Reviews roundup – Justin Hayward vs. Ian Anderson vs. 220 Volt
JUSTIN HAYWARD
Spirits… Live: Live At The Buckhead Theatre, Atlanta
Eagle Rock
Ah. The Moody Blues. I never need much of an excuse to dig out some of their tunes for my radio show, so when this popped through the letter box, I was a very happy man indeed. And with justification, because this is a cracker of a live album.
Two things won’t surprise you. One, it was recorded live at the Buckhead Theatre, Atlanta, when he was touring in support of his excellent last solo album “Spirits Of The Western Sky”. And two, with that in mind, that there are some new songs sitting in amongst the classics from years gone by. However, it’s not just ersatz Moodies because there is a stripped back, acoustic vibe to the performance, where he is accompanied by acoustic guitarist Mike Dawes and keyboardists/background vocalists Alan Hewitt and Julie Ragins.
Although some of the edges have gone from his voice, Mr Hayward has adapted well to the passing of time, and it’s a delight to hear him take on new songs like ‘In Your Blue Eyes’, and ‘The Western Sky’. But of course, we’re all waiting for the classics, and he doesn’t disappoint when he rolls out gems such as ‘Tuesday Afternoon’ and ‘Question’. It’s also out as a DVD and Blu-ray, but I preferred the intimacy of the CD. Strange to relate, it was the closing ‘I Know You’re Out There Somewhere’ from “Sur la Mer” which gave me the biggest chill up the spine, on a utterly engaging live recording.
IAN ANDERSON
Thick As A Brick – Live In Iceland
Eagle Rock
Or to give him his full title, “Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson”. Which is a bit of a step back. Or maybe it’s the marketing people pointing out that the casual record buying public have no idea who is, despite his best efforts over the last few years.
Asyou may have gathered from the title, this sees Mr Anderson in Reykjavík, Iceland on 22 June 2012, where he performed the 1972 Jethro Tull album “Thick As A Brick” alongside his 2012 solo release “Thick As A Brick 2: Whatever Happened To Gerald Bostock?”. Now the latter recording isn’t a favourite of mine, and I do wonder why this has taken so long to be released. After all he’s well into his “Homo Erraticus” tour cycle, and will be heading off to America soon.
Anyway, here he is with his hired hands, and I’m sure Tull fans will want to hear the first disc where they take on “Thick As A Brick”. And they do OK. It seems a tad perfunctory, as he must want to bash on and perform his new music, but the second disc is rather hard going. Unlike the Justin Hayward set above, I actually preferred the DVD to the CD, as even though it’s not exactly visually stunning, it does give you something to look at during some of the duller songs.
Tull fans will probably lap it up as a moment in time release, but they’ll be best off with the DVD or Blu-ray.
220 VOLT
Walking In Starlight
AOR Heaven
A right blast from the past here, for all fans of Scandi AOR. Yes, 220 Volt were one of those band who should have been huge. They released five albums in the eighties, with their self titled debut my personal favourite, but despite videos on MTV, support slots with AC/DC and big name labels and producers, they never made the big breakthrough. Well, they’re back. Ish.
Of course, they’ve been back before, in the nineties and the noughties. It didn’t work for me, though, but with Anders Engberg on vocals (ex-Therion, ex-Lions Share), alongside the longstanding Thomas Drevin and Mats Karlsson on guitars and drummer Peter Hermansson, I’m more than happy to give them another go.
If anything, they seem a little harder than before. There is an element of pomp to the sound, something that always works for me. Songs like ‘Through The Wastelands’ are just immense, and when they hark back to the golden days of AOR on ‘Broken Promises’ and ‘Take A Good Look’, then it’s a melodic delight. It’s not just a rehash of what went before, and if it was from a new band under a new name, then it would be rightly acclaimed.
The Rocker 