Album review: THE MARTIN BARRE BAND – Live At The Wildey

THE MARTIN BARRE BAND - Live At The Wildey

The Store For Music [Release date 14.01.22] 2-CD set

This 2-CD live package is a great reminder of the 50th anniversary tour dates played out by guitarist Martin Barre in 2019. It’s pretty much the same running order as the studio album originally sold on tour and subsequently released also by SFM with the duplication of four live tracks. The committed will want both.

The real bonus of these gigs was the presence of one-time Tull keyboard player and arranger Dee Palmer and drummer Clive Bunker (who shared duties with Darby Todd).

But the addition of the two female singers Alex Hart and Becca Langford was also a masterstroke, giving a whole new dimension to a superb acoustic interlude. ‘Locomotive Breath’ in particular becomes a bustling folksy workout complete with mandolin and bouzouki. Their backing vocals elsewhere are judicious but just as enhancing.

Since his exit from Tull in 2012 Barre has fashioned some excellent “solo” albums with his loyal henchmen Dan Crisp (vocals, guitar) and Alan Thomson (bass). To his credit he has also injected a bit more life in to the old faithfuls (and I’m not referring to Crisp and Thomson here).

From the openers ‘Song For Jeffrey’ to the closing (electric) ‘Locomotive Breath’ the Tull classics are served up with an energy and purpose and from a guitarist who added so much to their creation. These days Barre is very much a standard bearer for the Tull back catalogue.

Things warm up nicely on the second disc with songs like ‘Heavy Horses’, ‘Songs From The Wood’, ‘Hunting Girl’ and ‘Steel Monkey’ also attesting the fine support from Crisp on second guitar and Thomson’s vibrant bass.

It’s a pity that Barre didn’t include one of those superb instrumentals that became a “set-piece” feature of the Tull set in the 1990s especially when Ian Anderson’s vocals were failing.

The other thing missing from this handsome package is a DVD and this is a significant omission given that the tour had accompanying visuals documenting the progress of Tull in the seventies and beyond. Only the voiceover remains. (The DVD was available as a limited edition from Martin’s website).

That said, an excellent celebration of Tull and of the band’s long-serving guitarist. ****

Review by David Randall

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