BBC In Concert [2nd October 1976] (2nd October 1976)

Bill Nelson’s prowess as a live performer with his band Be Bop Deluxe was the stuff of Brit-rock legend until this 1976 BBC taping certified their otherworldly rock power. Recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon and syndicated world-wide on reel-to-reel tape, the sound quality is better than most studio recordings, starting with the infectiously catchy “Maid In Heaven” from the band’s sophomore album Futurama, where Nelson gives the audience a little taste of his six-string skills before Andrew Clark’s chirping analog keyboard and grinding Hammond B-3 take center stage on the astral jam from their fourth album Modern Music, “Bring Back the Spark.” “Kiss of Light” from the same album took the Styx approach, proving that you could successfully blend prog and pop. The live version of  “Adventures In a Yorkshire Landscape” sound less Bowie-esque than the version on 1974’s Air Age Anthology, but this version sounds more sophisticated. Conversely, “Fair Exchange” still plays like Mott the Hoople meets Emerson, Lake & Palmer. A 12-minute jam on “Blazing Apostles” closes the set with pomp and style.