Live - The Definitive Edition

Originally released as a budget-priced LP in 1973, hastily capitalizing on the band's U.K. chart successes of the previous 12 months by, in turn, reprising a concert from December 1971, "Live" was never the most satisfying souvenir of Lindisfarne's peak. Too brief (just eight tracks), and too heavily dominated by 17 minutes of "We Can Swing Together," it was clear that Lindisfarne Live was simply the tip of what must have been an incredible musical iceberg. And so, almost 40 years later, it proved to be just that. The Definitive Edition serves up the full 14-song, 77-minute concert, itself a joyous occasion that drew its entire weight from the first two (and finest) Lindisfarne albums, including several tracks that remain among their best-loved; the spellbindingly spectral "Lady Eleanor" among them. It is true that one of the greatest complaints about the original album — the boisterousness of the hometown Newcastle audience — is still a bugbear here. But if live albums are meant to capture a moment in time, then the sheer strength of this set, the band, and its supporters united in song establishes this among the most successful live album ever.