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celebrate - live at the sse hydro glasgow reviews









Celebrate - Live At The SSE Hydro Glasgow



record collector magazine: celebrate - live at the sse hydro glasgow
defiant homecoming from 80s survivors.

Never more comfortable than on an arena stage, this CD+DVD (or Blu-ray) set, filmed at the end of last year, captures Scotland's celebrated sons in glorious form, easing through a setlist that frames their 80s commerical peak and the earlier material that edged them into the mainstream.

Their rich catalogue, still radio-resilient around the globe, never captured much critical acclaim, but a focused, prolonged determination to (literally) play to their strengths has given the band a formidable live reputation. These 93 minutes show you why: solid anthemic pop, tight production and an adoring fanbase that can sing along to almost every word. This is the first concert to be filmed at the venue and it's a slick but unfussy production - a bit like the band itself.

As at least the fifth live album from the act to gain widespread commerical release, and with 17 tracks spread across two CDs, plus one extra on DVD, this offers little novelty (bar one new song) and won't serve as any sensible substitute for the real-life experience, but it's a good memento of another clearly great night. Until their next studio release - rumoured to be later this year - this will do nicely. ***

Mark Elliott
Record Collector, August 2014