Refugee: Live In Concert - Newcastle City Hall 1974

Refugee was a band that never really had the chance it deserved — formed in 1973, the trio was barely together a year before keyboard-player Patrick Moraz jumped ship for the more opulent surroundings of Yes. But they recorded an album that got a lot of exposure in England and Europe — and a lot less in the United States — and played gigs in England that put them on a lot of critics' lists of most promising prog-rock band. This CD, made from a cassette tape recorded live at Newcastle Town Hall in 1974, is the first chance that most of us outside of the U.K. will ever have had to hear what made them special. To say it lives up to that promise is putting it mildly. If you were never overly impressed with the content of Refugee's one and only studio album, this performance really does justify the praise that they received in the British press. Lee Jackson's prowess on the bass is undiminished from the live performances with the Nice, and Brian Davison, if anything, they're playing better here (which is saying something). And Patrick Moraz, whose tenure with Yes proved relatively brief, does display a charismatic performing personality here.