It’s been a while since we last had the opportunity to catch Glenn Hughes in the flesh, which makes this evening somewhat special. Even more so because Glenn is out promoting his stunning new album, Chosen, a hard rock gem that stands among the year’s best – not least because Glenn boasts the sort of voice that makes grown men weep.
It’s a cold Friday evening, the first time it’s really felt autumnal in this strange year, and we’re at Nottingham’s famed Rock City. With the venue once again splitting the evening between a live gig and a club night, the show starts early, which helps to account for the audience being somewhat thin on the ground for Sophie Lloyd’s set, although those who are present are vocal enough in their appreciation.
We arrive during the title track of her debut album, Imposter Syndrome, a ballad with elements of Doro and Within Temptation lodged in its DNA. As ballads go, it’s fine, but it’s Sophie’s impressive guitar work that steals the show.
Unfortunately, while Sophie’s exceptional skills are absolutely without question, the set is less inspiring. An instrumental cover of Enter Sandman may provide a certain amount of space for Sophie to showcase her chops, but an original tune would have been preferable, especially in so short a set. Fortunately, Do Or Die is waiting in the wings to provide a better representation of what Sophie can do, with blazing riffs and harmonised leads neatly bridging the realms of thrash and classic hard rock.
All in all, it makes for a solid warm up set and, with the venue filling up, it’s soon time for Glenn to take the stage.
Let’s get the easy part out of the way, Glenn Hughes is one of rock’s great artists. When you consider that, given his immense legacy, he could simply have dined out on the same songs for two decades or more, the fact that he’s still unleashing new music is something for which we should all be grateful. Especially when it’s of the quality of Chosen, a ferocious album that reminds us that Glenn has always kept a-moving throughout his storied career. It’s a fact that Glenn alludes to on several occasions, almost apologetic that this is not a Deep Purple Legacy show, perhaps unaware of the excellent example he is setting to the myriad artists he has inspired over the years.
As has always been the case, Glenn exudes that special aura reserved for genuine rock stars and he looks about seven feet tall as he strides on stage to unleash Soul Mover. A funky track with hulking great guitars, it sees Glenn’s band pumping out more wattage than any power trio has a right to, and it sets a high bar for the evening ahead. As if to underline the point, he plunges straight into a monstrous Muscle And Blood (from the Hughes/Thrall collaboration), which is built around stabbing riffs and Glenn’s bowel-crushing bass. It finishes with Glenn belting out an astonishing high note, a clear indication that his voice is in better shape than ever.
Next, we get a track from Chosen. Titled Voice In My Head it has an awesome Sabbath / Soundgarden vibe that flattens the venue. As Glenn points out, there’s simply no point in doing a legacy show when you have a new album in the racks, and it’s the right decision. Glenn may have an unsurpassed back catalogue, but his current output stands proudly alongside it, and it thrives in the live arena. A fast, gritty rocker, Voice In My Head provides a neat counterpoint to the Black Country Communion classic One Last Soul, which offers a much smoother ride. For the audience, it’s a pleasure to hear the song out in the wild, especially given the unfortunate difficulty that exists in bringing that band together.
And so it goes. If it is unbelievable just how much energy Hughes exudes, it is all the more unbelievable that he has retained a vocal range that is the envy of the rock world. From the silky lows of Can’t Stop The Flood (all funky underpinning and churning riffs), to the soaring highs of First Step Of Love, Glenn sings with a power and precision that leaves the audience reeling. For sure, Glenn may excel on record, but the stage is his home and his ability to recreate his epic vocals live is never less than awe inspiring.
The journey through Glenn’s past doesn’t stop with Hughes / Thrall. A pair of Trapeze songs are up next – the nimble Way Back To The Bone (a song apparently inspired by Glenn’s gran), which runs the gamut from airy rock to dizzying metal; and a stunning Medusa, this latter suggesting that a young Iron Maiden were taking notes when Trapeze spoke. The track ends on a bruising Sabbath riff which, as it turns out, is entirely appropriate because Glenn then treats us to a double Iommi hit in the form of Grace and Dopamine. Still as heavy as hell, it’s a reminder that Fused stands alongside the likes of Sabbath in the doom metal stakes, and the material is no less powerful here.
It’s back to the present for the grungy, mid-tempo title track of the new album. Easily as vital as anything else rendered here, it only serves to make Glenn’s assertion that he may not be able to make another rock album all the more disappointing. He’s not the first artist to issue such a stark warning and, if things don’t change, you have to wonder what hope younger artists have when someone of Glenn’s stature is ringing the alarm.
Such minor woes notwithstanding, Glenn brings the main set to a close with a pair of monsters – a funky You Are The Music (Trapeze) and, truly igniting Rock City, Black Country Communion’s Stay Free, the latter surely Glenn’s unofficial theme tune.
Following a period of sustained applause, Glenn returns for a short, three-track encore. First up, a solo Coast To Coast provides a surprisingly intimate moment, the stripped-down format allowing for the most honest of interactions between Glenn and the audience. In brutal contrast, the ferocious riff of Black Country tears through Rock City like a hurricane, and Glenn clearly enjoys toying with the audience, drawing out the chorus to new lengths.
There’s only one thing left to do and as has long been the case, it falls to Burn to wrap things up. With Sophie Lloyd guesting on guitar, it’s a monumental close to a stunning performance, and it leaves the audience to meander out into the cold night air somewhat overawed by what they’ve just witnessed.
Glenn Hughes frequently tells us how glad he is to be here and how grateful he is to his audience for sticking with him. It’s lovely to hear and it means a lot to the assembled crowd, many of whom have been listening to Glenn for decades. However, Glenn should realise that, as grateful as he is, we are more so. He has been a constant companion, his stunning catalogue of works an enduring testament to the passion and commitment that drew him to play music back in his gran’s kitchen, and his stage shows remain one of the purest examples of pure rock ‘n’ roll spirit. To paraphrase Neil Young, long may he run, for he truly is one of a kind.
