Hard hitting blues rockers Black Country Communion were on tour in Europe in the Summer of 2011. Three shows in Germany (Hamburg, Munich and Berlin) were filmed with 14 HD cameras. Live Over Europe sees them playing up a storm, playing 16 songs songs from their two studio albums, a Joe Bonamassa solo song (>The Ballad Of John Henry) and Burn, a Deep Purple cover. Bass player and lead singer has every right to dos o - he played on the original way back in 1974.
The seeds for Black Country Communion were sown when Hughes ran into guitar player Joe Bonamassa in Sao Paolo in 1999. They jammed occasionally over the years, nothing serious, but when drummer aJason Bonham and keyboard player aDerek Sherinian joined in at the suggestion of producer Kevin Shirley things kinda snowballed. They quickly laid down the songs for a debut album and hit the road. All four are busy guys, but they obviously enjoyed the sessions and subsequent tour and so they decided to do it again this year, after hey had released their sophomore album "2".
Glenn Hughes has all the trappings of a vintage classic rock frontman, working the crowd, hitting a barrage of low notes with great dexterity, and he can hit high notes that singers half his age will shy way from. Bonamassa can channel his Seventies heroes, topped with his signature fluidity - - Songs of Yesterday and The Great Divide will haunt anybody who own a Gibson. Sherinian often conjures up a Hammond sound from his keyboards and does a great job of emulating the synths of Won't Get Fooled Again at the end of Sista Jane. Bonham steps out of the shadow of his father John, laying down a shoe-tapping funky beat, lining up his toms like a General of percussion.
The footage of Live Over Europe is tied together with short snippets of the members giving a bit of background and sharing their feelings about the tour. The second disc of the set contains a 20 minute behind the scenes about the creation of the group, using footage that is hinted at during the main feature.
Live Over Europe is released on Macto Records. A one-night only screening happens in UK cinemas on November 1st. Song of Yesterday is available as a free download.
Tracks: DVD 1:- Revolution Of The Machine (intro)
- Black Country
- One Last Soul
- Crossfire
- Save Me
- The Battle For Hadrian'S Wall
- Beggarman
- Faithless
- Song Of Yesterday
- I Can See Your Spirit
- Cold
- The Ballad Of John Henry
- The Outsider
- The Great Divide
- Sista Jane
- Man In The Middle
- Burn
- Smokestack Woman (end credits)
- Forging BCC - The Making of Live Over Europe
- Photo Collection - Live On Tour
- Photo Collection - Behind The Scenes
Video: Black Country Communion - "Live Over Europe" DVD trailer
HCTF review of Black Country Communion.
HCTF review of "2".