I own three Chris De Burgh CDs, The Spanish Train And Other Stories, Spark To A Flame: The Very Best Of Chris De Burgh, and High On Emotion - Live From Dublin, which is what I'll be covering in this article.
I want to start by saying that this is the type of live album I really enjoy. You can hear the crowd, Chris really likes to work the crowd and interact, as well as there being a real showmanship to his vocal performance as well. Also, the songs don't all sound the same as the original studio versions. On some songs the lyrics get changed up a bit, on other tracks the music is augmented in slight ways.
There are some parts about this live show I don't care for, as I find it a bit overly romantic, but it's the story telling that's amazing. Also if you are a fan,it's great to hear some of these classics live, as well as being exposed to different material. I only say different, because to this day some of these songs I only know the live versions that are on this disc. He's one of those artists that I've always wanted to explore more, but I know he's hit and miss to my tastes.
The album was released in 1990, and the original recording was made on November 9, 1990. But it's a reference to one of the songs in the encore that helps keep this album a little more current. The song was referenced in a Trailer Park Boys episode from season five. When Gary, a mall security attendant, says to Bubbles: "You're not the one who waits to go to a Chris DeBurgh concert for three and a half years so I can go in and miss the encore of Don't Pay the Ferryman because I'm on the phone in the foyer, talking about stolen shopping carts!" It's because of this album I get and love that reference so much, even though it came years after I first picked up this CD for myself. However, my dad had this albums years before me, and I'm pretty sure he had picked it up when it first came out, so it's been in my life a long time. This album would get some heavy play when we used to go camping.
The concert kicks of with Last Night. This is a decent enough of a song. It's musically a strong start to a concert. Aside from that I don't have all that mush to say about this song. It's a decent enough song, but I can kind of see why it's right at the beginning of the show. One of those get it over and done with kind of track.
Sailing Away is introduced as a brand new track. This would have been from the Flying Colours album, which I haven't heard. Based on the five songs from that album that appear on this live one, I'm not in a rush to pick it up anytime in the near future either. As for this live version of the song, it's okay, but doesn't have that story tellers feel like the songs I generally like from Chris De Burgh.
Actually as I look at the track list for this album, and which studio albums the songs originally appeared on, I notice that only five albums out of a possible nine albums are represented. Of those five albums I own only one, and there's only one other I would pick up based on the live tracks. Which I'm sure gives a much worse impression of this album than I want you to have. In fact, The Revolution, which is up next, is a really passionate song, originally from The Getaway, which is the album I would pick up after listening to this album. There's a slow pick up, but then the song really explodes. Then kicks into one hell of a jig. This one has some real power.
I'm Not Scared Anymore is one of those songs that many would love, but it really doesn' t do too much for me. It's the type of song that would be considered commercial for Chris De Burgh.
The next track is a great piece to start with, but the presentation in this version is just spectacular to me. Not only does he work the crowd, but his performance is just that. He's telling you the story of the Spanish Train, and you will listen and participate, and enjoy, because it's awesome. Listening to this version of the song, makes me want to perform it live.
Borderline is a very pretty war time song. Chris De Burgh paints an image of a boy going of to war and leaving his beloved behind. It's a very powerful song. Then there comes the point when he let's the crowd do all the singing, and it's just rivetting.
The Risen Lord is a shorter track that isn't as preachy as the title may have one think. That's one of the things I like about Chris De Burgh and his religious related songs. The very intellegently written.
The Last Time I Cried is a little to eighties sounding for me. I'm fine with passing by, but I don't mind it in the car either.
If the general public knows one song from Chris De Burgh it's The Lady In Red. While I'm glad it gave him some real exposure, I'm not overly fond of the song. It's very Easy Listening. Way too Easy Listening for me.
Then it's on to a classic from the Spanish train album. A Spaceman Came Travelling is performed with a sweetly picked guitar, which breaks into a brisk strum, and a whole lot of crowd participation. While the vocalist spins out the story of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, just from a slightly different point of view. This is one of those songs where the audience knows every note and you can tell.
From that it's on to the dirtiest song that I know in this performer's repetoire. Patricia The Stripper is started with an extended talking bit that he uses to introduce this classic. I love how tastefully dirty this song is. It's pure naughty Vaudville.
You're not missing anything by skipping Missing You.
Say Goodbye To It All is another slower song, and you can even hear the eighties sound all through it all, but this track is much more powerful. It's not a song I would suggest to the casual listener of my reviews, but it's a not a bad track.
Given a choice between a studio version of Don't Pay The Ferryman and the live version on this album, I'm more prone to pick the live cut. The instrumentation, mixed with the audience doing the background vocals that make this a rockin' song. Personally I would love to hear this song done even heavier, but this track does it for the most part. This is just one of those songs I love to listen to over and over. A lot of it is because of the speed. Seriously, I think Iron Maiden should take a crack at this one.
I guess this album's title track would be High On Emotion, which is the last song of the night. It is an amazing closer and you can hear the audience loving every second of it as they join in with the singing. I find it interesting that this is sort of the big ticket song for this album, since it's from an album that had been released six years prior, The Man On the Line. It's also the only song to played in this concert that appeared on that album. An album that my mom had, but my dad didn't, and later my sister scooped up from my mom, because it had been in one of her cassette cases instead.
When it comes to the song High On Emotion I love the guitar work. It would be a lot better, if it were further ahead in the mix, but it's quite enjoyable. This is one of those eighties big ticket movie closers. I could see this being played over the closing seuqence in a John Hugh movie, and then continuing through the credits.
As a listener of Hard Rock, Classic Metal, and even Classic Rock, I find this album a bit too mellow and ballady. As a Chris De Burgh fan, I find this album a little heavy on the Pop songs, and the love songs, and not the ones I prefer.
If you are looking for a Chris De Burgh album to listen to I can suggest others.
6/10 - content
8/10 - production
7/10 - personal bias
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