47 minutes long.

01 talk (Bongos)
02 Telephoto Lens (Bongos)
03 Tiger Nights (Bongos)
04 Glow in the Dark (Bongos)
05 The Bulrushes (Bongos)
06 Automatic Doors (Bongos)
07 Roman Circus (Bongos)
08 Burning Bush (Bongos)
09 Numbers with Wings (Bongos)
10 Three Wise Men (Bongos)
11 Skydiving (Bongos)
12 Barbarella (Bongos)
13 In the Congo (Bongos)
14 Question Ball (Bongos)
15 My Sin (Bongos)
16 Mambo Sun (Bongos)

https://www.upload.ee/files/15376011/TBngos_1983_ColmbiaUnivrstyNewYrkC__8-21-1983_atse.zip.html

 I couldn't find any photos of the band in concert back in the 1980s. So I've used a 1982 promotional photo instead. Richard Barone is the one in the light colored shirt, with his arms around his legs.