LIVE 2009 - PART II

"Live 2009 Part 2" is the better instalment of the 2 albums available in this series. The set list is better and it has some versions even better than the studio versions. There is a dynamic rendition of the melodic rocking Winter Mountain followed by The Dark Before the Dawn. My favourite version of Answer the Question is here with Heather Findlay sounding as passionate as ever dueting with Bryan Josh. He has a soft timbre on a 9 minute version of The Last Bright Light with very ambient textures and some glorious keyboards from Iain Jennings and divine harmonies. Josh's lead guitar break is incredible, with spacey reverb and strong string bending along the melodies and Olivia's flute playing.

Above the Blue is from "Glass Shadows" that Heather introduces as something a bit quieter, "a song that is sort of closing the door on an era of grandparents, seeing his father die a couple of years ago", and when she went to his funeral "out of the blue I bumped into the love of my life" and she had a son Harlem from all this. The piano tinkles with melancholy nuances and Heather sings intimately about this most personal of events in her life.

An upbeat portion of the show follows with three excellent rockers, Nowhere to Hide (Close my Eyes), Broken Glass and Never the Rainbow. This last track is a favourite of mine with its rollicking rhythm and Findlay's vocals soaring to the heavens; it was the first song I ever heard from the band. There is a brilliant moment where Bryan and Olivia spar off, his guitar battling against her high octave vocals. She can reach the highest notes and it is incredible to hear. This version is one of my favourite MA songs; it is an awesome tour de force of vocal technique and guitar.

Quieter songs follow with Pocket Watch, and the stirring Tearing at the Faerytale from "Glass Shadows". Then melancholy atmospheres in Carpe Diem. The set closes with Heroes Never Die, a vintage classic all MA fans know and this almost 10 minute version is terrific. The lead break is towering, ending the concert on an uplifting mood and bringing the crowd to their feet.

This concert album is best heard with the Part 1 album but is definitely the better of the two due to the song choices and overall atmosphere. The production is pristine and it is fantastic to hear Findlay one more time before she moved on. This is a concert to savour and I am pleased it has been captured so well on this album set.

Review Nº 710

"Live 2009 - Part II" is the tenth live album of Mostly Autumn and that was released in 2009. As I wrote before, when I reviewed "Live 2009 ? Part I", for some reason the band opted to release this live set in two different CD's. I would have preferred that it would have been released as a double CD because it would make more sense. The two discs together make up one whole Mostly Autumn's live concert, so typical of the set list on their 2009 spring live tour. Anyway, we must respect the decision of the group, and so, I'm going also to review these songs as two separated live albums.

The line up that participates on this live album is Heather Findlay (lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitars, whistles and percussion), Anne-Marie Helder (backing vocals, flutes, keyboards, piano, acoustic guitars and percussion), Olivia Sparnenn (backing vocals and percussion), Bryan Josh (lead and backing vocals and lead and rhythm guitars), Liam Davison (backing vocals, rhythm, acoustic and 12 string guitars, slide guitars and percussion), Iain Jennings (piano and keyboards), Andy Smith (bass guitars) and Gavin Griffiths (drums).

About this line up there are two things that deserve a special mention. The first is that despite have played with the band on numerous occasions, this is the first release from Mostly Autumn to feature the drummer Gavin Griffiths as a band's member. The second is that sadly it represents one of the last times to features their original former member, the vocalist Heather Findlay as a band's member. She would leave Mostly Autumn to pursue a solo musical career. I'm absolutely sure that she certainly belts her way into our hearts and that we'll miss her voice. Findlay would be replaced by her colleague Olivia Sparnenn on their next studio album "Go Well Diamond Heart", released in the next year, 2010.

"Live 2009 - Part II" has twelve tracks. The first track "Winter Mountain" was released on "The Spirit Of Autumn Past". The second track "The Dark Before The Dawn" was released on "The Last Bright Light". The third track "Answer The Question" was released on "Passengers". The fourth track "The Last Bright Light" was released on "The Last Bright Light". The fifth track "Above The Blue" was released on "Glass Shadows". The sixth track "Nowhere To Hide (Close My Eyes)" was released on "For All We Shared". The seventh track "Broken Glass" was released on "Storms Over Still Water". The eighth track "Never The Rainbow" was released on "The Last Bright Light". The ninth track "Pocket Watch" was released on "Heart Full Of Skye". The tenth track "Tearing At The Faerytale" was released on "Glass Shadows". The eleventh track "Carpe Diem" was released on "Storms Over Still Water". The twelfth track "Heroes Never Die" was released on "For All We Shared".

We can say the band is in a good shape bringing some of their classics as well as some of their new material at the time. On the second album the set list is better when we can enjoy the more complex songs perhaps even better than the studio versions. There's a dynamic rendition of the melodic rocking "Winter Mountain" followed by "The Dark Before The Dawn". "Answer The Question" sounds, as passionate as ever, with the duet between Heather Findlay and Bryan Josh. He has a soft timbre on "The Last Bright Light" that has an amazing performance by all band's members. The rendition of "Above The Blue" is very special with the gentle voice of Heather only accompanied by Iain Jennings on piano. An upbeat portion of the show follows with three excellent rockers "Nowhere To Hide (Close My Eyes)", "Broken Glass" and "Never The Rainbow", an old classic with a new shine. Then three quieter songs follow up with "Pocket Watch", the stirring "Tearing At The Faerytale" and "Carpe Diem" with its melancholic atmosphere. The set and this second CD close in a great way with the classic and emotional "Heroes Never Die" one the favourites of their fans.

Conclusion: As I wrote before, when I reviewed the Part I of the live album, the two parts of "Live 2009" belong, for me, to the same live album. So, personally, I would have preferred that the two CD's were released on the same live album, a double live album. However, as Mostly Autumn decided to release the two parts into two separate live albums, we must respect the decision of the band. Anyway, we can't deny that "Live 2009 - Part II" is better than "Live 2009 - Part I". The set list is better and it has also some versions even better than their studio versions. In my humble opinion, Mostly Autumn is a great live band. Almost all of their songs, when performed live, sound better than the original studio versions. Their music when played live, wins a certain dynamism and a new life. Concluding, "Live 2009 - Part II" is the better part of the two live CD's mainly because of the song choices and the overall live musical atmosphere. So and in contrast with "Live 2009 - Part I", I've should rate "Live 2009 - Part II" with 5 stars and not with the 4 stars of "Live 2009 - Part I". But, I'm still thinking the two CD's should be heard as a single live concert. They're two parts of the same coin. They belong to the same live set. So, if that had happened, I wouldn't have hesitated to give 5 stars to that live release.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)