Glenn Hughes-Live In Wolverhampton

earMusic/Armoury Records
2013

It was back in June 2009 that bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes, who should need no introduction to classic rock fans and hard rock fans alike, played a two-night set in his English hometown of Bilston, Wolverhampton. a history. Over the course of those two nights he played material from throughout his career. The music covered a lot of ground from his time in Trapeze to his days fronting Deep Purple. All of those choice cuts were put onto this 2CD collection. Whether you were there in person or not doesn't really matter as it's easy enough to get caught up in all the excitement of the moment. These songs were enthusiastically embraced by his hometown audiences and there's one clear reason why. The music here, and the man himself, rocked! Whether your a fan of Glenn Hughes or not the mere energy of this live material is enough to catch you off guard and sweep you off your feet! This 2 CD set stands as both a history lesson in rock and a celebration of Glenn Hughe's impressive musical career. The first night saw Glenn Hughes play cuts from his time as lead vocalist of Deep Purple while on the second evening, dubbed "You Are The Music: An Evening Of Trapeze," (an obviously allusion to the Trapeze album "You Are the Music...We're Just the Band"), Hughes performed songs from his early days in Trapeze. It would have really been something if he would have dug even further back in time (as in the 60's) and covered material from his time in Finders Keepers! Sadly for die hard fanatics he doesn't, but this 2-CD collection is still magical and a must-have for fans of either Deep Purple and/or Trapeze. Cuts like "Mistreated" (Deep Purple) and "You Are The Music" (Trapeze) sound amazing and it's obvious how much Glenn loves both the music and those that who made the music-the fans. From the audience reaction to both nights it's obvious that the fans picked up on the love as well. It really is something to hear from fresh the material still sounds. While the Deep Purple material may have been played on night let's start with night number two. Hearing Hughes and company play Trapeze cuts like "Touch My Life", "Medusa", "Black Cloud" and "Good Love" is one thing, but it's the way in which these numbers sound so timeless that is the real clincher. There's a lot to be said about how damn good these tracks still sound after so many years! And the energy level of Glenn Hughes? Wow. Forget Beyoncé, and her artificial attempt at "music", as this album's immense electrical charge is for real!. For you see, as I sat down to listen to this two-night/two-CD collection of classics, with a glass of wine in my hands (and nothing but a pair of headphones separating me from some killer rock), the power ended up being knocked out cold!  It's more then just mere coincidence if you ask me! It just shows the power this bassist/vocalist has! I mean here's a guy who played with Trapeze, Deep Purple and even briefly fronted Black Sabbath! That speaks volumes about how good Glenn Hughes was and still is. If the Trapeze material is really good then the Deep Purple material would have to be considered great! Although it's so close it's hard to tell which one night/band covered here is better. Take a listen to the Deep Purple cut "Mistreated" and then listen to Glenn's cover of it on disc number one. If it was played with this much passion (and skill level) a track like "Mistreated" could easily fit into some young/hip band's set list and the younger generation, assuming they didn't have wonderful parents who schooled them on the greatness of Deep Purple, would just eat it up and never know that this track was older then they were. The material comes alive here and really does sound as fresh as ever! "Live In Wolverhampton" is packed with some amazing gems and the mix, which is rich and inviting, makes you feel like you were right there. So again, whether you're a fan of Glenn Hughes or the bands he was in (or even if you're just a fan of good classic rock/hard rock!) you simply cannot go wrong with this live album. Cheers to you Glenn! May you keep on rocking FOREVER!