Live In London (EU)

ブリティッシュ・ブルース・ロックの頂点、ロッド・スチュワート＆フェイセスの1975年ロンドンでのファイナルコンサート。 バンドのヒットソング、ロッドのソロ・ナンバーに加え、敬愛するSam Cook, Chuck Berry, Bobby Womackのカバーも収録。 Ron Wood （ギター）、Kenny Jones（ドラムス）、 Ronnie Lane （ベース）、Ian MacLagen（ピアノ）によるタイトなグルーヴ感はロッドの荒削りでソウルフルなヴォーカルを一層際立てている。 たまたまコンサートに来ていたキース・リチャードが飛び入り参加してギターを弾く姿も！

his CD, which appears to have been derived from the same source as a notoriously bad concert video, represents the last performance on the final tour ever done by Rod Stewart and the Faces. In that regard, the focus is far more on Stewart than the band, certainly in terms of repertory -- they could all obviously see the handwriting on the wall, and hear the roaring of the crowds for the singer -- and the sound is not much better than fair to good. (It appears that recording the Faces in concert was a challenge that the industry and the technology were not quite up to -- no high quality documents of the group's sound have surfaced to date). The bass, and even more so the keyboards are buried fairly deeply in the mix, whereas the guitars -- which include a contribution from guest artist Keith Richards -- are way forward, and give Stewart his only real competition in center stage. That said, and aside from the shortcomings (which include a momentary jump or skip in the audio on "It's All Over Now"), the excitement of this band does come through; and Stewart does regale us with his best soul stylings of the period, if not his best work in that vein. The last night of a tour was not the point at which to capture him doing Sam Cooke's material, and the singalong on "You Send Me" may have worked better visually, or as a live moment, than as an event on a live album. Much more successful because it required little finesse is the version of "Sweet Little Rock 'n' Roller" that comes in already in progress, showing off what this band could do even in its declining moments. Perhaps someday a better overall quality concert will be released -- and there have been worse live recordings of the Faces issued by their actual contracted label -- but this CD provides at least a glimpse of what some of the excitement in this band, and its lingering reputation across nearly 40 years, is about. Just don't expect any revelations. ~ Bruce Eder|