Back in 1997, just as they were releasing their second album 1977, Ash were popular enough to headline five consecutive nights at London's Astoria. Live on Mars: London Astoria 1997 celebrates this stint -- and, by proxy, the 20th anniversary of 1977 -- by cherry-picking 18 highlights from these concerts. Ash seem brash, bold, and very, very loud as they charge through the barbed hooks and sunny melodies that characterized their earliest pop-punk. Where 1977 spotlights the songcraft of Tim Wheeler, Live on Mars captures Ash's exuberance, and that's enough to make this album seem like something more than a nostalgia trip. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
