Live In Berlin 1998 CD: Red Light Records RL 001 Peter
Lincoln: guitars, charango, lead vocals |
A
Glass Of Champagne |
Songs written by
Georg Kajanus except for:
Mack The Knife: Brecht, Weil
Stay The Night: Henry Marsh, Grant Serpell
La Bamba Medley - "La Bamba": R. Valens,
"Volare": Modugno/Migliacci/Parish, "Banana Boat
Song": Darling/Carey/Arkin
Pop Muzik - Ghostbusters Medley - "Pop Muzik": R.Scott,
"Ghostbusters": R.Parker
Produced by SAILOR.
Engineered and mixed by Simon Gogerly.
Mixed at Strawberry Hills Studios, Gloucestershire, England.
Cover design by Mick Toole.
Cover photo by: Christel Müller.
SAILOR - An
Introduction by Stuart Eliot
- taken from the liner notes of the SAILOR album
"Live In Berlin", Red Light Records RL 001, 1998 -
I'll never forget the evening a
few weeks ago in Berlin when I experienced for myself the rare
musical magical magic of a live SAILOR concert. Through the
strains of an old Edith Piaf song, wild street organs and a foggy
harbour-town backdrop, the band launched into some of the most
powerful and theatical rock entertainment I have ever seen. From
their heyday in the 1970's Glam-Rock era - their contemporaries
including my band Cockney Rebel, Roxy Music and Sparks - SAILOR
shone out as one of the most innovative and exciting live bands
of that time. Since then and after disbanding for much of the
1980's they have been re-building their great reputation
throughout Europe as a live attraction second to none.
Re-discovering SAILOR that night was a complete joy. Their many
hits including GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS and A GLASS OF CHAMPAGNE
sounding as fresh and sparkling as ever, but more than that.
With a new maturity SAILOR now seem to take on board the whole
era of 20th Century contemporary music - from the cobblestone
streets of pre-war cabaret a la Brecht and Weill, right through
to the Glitz and Glam Rock 70's and back, via the most infectious
Latin dance music I have heard for years, with vocal harmonies
that would put most other bands, past and present, to shame.
Before the group appeared on stage, the anticipation of their
many fans, young and old, was palpable, resembling in many ways
the devotion of Rocky Horror Show camp followers. Dressing up
like their heroes, singing and 'acting out' the whole SAILOR
performance, they made it an unforgettable party night out.
Encore after encore at the end of the evening left the fans
spilling out onto the street singing and dancing - the party
still going on no doubt until dawn.
SAILOR have made many great records and classic pop hits in the
last twenty years - some of which, like me, you may still have up
in your attic! But I am convinced, along with their ever-growing
new 90's audience, that unless you experience SAILOR 'Live' in
concert, you will certainly be missing out on the true magic of
one of the most exciting and entertaining nights out you will
ever have. FORGET MTV, INTERNET AND VIRTUAL REALITY! SAILOR ARE
REAL... AND ARE BACK WITH A VENGEANCE!
Whatever you do, go out and see them tonight.
STUART ELLIOT, drummer
(Pilot, Cockney Rebel, Kate Bush, Alan Parsons Project).
A review by
David MacLeod from 1998:
- taken from the Harbour
- The Sailor Appreciation Page website because the "Fan
Speak" section of the website had broken down -
"Thanks to the information
supplied on the Harbour
- The Sailor Appreciation Page - page, I sent my credit card details to
the Strawberry Hills Management address for a copy of "Live
In Berlin" - and a T-shirt!
After several weeks, my package arrived. The CD came attached to
a glossy, full-colour, 4-page brochure, encouraging us to
"Turn your special event into the success of the century!
SAILOR, one of the most innovative and entertaining bands of the
70's, are now available to turn your special event into a
sensational evening's entertainment your guests will never
forget. The party of a lifetime!"
So, what of the music? A couple of blasts on a foghorn herald the
oh-so-familiar opening chords of A GLASS OF CHAMPAGNE. The first
shock - if you've never heard him before - is that Peter Lincoln
sounds EXACTLY like Georg Kajanus! No wonder he got the job. The
song itself sounds as fresh as ever and serves as the perfect
set-opener.
LA CUMBIA is suitably Latin, with a slightly extended central
section. Otherwise, another faithful rendition. Track three is
introduced by Peter (no, it's Henry), "And now, for a little culture." A few
bars of Grieg's Piano Concerto in A lead into one of my favourite
SAILOR songs of all, GIVE ME SHAKESPEARE. The band obviously love
the song and add some wonderful Beach Boys harmonies in the
second verse and a superb guitar solo from Peter after verse
three before the curious shout of "Shake! Spit!" (it's
"Shakes-Peare").
Next, ONE DRINK TOO MANY leads neatly into BLAME IT ON THE SOFT
SPOT. Both are faithful renditions -- why fix what ain't broke?
-- but Grant's inventive drumming really drives both songs along.
A change of pace has Peter (Grant is the one who announces the song) telling the audience that they're being
recorded and their help is required for THE OLD NICKELODEON
SOUND.
Now, the first negative; a version of MACK THE KNIFE, sung by
Phil. Nothing wrong with it, per se; I'd just rather hear more of
SAILOR's own material (BLUE DESERT? STREET LAMP?) If I'm being
honest, I tend to miss it out, not least because track eight is
the brilliant first single from the 1991 reunion album, THE
SECRETARY. Next, is the 1978 single, penned by Henry and Grant,
STAY THE NIGHT. Silly, frothy but incredibly catchy!
An unplugged SAILOR next, to revive the very first single,
TRAFFIC JAM. Always a great song for vocal harmonies, this
version doesn't disappoint, with a very simple arrangement
featuring just a guitar and some percussion to accompany the
voices.
More multi-layered vocals next for PANAMA, then an all-out crowd
pleaser in VERA FROM VERACRUZ. The song started life as an
instrumental before Georg added lyrics for its first recorded
appearance on STREET LAMP. Here, the band mix both versions, with
vocals at the beginning and halfway through but the rest is an
exciting instrumental workout, with the 'let's see how fast we
can play it' ending.
The longest track is the 5:03 LA BAMBA MEDLEY, featuring LA
BAMBA, VOLARE and the BANANA BOAT SONG. Fun, yes, and a chance
for Peter to throw out another great guitar solo, but the same
criticism applies to this as for MACK THE KNIFE, I'd rather hear
their own material. After all, Georg Kajanus could write
Latin-influenced songs like a South American native (LATINO
LOVER, MAMBO LOCO, etc.).
Naturally, no SAILOR concert is going to be without GIRLS, GIRLS,
GIRLS. A straight version leads into another medley; this time
M's 1981 hit, POP MUZIK, coupled with the Ray Parker, Jr. smash,
GHOSTBUSTERS. Again, fun, but...
The band finished as they began, by reprising their greatest hit,
A GLASS OF CHAMPAGNE.
Weighing in at a fraction under 58 minutes, LIVE IN BERLIN proves
that, even without Georg Kajanus, the band can still cut it as a
live band. A worthy addition to your SAILOR collection.
Oh, and the T-shirt fits beautifully!"
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