What better time for
Gene to release their first proper live LP? Having temporarily suffered a profile hit in the U.S., after A&M put the kibosh on the band's third LP,
Revelations, why not head for Los Angeles and sell out three nights at the legendary Troubadour? And, with
Gene's confidence in their on-stage proficiency obvious, why not pump the shows out via live webcast for the rest of the wired planet to hear, and release it as
Rising for Sunset? Capital idea! They exhibit muscle some might be surprised by. Most of that is still down to guitarist Steve Mason's dexterity and aggression on his six strings, like the ghosts of young
Weller,
Marr,
Townshend, and
Marriott all in one player. But there can be no denying the band as a whole just "rises" to performing like it is their home-field advantage. Through it all, singer
Martin Rossiter shines with the unusual conviction of such ultra-seriousness in such a natural ham. Bolstered so well by Kevin Miles' strident basslines and Mason's swelling chords on the chorus of "London Can You Wait," he not only manages the delicate balance of distress and distaste, but towers over his poignant words (the death of a loved one). The crowd shrieks as one incredibly well-developed melody meets another sparkling arrangement over such an array of styles, as demonstrated by the twinkling new tune, "Rising for Sunset." Overall, this feels more like a greatest-hits than a 14-song document of a typical live set. By the time the fifth song, "Mayday," closes, it's easy to conclude that this band should be hailed as the finest pop stylist in the world. The second half is surely no letup; that's when all the epics come right after another. It's almost too much to take, climbing three mountains in a row, going from "Speak to Me Someone" into "Olympian" into "You'll Never Walk Again." So how smart are they to tone it down for the final movement, the brand new "Somewhere in the World"? Yet even here, they can't help but leave you with one of the most heartbreaking ballads of torture, of horrible romantic loss, one could imagine. Even in their quietest moments,
Gene can uproot your nervous system and draw you helplessly into their severe human dramas. Oh, the humanity! ~ Jack Rabid