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Another Sailor Live!

Peter A. Taylor | Taiwan | 12/22/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"For years, there was a distinct lack of live album recordings from Sailor, and it wasn't until the early 2000's that this was corrected with the release of the "Sailor: Live In Berlin" lp. Now, there is a plethora of so-called live albums from the band and most of them are regurgitated versions of "Live in Berlin" or else , like in this case, taken directly from a live video recording.This album first appeared on the scene about 12 months ago and is primarily the audio recorded version of the bands concert in the U.K in 2002/3 (I think), which formed the basis for the live dvd "Sailor Live: Pirate Copy". The sound is excellent, and the material, as per usual, covers a broad cross section of the bands music over the past 25 - 30 years. For the cognescenti of the band, it's worth obtaining just for the rarity of the recording and also for the previously unreleased tracks "The Frozen Man", and the instrumentals "Streets Of Amsterdam" (intro to "Josephine Baker") and drummer/percussionist Grant Serpell's excellent drum solo. "The Frozen Man", a James Taylor song, as sung by the then lead singer and guitarist of Sailor,Peter Lincoln, is beautifully played and heartfelt vocally rendered. The rest of the album is fine with the exception of the addition of non-Sailor material - "The Frozen Man" aside - included in their live performances to satisfy the urgings of the continental 'golden oldies' touring market. This latter material I find infantile and quite denigrating, and hardly enhances the reputation of what I consider to be one of the most inventive and interesting bands of the glam/theatre rock genre. The rather lengthy chattering amongst band members between songs, is fine and even amusing on the dvd but on the cd I find it takes up too much listening time. That said, this recording is still up to the usual high standards of Sailor and deserves a listen. For the really keen and those who know little about the band, may I suggest trying to obtain a copy of the excellent 2 disc anthology set "Buried Treasures" (Belerion records) released earlier this year. This compilation, contains a virtual recording history of the band from prior to their inception in 1973, through to the current lineup (which by the way has reverted to the following since the departures of both Peter Lincoln (2006),and keyboardist Rob Alderton (2005): Henry Marsh, Grant Serpell, Phil Pickett and now Henry's son Oliver - as replacement lead singer/guitarist. Both Alderton and Lincoln play on this live recording! Also worth noting have been the solo releases of both former inventor, writer and lead singer of the band Georg Kajanus - "Kajanus:Revealed" (2006), an intriguing collection of Georg's music covering nearly 30 years of involvement in the music industry, including songs from the acclaimed and excellent Kajanus/Pickett "Hi Ho Silver" lp and the ecletic but catchy intrumental "Harbour" ,surprisingly left off the "Buried Treasure" set - and Henry Marsh's instrumental lp "The Other Side Of The Ocean" (2005), featuring mainly recordings of Henry's award winning stage music. Unfortunately, both solo recordings have limited release.

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