The resume of Barry Adamson is a long one. From an early version of The Buzzcocks, on to Magazine with that band's original singer (Howard Devoto), and then on to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Adamson has earned his place in rock history. That he then went on to make a wealth of solo albums, and soundtracks, and solo albums that sounded like soundtracks, further expanded his credentials. In short, Barry Adamson remains one of the few artists who is worth following whatever the release. It's all worth listening to.
All that being said, I really wasn't expected a live album. Given the ornate, lush, and seductive pseudo-soundtracks in Adamson's back-catalog, I just didn't think of him as an artist who'd reveal his skills via the live album format. And yet here we are. Live at the Union Chapel, out now via Lexer Music, further showcases the entire range of Barry's output, and his prodigious skills as both musician and front-man. Turns out that, as a performer, he's nearly as adept as he is as an arranger, producer, and player. Which is to say that this live record pleased this long-time Adamson fan in ways I wasn't expecting.
"The Beaten Side of Town" is all Tom Jones swagger and bad intent, while the slinky "Sounds from the Big House", from the classic Moss Side Story (1989), pops and snaps with wit and verve. A song that one wouldn't expect to work so well in a live setting, this version on Live at the Union Chapel is masterful. Elsewhere, "The Sun and the Sea", from I Will Set You Free (2012), finds Adamson here sounding a bit like both Jarvis Cocker (an artist he's worked with, of course), and Scott Walker. The horns anchor this to the kind of jazz pop one heard in the early Sixties, to John Barry stuff, even as the sinister punch of this one nods in the direction of collaborator Nick Cave. It's on numbers like this one during this 2018 set that Adamson really reveals just what a commanding performer he is.
While "The Long Way Back Again", from 2006's Stranger on the Sofa, shows that Barry can make something simple and unadorned work so well, a fan like me certainly prefers the more ornate and complex kind of material that he built his solo career upon. To that end, "Come Hell or High Water" from 1998's As Above So Below is exactly what I want to hear from Barry Adamson. Sounding heavy here, it's one of the real highlights of this live set, as is an earth-scorching run at "The Light Pours Out of Me" from Barry's old band, Magazine. That cut segues nicely into the epic "Jazz Devil", also from 1998's As Above So Below, and a listener is reminded just how effortlessly Barry Adamson can bridge dozens of genres over the course of a few tracks. There is, frankly, no other artist who can sound like this, and who has such arrangements. Live at the Union Chapel confirms Adamson's talents, and offers new proof that he's got as much power as a front-man in a live setting as he does as a performer and producer.
Live at the Union Chapel is out now via Lexer Music.
More details on Barry Adamson via the official website.
[Photo: Gabriel Edvy]