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Oddly enough, this double CD appeared
with almost no promotion. That explains why our review has arrived
later than what you normally would expect from us. J
I don’t want you to
forget about this album. Why? Simply because it’s a real gem.
Finally, here’s a
live CD of Ray Wilson played with a complete band. Up until now,
there were already two live CDs released with just acoustic songs:
“Live and Acoustic” (2002) and a bonus CD that came with the
“Change” (2003) album that was available if purchased during the
tour. From both albums, it is obvious that Wilson is an incredibly
gifted singer. If you didn’t hear those albums then you must have
known just how talented a singer he is based on the Genesis tour
from 1998. Even still, those acoustic albums leave you wanting
more.
This live CD
confirms my ‘position’: Put this man as the lead singer with a
gifted band,add a talented solo guitarist and keyboards man and your
result: the birth of a new super band. The versions that Ray Wilson
puts forth, such as “In the Air Tonight”, “Carpet Crawlers”, “Follow
You Follow Me”, “I Can’t Dance”, “Ripples”, “Biko”, “The Lamb Lies
Down on Broadway” and “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” are not exact
copies of the originals, but witness to his insight and ability.
The band translates the songs in a modest and distinguished way.
Wilson’s own songs are also beautifully translated. Just listen to
“Change” and “Another Day”, for example. All the songs are great
but, unfortunately, they don’t have enough body to be real prog
songs. Nevertheless, as with every singer/song writer, there are
very strong melodies in all of his songs. What Ray mostly misses is
a co-composer such as Tony Banks (earlier) or Clive Nolan or Arjen
Lucassen (today). Just take one of Wilson’s songs as a base, add a
bit of change in the rhythm, the theme and the solos, but keep his
feel for drama and melody and you can only imagine what fantastic
prog songs could come out of that. But don’t be sad, there are a
lot of wonderful things to look forward to on this album. What’s
especially noticeable is the ‘color’ of his voice and it’s
unbelievable, delicious hoarse sound that is sure to please Gabriel
Fans. I’ve been a fan for years, ever since Stiltskin. You’ll find
a few of those songs here as well, but in a different version.
There are also a few songs from the band Cut, a band that he put
together with his brother, after having left Genesis.
This is a great live double CD from Ray Wilson. Thanks to that
fantastic voice from Wilson and the fun covers from Genesis, Peter
Gabriel and Phil Collins, this CD gets that something extra to look
forward to. |
