BUDAPEST LIVE

Isn't it sad that a band with so many 70's classic studio albums like MMEB, never had a worthy live album to show their stage performances. Indeed, buy the time Budapest came out, it was much, much to late, because the band was in its final days, and possibly that this was their last album (to my knowledge anyway), possibly released as contract filler/ender. Indeed, the 80's were not kind to MMEB, despite some encouraging commercial success with their previous Somewhere In Africa and that Chance had spawned two hits. But by 83 and the east European tour behind what was still the Iron Curtain (this was a three night stay in Budapest), but outside the singer Chris Thompson (and Manfred of course), there is no-one else left from the glorious mid-70's line-up. And obviously Manfred probably struggled to keep Thompson in the band, as can be witnessed by useless (for MMEB) rendition of Redemption Song. Of course, the music scene had changed by 83, and the band tried tio adapt, still pulling their success through a series of cover (there isn't one single original MMEB composition on this set), but even the new covers lacked the delicious and meandering arrangements that was the Mann-magic the previous decades: the Police (Demolition Man) and Marley (Redemption Song) songs are all-too 80's and feature straight unrefined arrangements.

OK, MMEB was probably opening a new potential market and wasn't about to take risks in featuring more adventurous material, but this set list downright sucks. But the probably undiscerning (for then) Hungarian crowd seemed to appreciate this basic rundown of the later hits (outside Spirits and Blinded, all others are from 78 and younger). And to be honest, the older stuff re not well played (especially my fave Sprits In The Night, but I always thought Mick Rogers sang it best), and sometimes rushed, if not even botched. It doesn't help either that the poor recording quality, flat production and thin-overall sound are hardly impressive. So you get a bunch of Springsteen songs (Dancer is missing), two Dylan ones (though they did quite a few more throughout the years), etc? But nothing from Solar Fire or Angel station - their two best albums, IMHO. :-((

Soooo, I'd found this album at the bottom of a drawer in a lab I'm newly working in, so I decided that 30 years after hearing it a few times, I'd take it home to listen to it. Guess what??? It's going straight back in that drawer tomorrow morning. BTW, just in case you care, there were another 50 albums in that drawer, and this was no doubt the best in that selection. Gotta find me another lab, where they got better musical tastes. ;o))) (just kidding Burckard) Fortunately, I'll probably be on pension or even dead when it'll be time for another reappraisal in some 30 years. That bad, you ask?? Nope, but I felt incisive and discernant.