Security Project: Live 2

It would be easy to be cynical about a release of live Peter Gabriel work where the only band member involved that has an obvious connection to these songs is drummer Jerry Marotta (who played on much of Gabriel's early solo work). However with the immense talents of touch guitarist Trey Gunn (ex-King Crimson) on show, there's no doubting the interest is piqued. As its name suggests, Live 2 is the second offering from Security Project in this vein, the first passing me by completely. So with fresh ears and those initial misconceptions (at least trying to be) pushed to one side, "Family Snapshot" amazes in many ways. Firstly, singer Brian Cummins sounds a lot like Gabriel – although more like Gabriel does now, rather than back in the 70s and 80s when much of this material was first aired. Once you get used to how similar he can be (even when speaking between songs), there's no denying he's impressive, expressive and believable. Then it's just how good this recording is in terms of sound quality that strikes you, the clarity and separation between instruments as good as you'll hear on a live album that still sounds live, even if the crowd play only a passing part in proceedings.

Mixing eras slightly from the predominantly vintage material, "Mercy Street", which is the least faithful offering on show, veers from the original without riding roughshod over it, while "Father, Son" from OVO shines a light on a less celebrated moment from the Gabriel catalogue. It stands up to the scrutiny superbly. However what follows surprises by not being Gabriel solo at all, instead we get both "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" and "Fly On A Windshield" from the Gabriel era Genesis album that the former track takes its name from. Both are given a real workout and the crowd absolutely laps them up, before finally getting involved in the vocal back and forth of "On The Air". It's an unexpected finale to close the show, but then much about Live 2 is reasonably unexpected, not least just how uplifting it really is, keyboard player David Jameson and guitarist Michael Cozzi superb throughout.

There's part of me that feels I should be a little more sniffy and offhand about an album of an artist's music that doesn't feature the artist himself in any shape or form. And yet I can't, the results quite wonderful and thoroughly enjoyable. Add in that Gabriel himself performs very little of this live anymore (certainly not the Genesis tracks) and hearing fresh versions, played with such care and love, proves hard to resist. They may be a high end tribute act, but what a tribute Security Project is!

Track Listing
1. Family Snapshot
2. Moribund The Burgermeister
3. Humdrum
4. Mercy Street
5. Wallflower
6. White Shadow
7. Father, Son
8. The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
9. Fly On A Windshield
10. On The Air

Added: January 1st 2017
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Security Project online
Hits: 1329
Language: english

[ Printer Friendly Page ]
[ Send to a Friend ]