Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Greatness is not defined by just how you show yourself to the world when it is watching, it is what you produce for others when the sun shines, and how you continue to offer support and allyship when storm clouds gather. It is easy to stand on a stage and bow when the applause reaches its crescendo, to take the plaudits and be seen as grand, a master of the craft, and yet so many artists disappear into the shadows when a difficulty arises, when a calling is ignored by many.
Peter Gabriel’s work with Womad, (World Of Music And Dance) is legendary, it is celebrated, and even in times of hardship he stood by his creation and idea and deserves the undiluted praise it has garnered since its inception; and yet there is a moment perhaps which defines the amalgam between the two, not a join, a weld, a link of two mindsets, artist and manager which saw his set in 1982 at The Showering Pavilion at The Royal Bath and West Showground near Shepton Mallet become almost as renowned as any of his studio albums he has released.
Performing with the renowned Bristol based drum and dance group Ekome, as well as surrounding himself with luminaries and friends in John Giblin, David Rhodes, Jerry Marotta, Larry Fast, and Peter Hammill, the landmark session on stage incorporates San Jacinto, the superb I Have The Touch, Lay Your Hands On Me, the unnerving and staggering Shock The Monkey, The Rhythm Of The Heat, and the ever honourable Biko in such glorious fashion that it is only right that audiences and fans feel the stirring stimulation at hand, that the first ever festival would find the acknowledgement of power waiting to be explored, and how the artist had to find a presence in his past to rescue it for the future.
Live At Womad 1982 is the beginning of an incredible tale, one that perhaps that outranks others purely in its faith of challenging the perception of what it means in the modern world to be seen as being part of a greater vision than just hosting a festival for profit or continuance. It is the Governor of Progressive Rock stretching his mind and artistry to the finest limits, and delivering in this album substance and sheer cool.
Ian D. Hall