Glenn Hughes - Live In Wolverhampton 2
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Glenn Hughes - Live In Wolverhampton 2
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Glenn Hughes' nearly half-century long career has received a big shot in the arm of late with the success of his new classic-rock-inspired supergroup, Black Country Communion, which includes blues-rock guitar god Joe Bonamassa, keyboard wizard Derek Sherinian, and veteran rock drummer Jason Bonham. Since moving on from short stints in the bands Trapeze and Deep Purple in the early to mid '70s, Hughes has forged an impressive solo career that has been responsible for nearly 20 studio albums. Hughes defies his 60 years of age, and continues to churn out some of the best music of his career in recent years. A native of Cannock, England, Hughes returned to the neighboring city of Wolverhampton on June 6th and 7th, 2009, for a two night stand at the The Robin 2 concert venue, in Bilston, to showcase music covering his entire career, including an exclusive set of Trapeze material. Billed as "Glenn Hughes and his Full Band," the first night featured an all too short 85 minute, 9-song, set that included songs from a few of his very underrated funk-rock-soul albums of the last decade, Soul Mover, Music For The Divine, and First Underground Nuclear Kitchen, a couple of Deep Purple cuts, and two gems from his 1982 Hughes/Thrall collaboration, which makes this worth the price alone. His touring band this time around featured Jeff Kollman (guitar), Anders Olinder (keyboards), and Steve Stephens (drums) and these guys were no slouches. I was particularly impressed with Kollman's enthusiastic performance. Highlights of the first night were the opening salvo of "Muscle And Blood," from Hughes/Thrall, and "Don't Let Me Bleed," from 2005's excellent Soul Mover, just a few songs later. Along with the obligatory, and always satisfying, "Mistreated," from his Deep Purple Burn days, Hughes also dusted off a deeper cut from that same album with "What's Goin' On Here." The best performance of the night for me, though, was the killer opening track off 2008's First Underground Nuclear Kitchen, "Crave." I know that some people can be off put by Hughes frequent over-the-top vocal histrionics, and the extended ending to "Mistreated" this night will test even the most ardent fan's patience, but even at the ripe old age of 60, Hughes still has some the best vocal control and range in the business. But for the same reason I cringe every time I hear Christina Aguilera's overstated vocal delivery, more is not always better. The second night in Wolverhampton was billed as "You Are The Music: An Evening of Trapeze." Hughes was one of the band's founding members in 1969 and stayed with them until 1973, performing on their first three studio albums. With the exception of the song "Good Love," which appeared on the 1974 compilation album, The Final Swing, the 11-song setlist was split six to four between their second album, Medusa, and third one, You Are the Music...We're Just the Band. Nothing from their folksier, psychedelic sounding, self-titled, debut album. The Trapeze show was dedicated to founding member and guitarist Mel Galley, who passed away in 2008. Midway into the set Hughes welcomes Galley's wife Annette to the stage as he is handed Galley's old Gibson Les Paul "Black Beauty" guitar to play during the next few songs. During "Coast To Coast," "Seafull," and "Good Love," Hughes takes over guitar duties while Kollman handles the bass. Although this was a nice gesture, and Hughes is competent enough on the guitar, these were not some of the better versions of these songs you are going to hear. He should have just done one song this way and handed the guitar back over to Kollman where it belonged. With his bass guitar firmly back in hand, Hughes tears through the funk-rock anthem, "Your Love Is Alright", as Kollman rides the groove with some impressive lead and rhythm guitar work. Steve Stevens is also rock solid on the drum kit, even throwing in a short drum solo half way through the song. Hughes usually plays "Medusa" at most of his concerts, and for good reason - she is a monster! If this smoking performance doesn't make you run out and get the Trapeze album of the same name, then nothing will. They close out the set with the wonderfully buoyant "You Are The Music," and if you ever thought of Glenn Hughes as just a singer, then check out his masterful bass work on this number. "Black Cloud" serves as the encore, sending the appreciative hometown crowd home smiling from ear to ear. The production quality of this DVD is not going to be winning any awards, but it is more than adequate. The only audio track offered is Dolby 2.0 Stereo - come on Glenn! - but it sounds very good. The bass is mixed way up front and sounds thunderous. The widescreen picture looks great and the camera work was excellent. No messing around, just mostly medium distance shots showing the whole band playing, and plenty of great close-ups at opportune times. They did cut to backstage footage a few times between songs, and once DURING a song (breaking concert DVD Commandment #1), but overall it was not too distracting. Special features include Hughes visiting the home of the Wolverhampton Wolves football club, Molineux Stadium, of which he has been a lifelong fan, as well as an interview with Glenn and Trapeze's original manager, Tony Perry. I would have picked up this DVD just to see the first night show of Hughes playing his solo and Deep Purple material, but having an entire concert dedicated to the band Trapeze, makes this DVD an essential addition to any long time Glenn Hughes fan's collection. Reviewed by Paul M. Roy - November 2011 |
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Running Time: 186 Minutes |
DVD Release Date - October 2011 |