Sheffield sensations the Arctic Monkeys were widely heralded as the saviours of authentic indie rock when they burst onto the scene with breakthrough hit I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor, and the album from which it was taken, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, which became the fastest selling debut album in British music history when it sold a staggering 360,000 copies in its first week of release.

Over the years though Alex Turner and co have evolved into something else entirely. In fact they’ve constantly changed and reinvented themselves. To some, this has detracted from what originally made them so great. To others, it’s testament to their creativity that they refuse to stand still. Whatever your opinion may be, this show, recorded two and a half years ago at a special charity gig for War Child UK where tickets were only available through a raffle, came at a time when the band had undeniably reached the peak of their powers.

You get the full twenty-song set here, with all the big tracks you’d expect. Brainstorm is its pulsating best, and given room to breathe, the big and beefy riff behind Do I Wanna Know? sounds better than its studio version (which isn’t to detract from that version one bit). Arabella grows into a growling monster, while The View From The Afternoon and R U Mine? provide a stunning one-two, right-left combo to finish the show.

All the quieter moments hit the right notes, too. Most of it comes from the then new album Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, and is therefore amongst the first outings a lot of these tracks got. Not that you can tell, Star Treatment is slick and ghostly, She Looks Like Fun frees Turner for a turn at his best crooner act while backed by some Eagles-esque guitars, while One Point Perspective is still gloriously bizarre.

It almost doesn’t matter whether you even like Arctic Monkeys or not. In such challenging times, when live music seems like a distant memory, the frantic fun of Live at the Royal Albert Hall will make any music lover pine for the days of sweaty venues, overpriced beer, and struggling to find a view. And, for that alone, we should be grateful. That this is also perhaps the rawest distillation of the power of the Arctic Monkeys is almost just an added bonus.

Live at the Royal Albert Hall tracklist:

1. Four Out Of Five

2. Brainstorm

3. Crying Lightning

4. Do I Wanna Know?

5. Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?

6. 505

7. One Point Perspective

8. Do Me A Favour

9. Cornerstone

10. Knee Socks

11. Arabella

12. Tranquillity Base Hotel & Casino

13. She Looks Like Fun

14. From The Ritz To The Rubble

15. Pretty Visitors

16. Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair

17. I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor

18. Star Treatment

19. The View From The Afternoon

20. R U Mine?

Author: Joe Sharratt

Joe Sharratt is a writer and journalist based in the UK covering music, literature, sport, and travel.