VA - Live At Knebworth (1990)

On June 30, 1990, the Knebworth House in Hertfordshire, England, hosted the Silver Clef Award Winners concert. The show featured a wide array of musical artists including Pink Floyd, Cliff Richard & The Shadows, Tears for Fears, Eric Clapton, Dire Straits, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Robert Plant (with guest Jimmy Page), Status Quo and Phil Collins with Genesis. MTV (remember them?) showed the highlights, subsequent Knebworth CDs and DVDs have come and gone, and now the double-CD Live At Knebworth brings it back home.

The Knebworth concert of 1990 is true snapshot in time — a transitional period for most of the veteran rock acts on the roster. Genesis, Pink Floyd and Dire Straits were all sort of in wind-down mode, with final studio albums from each looming in close proximity. On the upside, Paul McCartney returned to the concert trail in the late 80s after an extended absence and was just then finishing the first of many subsequent tours.

Knebworth also brought Robert Plant and Jimmy Page back together. Three years later, they reformed as a duo, recorded a couple of albums and toured the world. By 1990, Tear For Fears were of a certain superstar pedigree, but had peaked commercially and on the verge of breaking up. Of course, Eric Clapton and Elton John had already traded in their rock and roll images of the 70s for leisure suits and MTV cred. Having Cliff Richard and Status Quo on the bill gave the show a pinch of British seasoning for the rest of the world.

Tear For Fears slog through “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” and “Badman’s Song” — certainly not the tracks this reviewer wanted to hear — and you’re immediately tossed into a time warp. Status Quo comes along and flat out rocks the house with “Dirty Water,” “Whatever You Want” And “Rockin’ All Over The World.” Cliff Richards, backed by the Shadows with Hank Marvin on guitar, deliver a light and frothy pair of tunes — “On The Beach” and “Do You Wanna Dance” — before the stage is taken over by the bigger acts on the bill, beginning with Robert Plant.

In 1990, Plant was in the throes of a burgeoning solo career, having recorded his most successful venture, Now & Zen and following up with the exotically entranced Manic Nirvana. At Knebworth, Plant and his band ripped through three songs from both albums, and are then joined by Jimmy Page for a seismic stab at an obscure Led Zeppelin track, “Wearing And Tearing.” If you’ve seen the video, you may notice Page And Plant are more aligned and in sync than they were for Live Aid in 1985. It’s unfortunate their high-impact reunion is followed by a less than an ebullient set from Genesis.

At the time, Phil Collins’ career had all but eclipsed that of Genesis, who had pretty much rolled over and played dead. “Mama” hopes and skips, but the “Turn It On Again” medley is the kind of revivalist, Vegas schtick you wouldn’t expect (or want) from Genesis. Sorry guys, but Motown deserves better. At least they didn’t resort to this charade of dumbing down during their 2007 reunion. “Sussudio,” entered as a Phil Collins track, doesn’t help matters.

a more welcomed revival of Cream surfaces when Clapton rolls out “Sunshine Of Your Love.” There are a zillion other songs Dire Straits could have played instead of “I Think I Love You Too Much,” but the smooth performance here is nothing to make faces about. At least old Elton John still knew how to throw a party at the dawn of the 90s. “Sad Songs (Say So Much)” doesn’t sound so, uh, sad. And who wouldn’t be tickled ivory by “Saturday Night’s All Right (For Fighting),” which can’t possibly disappoint.

Once again, the times dictate the song choices making Paul McCartney’s “Coming Up” a prime suspect. Those disco dips never felt less comfortable, but a heartfelt “Hey Jude” comes to rescue. The players the Beatle bassist employed, which included wife Linda, were seasoned musicians and much safer in their approach to the material than the younger group of California session players who’ve been McCartney’s core band for over a decade. Neither compare to Wings, but that’s another story.

Which leaves Pink Floyd, then a three-piece without Roger Waters. This was one of the last (if not THE last) performances of their highly successful A Momentary Lapse of Reason tour. “Comfortably Numb” shines like a diamond and “Run Like Hell,” announced by David Gilmour as “one more song and we’re off,” closes the concert on an impish grin. Four years later, Pink Floyd regrouped for The Division Bell, the last scream from the band until the Live 8 reunion.

For fans of any of these artists, these performances are the main ingredients for a complete collection. Selective, fair-weather observers may not respond as favorably to the tracks here from say, Plant, Genesis or Pink Floyd, as they would from more definitive live releases. But in the spirit of the event itself, Live At Knebworth is the kind of thing where the performances are simply a by-product of the cause, giving it a unique sheen all its own.

- Shawn Perry