WOVEN CORD

I have never liked these combinations between rock music and an orchestra. IMO, these genre do not sit well together. My experience with such works started in 1972 when I was offered the cassette of "Concerto For Group And Orchestra by Deep Purple". I was thirteen.

In between, I have listened to several of these ("Yes", "Tull" etc). And my perception has not drastically changed since then. One of the very few album I really like in this genre is "El Dorado" ("ELO"); but this is an integrant part of their style since the band has always used some chords.

My worries with this album were that the orchestra would have a prominent and invading role here. And this is fully confirmed during the "Overture". A pure orchestral track (just like "White Sands").

As far as the track list is concerned, there are several songs from their first two albums which I didn't like very much (two stars) "Iona" ("White Sands", "Dancing On The Wall"), and "The Book Of Kells" ("Revelation").

There are a few unreleased tracks featured as well. The obvious "Woven chord" which is an instrumental featuring a good guitar solo. This song is more attractive than most of the other numbers played; even if the orchestra is very much present during several parts.

"Man" is the longest number from this live album. It effectively combines an upbeat tempo (compared to the rest of the album), good guitar work and tranquil passages. A good résumé of their work. Joanne being perfect as usual. Only the middle part is a little weaker; but since it is only for a few moments, it is not too bad.

The closing number "Beyond These Shores" is the third one of that kind. A very soft song featuring some excellent vocals (but this is one of their TM even if their songs do have lots of instrumental parts).

The global mood of this album is rather monochord. Pleasant while you are doing another activity but rather difficult to grab your full attention while listening to it attentively (as I have done for this review).

There is one album I really appreciated in their discography. It is "Open Sky" which was released after this live one. So, if ever you would like to discover this band I rather recommend this one. In terms of live offerings, I preferred "Heaven's Bright Sun".

This one is for die-hard fans only. Some pleasant folk music, yes. But this is rather dispensable. Two stars.