JOHN YOUNG BAND: Live at the Classic Rock Society

Cover Musicians
JOHN YOUNG BAND: Live at the Classic Rock Society

John Young: keys , lead vocals
  Robin Boult: guitars
John Jowitt bass guitar, vocals
Dave Stewart: Drums, vocals
Release Label Cat. N° Playing Time Rating
2004 Heritage Records - 56’30” 8/10
Website Contact Style
www.youngjohn.co.uk - AOR
Review by
Luc Descamps
John Young, who’s spent a great deal of his career playing with John Wetton and who’s also touring and recording with Bonnie Tyler, shows us with the John Young Band what he’s got up his sleeve himself. And that’s quite a bit.

This album brings easy, plain ballad-like rock. Young obviously doesn’t like excesses in his music and that’s a good thing. The tracks have been ‘classically’ composed and arranged: good singing, nice accompaniment, sober, but beautiful percussion, keyboards that aren’t too pushy and from time to time wondrous guitar solos.

One gets the feeling to be listening to a more than average easy-listening record. The arrangements are simply what they should be like; no more, no less. The music takes you to a place where problems cease to exist and where beauty and simplicity are one.
And then there’s Unknown soldier. This track lasts over 14 minutes and starts off like all the former songs: beautiful, almost perfectly built up with lovely guitar- and synthesizer solos. But after a while the song explodes showing strong prog-elements with a synthesizer being pushed forward.
After this the songs tend to get a bit ‘rougher’, however without making the roof come down. A good diversion in a strong set, because one would almost forget that this is a live recording.

Perhaps this is the only negative remark to be made about this cd. One never feels the thrills a good live-record can arouse. On the contrary, most of the time one gets the impression to be listening to a studio-recording. But perhaps the subdued mood of the John Young Band is so enchanting that the audience forgets to breathe and turns to stone. Let’s assume that’s the reason, ‘cause this is a damn good record!
 
Tracklist
  1. Significance
  2. When I was young
  3. Just one day
  4. All grown up
  5. Underside
  6. Unknown soldier
  7. Childhoods End
  8. Open Skies
  9. Kings

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Last updated: 01 mei 2004 .
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