Comments for Show Of Hands, Show Of Hands Live At The Royal Albert Hall (1996)

Recorded at the Show Of Hand`s big gamble,self promoted gig earlier last year, this CD gives a great idea of just how superb a live act Show ofHands really are. Although the vast majority of tracks feature just the deadly duo, the use of guests Matt Clifford (keyboards), SallyBarker (vocals), Sara Allen (accordion), and Vladimir Vega (pan pipes) gives tracks such as `Columbus (Didn`t find America), `TheWell` and `Santiago` that extra little bit of bite. Three things stand out on this album: first, the quality of the songs - I love the lyrics on`Cutthroats, Crooks and Con-men` - second, the lovely tone of Steve Knightley`s voice, and lastly, the incredible instrumental abilityof Phil Beer (just listen to the acoustic guitar work on `Day Has Come` or his demon fiddle work on `Soldier`s Joy). It is also evident that the audience were having a ball - if you were there you will need this as the perfect souvenir, if you weren`t thenbuy it to persuade you to see Show of Hands when they play in May.