by Vincent Jeffries
With their greatest musical and commercial conquests decades behind them, Blue Cheer manage only brief moments of hard rock glory on this 1990 recording. After a brief European reunion tour, Dickie Peterson (bass/vocals), Andrew McDonald (guitar), and Paul Whaley (drums) stuck together long enough to forge this disc for Germany's Nibelung Records. Originally a vinyl-only limited release, Highlights and Low Lives, was eventually issued on CD through Magnum Records. Sounding at times like a geriatric Great White, Blue Cheer struggle through the slow to mid-tempo bluesy tracks &Big Trouble in Paradise& and &Blue Steel Dues.& Equally shameful '80s rockers like &Down and Dirty& have a dated sound that recalls horrid Kiss records like Asylum and Crazy Nights. Some may disagree, but there were a few big hair American outfits (Bon Jovi, Ratt) that drove the genre with skilled songwriting and decent guitar chops. When old-timers like Blue Cheer try on the affected arena rock swagger though, well, let's just say this is a warning. Peterson does deliver a few surprisingly strong vocal performances, providing the record's only real point of interest. On the disc's best track, &Hoochie Coochie Man,& things really click, and listeners are reminded of the soulful near-metal that made this group famous. But Highlights and Low Lives is mired in stale '80s conventions, and should be avoided by everyone except the most extreme Blue Cheer fanatics.