Review Jon Lord, 19.May, Köln
For the first time via e-mail I would like to contribute my review of the
Jon
Lord show at Cologne on May 19th. I won't make it too long, because the
setlist
seems to have been the same as at the Luxembourg show and later.
Except for a very few split seconds when the cello player obviously did not
hit
the right note one hundred percent the whole band (ensemble, rather) was in
good
shape and in a very good mood, especially Jon himself. During the whole
evening,
he appeared rather a composer and charming presenter rather than the featured
solo performer.
My personal highlights of the show were all songs sung by Sam Brown, above
all
that stunning version of "Stop" (just cello played like a guitar,
fingersnips,
violin - or viola? can't remember - solo plus that voice: would you have
believed this would work?), and Jon's performances of his own "Sarabande" and
"Bourrée". Brubeck's "Unsquare Dance" seemed a fitting choice, because just a
few minutes earlier it had struck me how much the "Sarabande" riff,
er...sorry:
piano theme owes to "Take Five". And it showed everyone in the audience how
much
fun these people on the stage were having.
The only gripes were the sampled guitar sounds on some tracks from
'Sarabande'
and Dieter Müller's singing on "Where are you". IMO, a bit too much from
"Pictured Within" was included. Especially this "Kyrie" stuff keeps getting
on
my nerves. There is no development in it, just length. But a lot of the other
songs are even more beautiful when you see the string quartet playing while
you
hear them.
Jon's autographs on my copy of the "Gemini Suite" and "Sarabande" were the
cream
on the cake. I enjoyed the evening very much, and for once, I could do
without
my earplugs in a Purple-related show.
Axel Cordes