I
will be very upfront here and state that I am not easily convinced about the
merits of live albums, as I feel they don’t always work. Bands that have masses
of followers based on studio releases, may also be superb live performers, but
there are cases when the magic of a live performance does not translate well to
a recorded version. So, how does this 2 CD set fit into this scenario? Let’s get
started and find out.
Mostly
Autumn are a seven piece band comprising Olivia Sparnenn (vocals), Andy Smith
(bass), Anne-Marie Helder (guitar/flute/keyboards), Bryan Josh
(guitars/keyboards/vocals), Gavin Griffiths (drums), Liam Davidson
(guitars/vocals) and Ian Jennings (keyboards/synthesizers/Hammond organ).
There
are 19 tracks on this double CD, Still
Beautiful Live 2011, with disc 1 the shorter of the two, comprising 8
tracks (52:20) and disc 2 containing the other 11 tracks (68:39). The newest
studio album prior to the tour, Go Well
Diamond Heart, provides 8 of the 19 tracks and an older album, Passengers, contributes another 5 tracks
and those albums form the bulk of the live recording.
The
set starts off with “Hold The Sun” (5:46) with a piano passage before the
rhythm engine crashes into proceedings and the superb voice of Olivia carries
the track along until joined by Bryan on vocals. The song has a very distinctive
hook, shows Bryan to be a very good guitarist, and is an excellent start to the
album.
The
following four tracks, “Deep In
Borrowdale” (6:06), “Something Better” (3:39), “Forever Young” (4:58), and
“Ice” (8:23) are all taken from the Go
Well Diamond Heart album, as indeed, is the opening track itself. Ice
(8.23) is a slower starting track to those that have gone before with a relaxed
drum/bass introduction and a gentle guitar motif over the top. Bryan leads the
vocals and Olivia takes over before handing it back to Bryan. Both vocalists
have powerful voices although they are subdued to fit the music on this track.
Around the halfway point, a gentle piano motif takes over and the sound starts
to build with superb guitar work weaving in over the top of the keyboards. Cue
the bass/drums becoming more insistent and the track livens up quickly and
drives along with the male vocals and lead guitar catching your attention.
Track
6, “The Dark Before The Dawn” (4:41), continues the pace set with the ending of
the previous track and again highlights the benefits of having two excellent
vocalists who provide the perfect complement to each other .The flute of
Anne-Marie plays a prominent part.
The
last two tracks on this first disc are both longer tracks. “The Last Climb” (7:39) again
sees a more relaxed introduction which slowly builds and the haunting flute of
Anne-Marie again plays a prominent part and is the main instrument from about
1.5 minutes until the lead guitar takes over around the 4 minute mark. The
guitar then drives the song along until about 30 seconds prior to finishing
when the wall of sound drops and a peace descends for the guitar to gently take
the track out.
The
final track of disc 1 is track 8, “Questioning Eyes” (11:04) and highlights the
vocal prowess of Olivia, initially backed by a simple piano passage which
merges into majestic passages of music and then returns to Olivia/piano. At 6
minutes, the last passage of solo piano/Olivia slows down and ultimately leaves
the piano to pick up the pace around 7 min and then the amazing guitar comes in
and soars, glides and dips as it moves to its finale just after 11 minutes. This
is a superb track to end the first half of the show.
Disc
2 starts with the longest track of the set, “Heroes Never Die” (12:22). There
is a keyboard start with an almost melancholy, plaintive lead guitar picking
out a melody over the top, which is an amazingly atmospheric start to the track
and immediately recalls a similarity to Pink Floyd. Some superb guitar work
leads into a terrific vocal performance by Bryan and Olivia before there is a
change of pace within the song, but retaining the plaintive sound. Around the 5
minute mark, the sound fills out and then returns to the solo voice of Bryan
then the sound builds up again with Olivia rejoining in on the vocals. The
vocals fade out after 7.5 minutes and then there is a blistering guitar driven
wave of sound to the finale. This certainly showcases the amazing lead guitar
work…a sensational track to start the second part of the CD.
Track
2, “Distant Train” (4:55), has a magnificent guitar riff in a more relaxed
setting for this instrumental. There is a change of pace around 2 minutes when
the flute of Anne-Marie joins in, swirling around. The whole track gently
builds in intensity and there is more exquisite guitar playing in the second
half of this track. The third track, “Answer The Question” (4:39) has an
up-tempo guitar riff behind the male voice which is backed up through the song
by both voices of Olivia and Anne-Marie. “Caught In A Fold” (3:39) is the
fourth track and the third in succession to be taken from the Passengers album. This is a female
voiced intro over a chunky rhythm with Anne-Marie’s flute floating here and
there within the song.
“Nowhere
To Hide” (4:22) is next up and is an example of Mostly Autumn’s earlier work.
This is another rocker with terrific sound from the rhythm engine of the band
and Bryan’s voice ringing out clear over the top. The vocal is again augmented
by both the ladies voices. The title track from the album “Go Well Diamond
Heart” (6:22) follows and has a very different atmospheric start before
Olivia’s voice enters and again, the song highlights the spot-on harmonies the
band can produce. Another title track follows, “Passengers” (5:53) and “First
Thought” (4:41) from the same album, both of which demonstrate the range that
the band can cover with the first of these tracks a slow guitar/piano start
before Olivia appears and the second track, while again highlighting the superb
vocals, shows amazing guitar playing and terrific melodies.
The
penultimate track, “Evergreen” (8:32) is taken from the album Spirit Of Autumn Passed and starts with
a gentle acoustic introduction and then the ethereal keyboards enter in the
background. The clear powerful vocals of Olivia move the song along and produce
a truly captivating 8+ minutes.
Finally,
the climax of the 2 CD set is “And When The War Is Over…” (8:07) again taken
from Go
Well Diamond Heart and this has a keyboard start with a beautifully picked
out guitar motif and then the voice eases into the mix, along with the drum and
bass. A very melancholic sounding track with the phrasing and timbre of Bryan’s
vocal at times recalling a younger Leonard Cohen. This is a superbly building
song with blistering guitar work pushing the track along. This was an excellent choice of track to end
the concert on.
So,
at this point, the $64,000 question is, “How does this CD stand in this
reviewers eyes (and probably, ears)?” This is certainly a very well put
together live album, showcasing the skills of all the musicians involved and
with extremely good sound recording, thus making this an excellent addition for
any follower of Mostly Autumn. I also have to admit that this CD set has shown
me that live albums can, and do, work.
Indeed,
I feel that as a starting point for “getting into” this band, this set is an
excellent way of doing just that. It gives the listener a great insight into
what the band are about and a selection
of old/new material all superbly played and, for this listener, the curtailing
of minutes of cheering and yelling after each track merely enhances the
listening experience. A very enjoyable 2 hours of excellently played music.
4/5 Stars
Key
Tracks: The Last Climb, Evergreen, And When The War Is Over….
Jim “The Ancient One” Lawson-MuzikReviews.com. Staff
November 10, 2012
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