Wednesday 19 October 2011

131 Songs - Numbers 114 and 115

Number 114 - Loch Lomond Live by Runrig

I just love recorded live albums. From The Beatles Live at the BBC" to Jackson Browne's "Running on Empty" and Dire Straits "Alchemy" and "On The Night", there are so many I will have to make a list sometime. But I have to admit that the only reason I bought the CD "Once in a Lifetime - Runrig Live" was for the one track. "Loch Lomond" is transformed from a light Scottish ballad to something raw, powerful and uplifting. It is the one time I wish I was Scottish. When I listen to the rest of the album, I'm glad I'm not.

Number 115 - It Must Have Been Love by Roxette

The only full length live version I can find is my own tape recording of a Wembley concert by Roxette, transmitted on BBC radio. I have had the tape for years, and I must get someone to put it on to CD. It is somewhat spoilt by the lazy audience participation for the chorus they are expected to sing, but it gives it a spontaneous quality not found on normal released albums. I did buy Roxette's "Tourism", but this track has only a short live intro before reverting to an acoustic studio version. The song itself, written by Per Gessle and sung by Marie Fredriksson, is a run of the mill power ballad. But somehow I regularly dig out the tape to play.

No comments: