Originally recorded back in 2009 in his hometown of Bilston, Wolverhampton in the UK, Live in Wolverhampton is a 2CD set compilation of his 2-night gig and features a host of songs from Glenn Hughes' solo career, Trapeze, Hughes-Thrall, and Deep Purple. It also served as a fitting tribute to his old friend and Trapeze bandmate Mel Galley who at the time had recently passed away.
The first CD features a mix of Hughes solo material as well as a few Hughes-Thrall and Deep Purple tracks. Fantastic to hear the little known Purple cut "What's Going On Here" from the Stormbringer album, with Jeff Kollman doing a fine job of covering Ritchie Blackmore's parts. Hughes is in fine vocal form on this track, as well as Burn's "Mistreated", but you kind of miss the presence of David Coverdale, as in their Purple days the two created a huge wall of vocal sound that has rarely been duplicated. "Muscle and Blood" and "Hold Out Your Life" are two of the strongest songs from the very underrated debut from Hughes-Thrall and sound great here, and Glenn's funk-rock solo tracks "You Got Soul" and "Love Communion" really get their groove on.
The meat and potatoes of this set is over on CD2, which is all classic Trapeze songs. Hughes couldn't have done a better job of picking out which songs to play from that seminal '70s band that gave him his big break in rock 'n' roll. Heavy rockers "Medusa", "Black Cloud", "Jury", "Seafull", and "You Are the Music..." are all here, as well as the lovely "Coast to Coast" and the more funky "Keeping Time", "Way Back to the Bone" and "Your Love is Allright". Trapeze , along with Grand Funk Railroad, were one of the first bands that really combined hard rock with funk, and some of their best material is on display here. Hughes sounds just as good in 2009 as he did in 1972, and the band here is quite tight, with Kollman really nailing all those classic Galley guitar riffs and solos.
Live in Wolverhampton is a rockin' good time, and more proof that Glenn Hughes is a freak of nature as far as that incredible voice is concerned, and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.
Track Listing
- Muscle and Blood
- You Got Soul
- Love Communion
- Don't Let Me Bleed
- What's Goin' On Here
- Mistreated
- Steppin' On
- Crave
- Hold Out Your Life
- Way Back To The Bone
- Touch My Life
- Jury
- Keepin' Time
- Coast To Coast
- Seafull
- Good Love
- Your Love Is Alright
- Medusa
- You Are The Music...
- Black Cloud