GLASNOST

BJH found a major success on both sides of the iron curtain at a time when Germany was still divided into East and West Germany. At the time, they had passed through a period of under-achievement, and were once again producing some of their best music.

It is ironic that while in their home country of the UK, they were and still are seen by many as "a second division" band, in Europe they have for many years been a headline act. Following on from their "Berlin" concert in West Germany they completed the double by playing in East Germany as part of Berlin's 750th birthday celebrations. The result was documented in this live album, which, while capturing their performance well, feels rather lifeless and ordinary. Predictably, the track "Berlin" from their "XII" album features on both this album and the "Berlin" album, the only other track which appears on both being the anthemic "Hymn".

Other than these, the tracks selections is reasonably safe leaning towards their more recent albums, but with the crowd-pleaser "Medicine man" and the excellent "Poor man's moody blues" representing the older school. The performances are unadventurous, with little to distinguish these versions from the originals.

In all, while this album makes for pleasant listening it is far from essential, unless of course you were actually there!

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