Weld

Orpheus Listening Challenge 2025: #23 A live album from one of your favorite artists (50th Album)

The songs from Freedom and Ragged Glory were a tad bit messy on their respective studio recordings, mostly due to Neil's excess and overindulgence, especially on Ragged Glory which had two 10 minute songs which were mostly jam like pieces that get a bit lost in the listening process.

Well, that's where Weld comes in and fixes them by actually giving them a setting that fits them. And they're also much harder and noisier! Goes to show how much of a showman Neil is on the stage.

The gravelly tone of the guitar on Crime in The City and Rockin in the Free World is amazing, and ups the ante on it, Cortez is amazing as always, the cover of Bob Dylan's Blowin in the Wind with the air sirens and jets passing through is absolutely haunting, and who doesn't love a good rendition of Like a Hurricane. A 14-minute rollercoaster of emotion. There are a few duds sprinkled in, but with a 2-hour live document, it's bound to happen.

I haven't lived in the 90s, but I feel like this live album was a sight for sore eyes when it dropped, both for the public and Neil himself. It's still a sight for me, 34 years later.