Soulfully Live in the City of Angels

During the 15 years following Deep Purple's initial split in 1976, singer/bassist Glenn Hughes issued albums on an extremely sporadic basis. Then came the early '90s (which saw Hughes get clean and sober), and the floodgates opened once more, as Hughes began feverishly making up for lost time — issuing 17 albums between 1992 and 2005, both as a solo artist and as a collaborator with others (Joe Lynn Turner, Tony Iommi, etc.). Perhaps wanting to prove that he still possessed "live chops," Hughes arranged an intimate performance in Los Angeles during early 2004, with an audience comprised of both friends and fans. Backing him was friend and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith (whose playing here is more straight-ahead than, say, the gonzoid drumming of Mother's Milk), as well as two guitarists, a keyboardist, and two backup singers. Issued as a two-CD set, Soulfully Live in the City of Angels does a fine job of proving that Hughes is musically and vocally stronger than ever. Longtime Hughes fans will undoubtedly be pleased with the all-encompassing track list, as it includes tracks from both Hughes' solo outings and Deep Purple-era gems. Standouts include the album-opening hard rocker "Can't Stop the Flood," the melodic (almost King's X-ish) "Wherever You Go," the slow-burning blues rocker "Seafull," and a great set-closing Purple trio, "Mistreated," "Gettin' Tighter," and "You Keep On Moving." As if that weren't enough reason to buy, there are also a pair of bonus studio tracks tacked on the end — "The Healer" and "Change."