IN CONCERT (BBC RADIO 1)

I have mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, the band seemed to be really clicking for this concert. The performance is tight, and the mix is nearly perfect. On the other hand, six of the ten songs on the disk are from The Missing Piece, the first truly disappointing album in this great band's catalog. I suppose it could be worse, it could have featured songs from the last two (ugh!) studio albums.

It's something of a giveaway to the band's direction that midway through the concert, Derek Shulman whines about the group's lack of popularity. Maybe that's why he turned to the dark side after GG.

Still, the older material, three songs from Free Hand plus Playing The Game are spectacular. And For Nobody the best song from The Missing Piece sounds pretty good here. The rest of the songs have some spark, certainly better than anything from the final two studio albums, but nowhere near as good as the classic material.