Most of you classic rock fans will surely remember Chris Thompson as the lead singer of Manfred Mann's Earthband for many years throughout the 1970's and early '80s. Since leaving the Earthband, Thompson has mostly worked on a solo career , performing not only his solo hits but also some of the legendary songs from his time spent with Mann. Berlin Live & Live at the Colos-saal is a 2CD & bonus DVD set, one show recorded for Berlin radio (audio only) and another filmed at the Colos-saal, both in 2011. Joining Thompson were guitarist Mads Eriksen, keyboard player Gunnar Bjelland, bass player Frank Hovland , and drummer Zsolt Meszaros (drummer Steinar Krokstad plays on the DVD, as does guest violinist Dirk Naessens).
Longtime fans will be happy to know that Thompson still sounds great all these years later, his voice holding up well over the years and still energetic on classics like "Father of Day", "Spirits in the Night", "Don't Kill It Carol", "Blinded By the Light", "Demolition Man", "Questions", and of course the legendary "Mighty Quinn". The band is red hot throughout, delivering the goods in a big way on the harder rockers like "Martha's Madman" and "Whole Lot to Give", especially Eriksen who is quite a capable guitar player, ripping out plenty of crunchy riffs and flashy solos on these classic songs. Bjelland too impresses, especially on the hard rocking, prog rock version of "Runner", as he adds in plenty of forceful organ passages.
On the night the DVD was to be filmed at the Colos-saal in Aschaffenburg, there were all sorts of technical problems resulting in a good portion of the recordings unusable, but Thompson and his crew have salvaged a handful of songs from that evening and presented it here for the fans. What was usable is quite good, one of the highlights being the excellent new song "Land of the Long White Cloud", featuring a scorching solo from Eriksen, and the upbeat "Demolition Man", featuring a killer vocal from Thompson. Toss in some band interviews and fan shot footage, and you have a nice little bonus DVD in this jam packed live set.
Yep, Chris Thompson still has it folks, so if you've been itching to hear his superb vocals on new versions of classic Earthband material, make sure you check this hot live set out.
Track Listing
Disc 1-DVD
1 Martha's Madman
2 Land of the Long White Cloud
3 Whole Lot To Give
4 If You Remember Me
5 Demolition Man
6 Redemption Song
7 Don't Kill It Carol
8 Mighty Quinn
9 Drum Solo (Zsolt Meszaros)
10 You Angel You
11 Davy's on the road again
12 Chris and Band Interview
Disc 2-CD 1
1 Father of Day
2 Wasting Time
3 Hot Summer Night
4 Spirits In The Night
5 Martha's Madman
6 Land of the Long White Cloud
7 Whole Lot To Give
8 If You Remember Me
9 Demolition Man
10 Redemption Song
11 Don't Kill It Carol
12 Runner
13 Mighty Quinn
Disc 3 -CD2
1 Piece For the Wicked
2 You Angel You
3 Davy's On the Road
4 Blinded By the Light
5 For You
6 You're The Voice
7 Questions
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