A city break you won’t find on Expedia: the Queen of the Danube by day; prog rock royalty by night! Budapest is an amazing city and no surprise that the venue for this co-headline gig was a classy, plush, comfy-seated hall with Art Nouveau flourishes.

Manfred Mann’s Earth Band might not quite have the critical mass to co-headline alongside the likes of Jon Anderson back in Blighty, but in Europe they remain seriously First Division. This is part of the reason we only see them fleetingly in the UK. Another factor is that Manfred Mann is based in Sweden these days.

The absence of regular home gigs is such a shame, because tonight’s performance is deeply impressive, highly talented and hugely enjoyable.

Kicking off with ‘Captain Bobby Stout’ from their eponymous 1972 debut album, the band are quickly into their stride, riding a warm reception from the crowd. The five long-time incumbents are joined on stage for this track (and a couple of others later in the set) by James Stewart who handles the keytar with aplomb.

There is a confidence and understanding flowing between the musicians. For instance the up-tempo ‘Don’t Kill it Carol’ sees the vocals switch easily between front man Robert Hart and guitarist Mick Rogers, with contributions from Manfred atop his keyboard pile. Mick’s guitar tone is a lovely, growly chug and underpins a psychedelic-infused keyboard instrumental.

Similarly, ‘Martha’s Madman’ builds from its haunting, vaguely disturbing opening vocal passage into a full-immersive instrumental workout. Manfred’s keyboards set a high creative benchmark and this time it is Steve Kinch’s sumptuous bass that sits close to the vibe, powering the extended passages. In fact Steve barely moves from Manfred’s side all night.

The Melissa Etheridge cover ‘Stronger Than Me’ is a slight mood changer, but works really well. Robert Hart excels and gives the track a double-shot of authentic power-ballad vocal.

‘Father of Day, Father of Night’ is an Earth Band live standard. More than anything else in the set, this is Mick Rogers’ moment. He takes the lead vocal whilst Robert drops backstage and he guides the band through a series of slow-building, twisting instrumental segments, bouncing off Manfred’s exquisite keyboards. Mid-track, we are treated to a fret-burning Rogers solo that simply emphasises what an under-rated guitarist this man is. Heck, even his black and white shoes are cool.

When Robert comes back to the stage, there’s a lovely moment where he directs the enthusiastic applause towards Mick and then steps up to wrap his blues-pipes around a heartfelt vocal on the beautiful, simple, melodic ‘For You’. Hairs on the back of the neck and all that.

Before the home run of hits, Manfred appears at the mic and barks. Just barks. Like a hound. It’s a surreal moment and hard-core fans might say he’s referencing ‘Pluto The Dog’ from the band’s ‘Solar Fire’ album. But I think he’s just having a laugh. He’s enjoying the moment. If you consider that Manfred Mann will be 83 later this year, it is incredible that he is here and performing to such a high standard and with such passion.

‘Blinded By The Light’ is a romp. The crowd are on their feet and singing the chorus. Likewise, ‘Davy’s On the Road Again’, with involved keyboard/guitar battles followed by band introductions where the exemplary drummer John Lingwood is described as ‘Ritchie Blackmore’s brother from another mother’.

There is a short break before the encore of ‘Mighty Quinn’ which delivers a suitably rousing finale with Robert on the lip of the stage leading the crowd through several renditions of the chorus. ‘You’ll not see nothing like the Mighty Quinn’ was still reverberating around the hall as the band take their bows and depart in triumph.

With a good deal of regret, and a little trepidation, it is hard to say the same for Jon Anderson.

He is backed here by the Paul Green Rock Academy for these 51^st anniversary ‘Close To The Edge’ gigs. Jon toured with this rock academy in the US in 2022 and has now brought the show to Europe. That outing itself built on an earlier collaboration begun in 2005.

So the rock academy formula is well tried and tested by Anderson. Yet somehow the show doesn’t hang together. As the gig unfolds it is hard to square the knowledge of that history with the visual and aural reality on stage, which at worst becomes a cacophonous, sprawling mess.

The setlist would normally be a dream. A string of Yes classics, plus a full rendition of ‘Close To the Edge’. And indeed there are some fine moments. But right from the start, Paul Green’s introduction gives the impression that this is as much about him and the Academy, as it is the Yes legend.

We begin with ‘Heart of the Sunrise’ and ‘Yours is No Disgrace’, where the new arrangements to suit the number of student musicians on stage give different perspectives to the tracks. There are up to 25 musicians on stage, including a series of guitarists, inter-changeable bass players, two keyboards, a pair of drummers, stacked saxes and backing vocalists.

After two tracks, there is a cast-change and a bank of female vocalists add some lovely choral singing to bring new dynamics to the enigmatic ‘I’ve Seen All Good People’. Anderson’s vocals are as sweet and strong as ever.

Then we plough into a bank of deep cuts, segues, covers and solo work. There are a few bars of ‘Kashmir’ with a lush arrangement and a backing singer who steps up to deliver a killer vocal. Next, a snatch of ‘Don’t Kill The Whale’ and a truly forgettable Eminem cover ‘Lose Yourself’.

Jon is very supportive to the students, with nods of encouragement, positive words and gentle prompts. It’s great to see but adds to the overall impression that this is an experiment.

Some of the guitarists who come forward to add solos are remarkable; others less so. The shifting cast, no matter how talented, conspires to hinder any sense of continuity and flow as they move around the stage, sometimes struggling to find their marks. The double-drum set up adds to the general fuzzy, cluttered sound.

‘State of Independence’ from Jon’s partnership with Vangelis seems to suit this format though, and works really well, cutting through with welcome dramatic passages and soaring, massed harmonies. The bass, which swamped some of the earlier tracks works so well on this.

As the set progresses, the rambling muddle reappears again. Snatches of ‘South Side of the Sky’ and ‘Long Distance Runaround’ are spliced with Lenny Kravitz’s ‘Fly Away’. Later, Bowies’ ‘Let’s Dance’ gets the same treatment.

‘Owner of a Lonely Heart’ manages to rise above the tangle briefly and the audience responds with polite applause. But it is sad to report that there are more than a few shaking of heads and plenty of people making for the doors.

At one excruciating point, Paul Green appears on stage and starts directing the young musicians around the stage and cajoling them to greater efforts. He even seems to get in Jon Anderson’s way. It’s all very distracting and gives the impression that this is a rehearsal. High School Musical meets Kids From Fame in a prog rock mash-up.

The roller-coaster lurches on. ‘Perpetual Change’ is a highlight and showcases the a stunning guitar solo from a young musician in a generally stripped down arrangement, which surely helped.

There followed a couple of numbers without Jon on stage at all, including an acoustic duet version of ‘Leave It’. The punters in the audience are not impressed.

The ‘Close to the Edge’ set, again introduced by the omni-present Paul Green, suffers the same contradictions of classy renditions and infuriating arrangements; great musicianship and showreel snapshots; professionalism and amateur-hour.

Jon Anderson’s motivations are laudable and ambitious. Absolutely. To promote young talent is a selfless and worthy aspiration. The Paul Green Academy is clearly stuffed with very able musicians and singers. Judging by reviews, the format appeared to work in the US last year. But not here. This is not what the good people of Budapest had paid to see.

A show of this nature is high risk. In the interests of balance, this is the first night of the tour with the chance to iron out some of the flab. By the time the gig gets to London later this Summer, things may well be much slicker and tighter. That will be a better time to judge this undertaking more fairly.

Manfred Mann’s Earth Band will not feature in any other legs of this tour. More’s the pity. They are the overwhelming positive to take out of this night of two halves. Catch them somewhere across Europe if you can.

Review by Dave Atkinson

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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Power Plays w/c 29 April 2024

BRIGITTE PURDY Sugar Fried Candy (Dirtshack Records)
ATTIC THEORY The Legacy (indie)
THE HOWLERS I Need Your Love (indie)
VELVETEEN QUEEN Bad Reputation (indie)
WILLS AND THE WILLING Scuffed Knees (Smash & Grab Music Ltd)
READY THE PRINCE Still Believe (indie)

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09:00-12:00 PRAYING MANTIS Defiance (Frontiers)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023

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