Metal Underground.com

Eighties glamsters Kix bring their patented party-rock to a hometown crowd on "Live In Baltimore." Fans of the band's slightly goofy approach will find all their old favorites here, and there's no denying that the band's chops are still firmly in place, even when the things threaten to get too silly.

With the exception of the band's greatest hit, the oh-so-'80s anti-suicide ballad "Don't Close Your Eyes," which is mercifully disposed of early in the set, it's all party all the time here. No doubt the beer sales at the Ram's Head Live, where this was recorded, were off the charts that night — and it shows in a raucous (if somewhat thin-sounding) crowd that quite happily sings along to favorites like "Cold Blood" and "Blow My Fuse."

Ax-men Brian Forsythe and Ronnie Youngkins are in fine form throughout, with some excellent solos throughout the show. Singer Steve Whiteman also contributes some excellent harmonica on "No Ring Around Rosie."

Whiteman's vocals are still pretty good. He's still hitting the high notes pretty well (claiming that he had his testicles removed to do so during the singalong portion of "Cold Blood"), and stuff like "Girl Money" is still fun. How much you enjoy the album might depend a little on your tolerance for Whiteman's stage patter. I have the feeling that if you were there, it probably grated a little less to have him keep asking the crowd "Are you happy?" That said, his profane spoken-word interlude on "Yeah, Yeah Yeah" goes on for far, far too long.

Yeah, Kix is rockin' like it's 1985 in a 2012 world on "Live In Baltimore," but the crowd eats it up — and more often than not, you will too — if you enjoy their Sunset Strip-style sounds. This one's probably best enjoyed by those who lived through the glam years.