Post by Mark Lavallee on Sept 12, 2012 13:14:53 GMT -5
As I've already gone over these songs in their studio incarnations, this review will be more concise.
Time for a 2-for-1 review. The 1978 live album Bursting Out and the 2009 DVD/CD release Live At Madison Square Garden 1978. One recorded on the European tour (Bursting Out, obviously) and the other on the US leg. For a band with such complicated and incredibly tightly arranged songs the vast difference between the two performances is quite striking.
Bursting Out was a live document of the Heavy Horses tour released on September 22nd in the UK where it peaked at #17 and on the 29th in the US, a couple weeks before the tour even started. The majority of the album was recorded at the Berner Festhalle in Berne, Switzerland on May 28th, 1978.
Side A begins with the current at the time No Lullaby and it's even better than the album version, complete with what should universally be recognized as the greatest drum fill in all of recorded history. A great way to start the concert off with a bang. From there things move ahead into 1969's Sweet Dream, resurrected from the past and heavier than ever, great one two punch. Things move along with 1974's Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day, amazing to hear a band able to pull a song like this off. Members changing instruments here and there without skipping a beat. The song's mandolin roots fits very well with the following acoustic folky Jack In The Green from 1977's Songs From The Wood and One Brown Mouse off the current album, Heavy Horses.
Side B opens with the band reaching back to 1969's A New Day Yesterday and firmly back in hard rock territory, the arrangement fleshed out for the fuller band, from there we go straight away to Ian Anderson's flute solo, complete with silly grunts, snorts and in keeping things musical including a bit of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and concluding with a bit of J.S. Bach's Bourée which was also included on Stand Up. Up next is an abbreviated Songs From The Wood played at breakneck pace, the song is the perfect showcase for how incredibly tight the band is, able to weather the songs many changes with ease. Amazing stuff. The first album concludes with a 12.5 minute arrangement of 1972's Thick As A Brick. Another perfect showcase for the jawdropping musicianship of the band.
Side C opens with 1977's Hunting Girl, with added punch from the band, a really great showcase for John Glascock's basswork. From there we're off on 1976's Too Old To Rock 'n' Roll; Too Young To Die, the added live energy really brings this one to life. Being a 70's live album and the 3/4 mark of course there is the obligatory drum solo in the form of Conundrum, however it's more of a composed band piece particularly showing off not just Barriemore Barlow's incomprable skills behind the kit but Martin Barre's guitar genius as well. And at just under 7 minutes it doesn't wear out it's welcome like 30 minutes of John Bonham poncing about on a snare drum during Moby Dick does. The unrelenting pace is kept up for 1975's Minstrel In The Gallery, another shining moment for Barre.
Side D takes things back to 1971 with three tracks from Aqualung beginning with a full steam ahead runthrough of Cross-Eyed Mary followed by a short instrumental Barre guitar interlude (92 seconds) called Quatrain which leads straight into Aqualung in an arrangement that fully shows off the skill of the band, from there things quiet down with John Evans' piano intro to Locomotive Breath before the band comes screaming in full blown metal style to finish the song, the concert concludes with the band playing a bit of The Dambusters March and a brief Aqualung reprise.
The original CD release cut out three tracks (Quatrain, Sweet Dream and Conundrum) to fit on a single disc, the 2004 remaster corrects this unforgiveable cost cutting sin.
2009's release of the Madison Square Garden concert is quite a revelation. Bassist John Glascock was quite ill by this point and had to be replaced for the tour, Tull enlisted the bassist from the opening act of their European Leg Tony Williams of Steeler's Wheel (Stuck In The Middle With You...) and he fit quite ably with the band.
The concert was the first worldwide live satellite broadcast. Unfortunately only one hour of the concert was broadcast, with the band performing a few songs, then leaving the stage to stage a new intro for the broadcast, and then after the big concert ending of the broadcast coming back and doing the real ending of the show. Weird.
The CD portion is a condensed version of the show down to 78:40 while the DVD has the entire 93:09 concert with still photos over the non-filmed bits. The arrangements in some spots are wildly different. Sweet Dream is quite a bit longer, No Lullaby is doubled in length, now incorporating Anderson's Flute solo. Songs From The Wood is almost double in length. The Locomotive Breath/Dambusters March is well over double in length and the arrangement even more bizarre and complex. Cross-Eyed Mary is now played in a Medley with 1971's My God and the song Heavy Horses which wasn't included on has found it's way here. The video portion contains Thick As A Brick, No Lullaby, Songs From The Wood, band intro and Quatrain, Aqualung and the Dambusters March.
There we have it, two recordings, two legs of the same tour, both essential. Live sound is excellent across the board, every music library should own these recordings.
Final thoughts:
Few artists are worthy of owning more than one recording of the same material. By releasing a live document from both legs of the same tour we're able to see how the band could take the same material and keep it fresh for themselves, and their audience. Some of the most tightly arranged, complex tunes ever written underwent some massive changes over the months, who knew? As a live document of Tull at their peak this is as good as you could ever ask for. Makes a great career overview as well.
Both receive the coveted 5 out of 5 stars from me.
Coming up next, the folk rock trilogy concludes with 1979's Stormwatch.
Time for a 2-for-1 review. The 1978 live album Bursting Out and the 2009 DVD/CD release Live At Madison Square Garden 1978. One recorded on the European tour (Bursting Out, obviously) and the other on the US leg. For a band with such complicated and incredibly tightly arranged songs the vast difference between the two performances is quite striking.
Bursting Out was a live document of the Heavy Horses tour released on September 22nd in the UK where it peaked at #17 and on the 29th in the US, a couple weeks before the tour even started. The majority of the album was recorded at the Berner Festhalle in Berne, Switzerland on May 28th, 1978.
Side A begins with the current at the time No Lullaby and it's even better than the album version, complete with what should universally be recognized as the greatest drum fill in all of recorded history. A great way to start the concert off with a bang. From there things move ahead into 1969's Sweet Dream, resurrected from the past and heavier than ever, great one two punch. Things move along with 1974's Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day, amazing to hear a band able to pull a song like this off. Members changing instruments here and there without skipping a beat. The song's mandolin roots fits very well with the following acoustic folky Jack In The Green from 1977's Songs From The Wood and One Brown Mouse off the current album, Heavy Horses.
Side B opens with the band reaching back to 1969's A New Day Yesterday and firmly back in hard rock territory, the arrangement fleshed out for the fuller band, from there we go straight away to Ian Anderson's flute solo, complete with silly grunts, snorts and in keeping things musical including a bit of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and concluding with a bit of J.S. Bach's Bourée which was also included on Stand Up. Up next is an abbreviated Songs From The Wood played at breakneck pace, the song is the perfect showcase for how incredibly tight the band is, able to weather the songs many changes with ease. Amazing stuff. The first album concludes with a 12.5 minute arrangement of 1972's Thick As A Brick. Another perfect showcase for the jawdropping musicianship of the band.
Side C opens with 1977's Hunting Girl, with added punch from the band, a really great showcase for John Glascock's basswork. From there we're off on 1976's Too Old To Rock 'n' Roll; Too Young To Die, the added live energy really brings this one to life. Being a 70's live album and the 3/4 mark of course there is the obligatory drum solo in the form of Conundrum, however it's more of a composed band piece particularly showing off not just Barriemore Barlow's incomprable skills behind the kit but Martin Barre's guitar genius as well. And at just under 7 minutes it doesn't wear out it's welcome like 30 minutes of John Bonham poncing about on a snare drum during Moby Dick does. The unrelenting pace is kept up for 1975's Minstrel In The Gallery, another shining moment for Barre.
Side D takes things back to 1971 with three tracks from Aqualung beginning with a full steam ahead runthrough of Cross-Eyed Mary followed by a short instrumental Barre guitar interlude (92 seconds) called Quatrain which leads straight into Aqualung in an arrangement that fully shows off the skill of the band, from there things quiet down with John Evans' piano intro to Locomotive Breath before the band comes screaming in full blown metal style to finish the song, the concert concludes with the band playing a bit of The Dambusters March and a brief Aqualung reprise.
The original CD release cut out three tracks (Quatrain, Sweet Dream and Conundrum) to fit on a single disc, the 2004 remaster corrects this unforgiveable cost cutting sin.
2009's release of the Madison Square Garden concert is quite a revelation. Bassist John Glascock was quite ill by this point and had to be replaced for the tour, Tull enlisted the bassist from the opening act of their European Leg Tony Williams of Steeler's Wheel (Stuck In The Middle With You...) and he fit quite ably with the band.
The concert was the first worldwide live satellite broadcast. Unfortunately only one hour of the concert was broadcast, with the band performing a few songs, then leaving the stage to stage a new intro for the broadcast, and then after the big concert ending of the broadcast coming back and doing the real ending of the show. Weird.
The CD portion is a condensed version of the show down to 78:40 while the DVD has the entire 93:09 concert with still photos over the non-filmed bits. The arrangements in some spots are wildly different. Sweet Dream is quite a bit longer, No Lullaby is doubled in length, now incorporating Anderson's Flute solo. Songs From The Wood is almost double in length. The Locomotive Breath/Dambusters March is well over double in length and the arrangement even more bizarre and complex. Cross-Eyed Mary is now played in a Medley with 1971's My God and the song Heavy Horses which wasn't included on has found it's way here. The video portion contains Thick As A Brick, No Lullaby, Songs From The Wood, band intro and Quatrain, Aqualung and the Dambusters March.
There we have it, two recordings, two legs of the same tour, both essential. Live sound is excellent across the board, every music library should own these recordings.
Final thoughts:
Few artists are worthy of owning more than one recording of the same material. By releasing a live document from both legs of the same tour we're able to see how the band could take the same material and keep it fresh for themselves, and their audience. Some of the most tightly arranged, complex tunes ever written underwent some massive changes over the months, who knew? As a live document of Tull at their peak this is as good as you could ever ask for. Makes a great career overview as well.
Both receive the coveted 5 out of 5 stars from me.
Coming up next, the folk rock trilogy concludes with 1979's Stormwatch.