Blues Pills – Lady in Gold: Live in Paris
Release Date: November 10, 2017
Label: Nuclear Blast
On October 30th, 2016 Blues Pills played a sold out show in front of 1200 fans at Le Trianon in Paris, France. That performance was captured, warts and all, for what would be released this year as Lady In Gold: Live in Paris. It’s hard for me to believe that this is even the same band because there has been so much growth and maturity in not just the writing but in the overall live performance. Blues Pills parted ways with their ex-grooveless drummer and brought in former Truckfighters drummer André Kvarnström and added keyboardist/rhythm guitarist Rickard Nygren.
Right out of the gates, the album opens with “Lady in Gold” and you can feel the energy of the sold out room as the tension builds with a more jammy, extended intro. Lead vocalist Elin Larsson is in top notch form and the band cooks through this tune and then slams headfirst into “Little Boy Preacher.” This is yet another stellar performance by Larsson and with a performance this intense, it actually made me somewhat nervous as to how she would be able to deliver for the rest of the show.
The rest of the album was comprised of songs spanning Blues Pills’ EP releases and their self-titled debut. Songs like “Black Smoke”, “Bliss”, and “Little Sun” are played with so much soul and so much passion that I could feel the goosebumps popping up all over my arms. Their cover of the obscure Tony Joe White song “Elements and Things” was nothing short of jaw dropping and it showcased the monstrous abilities of lead guitarist Dorian Sorriaux. The boy just tears shit up but let’s not forget about the rhythm section of Kvarnstrom and bassist Zack Anderson on this track as they just may be one of the single most underrated rhythm sections.
What I love so much about this album is that it’s live. When I say live I mean “live” in the truest sense of the word. It’s raw and it’s got some slight imperfections. It also has a lot of soul, a lot of passion, and a lot of heart. This is the kind of album that showcases a band who truly loves what they do and doing what they do best. There’s no frills, no corrected notes, and no piped in crowd noise.
This is Blues Pills live and this is a testament as to why, in my opinion, they are one of the greatest bands out on the road today. There is no band like them as they are truly in a league of their own. It’s albums like this that remind me why I can love a band so much. It’s also an album that makes me proud to be a Blues Pills fan and it reminds me just how fucking great a gritty, unfiltered live album can and should be.
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