Mogwai – Special Moves (live CD) / Burning (live DVD)
What a fabulous package this is: Mogwai’s first full live record spans three nights in New York in April 2009. The CD is a full 75 minutes of tasty rock action – every note is clear and precise, every punch of drums and strum shows that Mogwai’s strength comes in creating a mood, an atmosphere, a fog of feeling that betrays the influences and also sounds distinctly of itself. If you are a fan of Mogwai’s hypnotic and meditative live show – the nearest equivalent for me is a Pink Floyd show where the music becomes a soundtrack to a bout of inner exploration – this is a fair recreation.
The dreamlike quality of the 58 minutes of live footage by Vincent Moon (who really needs to buy some new cameras, as I’m bored of his sub YouTube, black & white now) enhances the mood of the music but is a predictable artistic trick; with a stunning soundtrack. Between the CD and the DVD, you get 17 songs and two hours of great music – and a download code for the six DVD-only songs for a total of 17 audio tracks; 11 on CD, 6 to download and 8 or so to watch. It’s a useful, careful and tasteful package I will be returning to many times in years to come.
Lights! Camera! Rock Action!
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