On the final page of the booklet of this two-CD live set is a dedication to Brian Smith, uncle and guitar teacher of Mostly Autumn’s Bryan Josh, who passed away the day after this gig was recorded. “This performance was very much influenced by the great sadness of the situation,” Josh writes.
Thus it doesn’t do for an outsider to be overly harsh, as a double-live set is likely to appeal to devotees only. But this is not a starting point for the curious.
Mostly Autumn have an extensive live catalogue to sit alongside their nine studio albums, so Still Beautiful’s selling point is that it is the first concert recording to feature Olivia Sparnenn on lead vocals. As with her predecessor Heather Findlay, she needs sharp elbows to keep Josh away from the microphone – a mystifying urge on his part, given that his monotone makes Dave Gilmour sound like Pavarotti.
The early part of the set is based around the last studio record, Go Well Diamond Heart, but things gradually become more expansive, and benefit from the light and shade of flute and some Floydian stylings.
