Neal Francis Cuts His First Live Album Straight to Tape at Thalia Hall

Francis Comes Alive, the first official live recording of Neal Francis’s career, is out today, November 3, 2023, on ATO Records. It was taped at a sold-out show at Thalia Hall in Chicago.

Francis expanded his usual quartet to an eleven-piece band for the occasion, adding a horn section, percussion, backup vocalists and additional keyboards.

The performance went direct to one-inch analog tape. There are no edits and no overdubs on the finished record.

Two nights in March, and a title borrowed from 1976

Francis booked Thalia Hall for March 24 and 25, 2023 with the explicit aim of making a live album in the mold of Frampton Comes Alive!

“That was such a huge rock live record from the ’70s and is ubiquitous in everyone’s record collection, including my father’s,” Francis said ahead of the shows. “I’m excited to be doing this show, playing with a large 11-piece ensemble and to having our stylist Rachel who is designing all these costumes for everyone to wear. It’s really my childhood dream come true.”

The venue sits down the street from his home in Pilsen.

Twelve songs from two albums

The official tracklist runs twelve original songs drawn from his debut Changes and his second album In Plain Sight: “Say Your Prayers,” “Changes, Pts. 1 & 2,” “She’s A Winner,” “Alameda Apartments,” “Prometheus,” “This Time,” “Don’t Want You To Know,” “Very Fine, Pts. 1 & 2,” “Can’t Stop The Rain,” “Problems,” “Sentimental Garbage” and “BNYLV.”

Individual performances stretch well past their studio lengths. “BNYLV” runs 11 minutes, “Prometheus” eight, “Say Your Prayers” 6:59, “She’s A Winner” 6:30 and “This Time” 6:04. The digital edition on Bandcamp carries 15 tracks in all.

Chris Connors, whose credits include Bartees Strange, Lady Wray and El Michels Affair, mixed the album. JJ Golden mastered it. It is available digitally and as a double LP on royal grape vinyl, signed and unsigned.

Three singles, each with its own video

The record was previewed by live versions of “Say Your Prayers,” “Changes, Pts. 1 & 2” and “Can’t Stop The Rain,” each released with pro-shot footage from the Thalia Hall stage directed by Alec Basse.

A film from the same nights

A companion concert film, Francis Comes Alive: The Movie, was shot at Thalia Hall alongside the audio. Basse directed it, and it is out through nugs.net.

The film screens in person on November 27, 2023 at Chicago’s Music Box Theatre, followed by a Q&A.

The road behind the record

Francis grew up in Oak Park, started on classical piano at four and was playing Chicago blues clubs as a teenager. Changes was his first solo album after leaving the Chicago funk band The Heard. ATO signed him and released In Plain Sight in 2021.

He takes the eleven-piece lineup on tour behind the album, with dates running through a Francis Comes Alive New Year’s Eve show at the Ogden Theatre in Denver on December 31.

Sources: Neal Francis on Bandcamp, ATO Records, ATO Records, Chicago Sun-Times, Live For Live Music.

Photo: TenAtoms, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.