Search - The Tom Robinson Band - Live in Concert on DVD

Great Document of a Short-Lived Reunion

01/04/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm going to assume that the DVD I'm about to comment on is the same as that offered here, while I purchased elsewhere under a simpler title ("Tom Robinson Band"), and without any matching production company information. Perhaps it's a case of different packaging for whatever reason? At any rate, as recorded live in Nottingham in '91 during a brief reunion with Tom and 2 other original TRB members, Danny Kustow and Mark Ambler, the tracks are:
1) Number One Protection
2) Winter of '89
3) You Gotta Survive
4) Rigging It Up Duncannon
5) Green
6) Blood Brother
7) Glad To Be Gay
8) War Baby
9) 2,4,6,8, Motorway
10) Up Against The Wall
11) Power In The Darkness
If you're still reading this you're probably already somewhat of a fan of Tom Robinson either within TRB or as a woefully underappreciated solo singer/songwriter/recording artist. This live set consists of 6 tunes from the first TRB release (including some updated/reworked lyrics); the remaining 5 come from either TR solo albums or as a result of the Band's reunion. The main thing here is that the DVD looks and sounds great, which was quite a relief since the cover graphics had somewhat of a *bootleg* feel to them. The only *drawbacks* could be the running time (a short 50 min.) and the fact that none of the tracks from "TRB 2" were represented (would've loved to have seen "Bully For You" or "Days Of Rage"). That being said, this DVD is well worth purchasing as a rare visual documentation of an overlooked catalogue of music. And it looks as though they're all having fun up there - too bad they couldn't make it last as a group. Fortunately for us Tom is still releasing solo recordings on occasion, and fortunately for him he doesn't need to rely on them to earn a living these days: he's got his own little radio-show deal going on. Check out his site."