Well events have run their course in my household and my father has passed away. My columns have been a bit chaotic of late as a result of helping to take care of him in his final days. He died at home with his family as he wished.
That is not to say I didn’t use every opportunity to listen to some cracking tunes. Varied as they could be, but all satisfying in one way or the other.
CD reviews
Yes: Symphonic Live
Yes, its yet another live album from Yes, but frustratingly not one that its possible to dismiss out of hand for any reason. There are bits of it that are a tad self-indulgent like a tedious drum solo and Steve Howe — genius though he is with a guitar — does go on a bit with his solo performance. However, you would be hard-pressed to consider this anything but a masterpiece of epic prog at its most formidable.
As you might have guessed from the name of the CD, this was recorded with a symphony orchestra. While with some bands recordings it seems a bit tacked on and superfluous, with Yes it merely provides an additional layer to their already complex orchestration. In short Yes fans will love this double CD and wax poetic about it.
Quite cleverly, this is not just a collection of their most complex pieces played in their entirety for throngs of fans. There are a few hits including one from the diehard loathed “Rabin” era in the form of “Owner of a Lonely Heart.” Needless to say, there is a cracking version of “Roundabout” on here as well as “I’ve Seen All Good People” and “Starship Trooper.” I have to admit to enjoying the second CD a tad more than the first one, for regular listening.
If you are a hard-core Yes fan I will assume you had this on pre-order. For the rest of us you could do far worse for an example of Yes at their very best.
Thin Lizzy: Still Dangerous
You can be reasonably certain that this release just might cause some arguments down the pub between fans of the venerable classic Irish rock band, who are so beloved and influential. Since its release Thin Lizzy’s Live & Dangerous has been not only considered the best live Lizzy album ever released, but one of the best live rock recordings ever ranking up there with Cheap Trick’s Live at Budakon, Kiss Alive II and Motorhead's No Sleep til Hammersmith.
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