Yet another wretched drawback to these grim times is that FM have yet to properly tour last year’s glorious Synchronized album.
Fortunately, the finest AOR band the UK has ever produced were sensible enough to capture their 2019 European tour for posterity. A faithful but impassioned saunter through 1989’s much revered Tough It Out, with an extremely generous extra helping of deep cuts, it sounds as immaculate as fans have come to expect.
From its bullish and strident title track to the shiny soul pomp of closer Feels So Good, Tough It Out is almost comically overburdened with massive tunes, and Steve Overland’s ageless voice making every last melody sparkle and soar.
After a nourishing main course it’s particularly sweet to hear a brace of songs from 1992’s underrated Aphrodisiac, while FM’s I Heard It Through The Grapevine is arguably the third-best version ever (after Marvin and The Slits, natch).
