LIVE At the WOLF

Album Review

Garth Hudson's magisterial organ playing was one of the sonic cornerstones of the Band's best recordings, and if there is any musician from the 1960s and '70s who deserves wider recognition today, it's Hudson. Any new music from Hudson is a rare and welcome event, and this live album captures him on-stage in London, Ontario, performing at the grand piano with vocal assistance from his wife, Maud Hudson. While Garth has always been best known as an organist, his piano work on this set is equally impressive; while the piano offers a narrower range of tonal colors, Garth's sense of musical wanderlust still runs wild through every song here, and "International Medley," which stitches together bits from a handful of familiar melodies, recalls a stripped-down variant on his glorious organ fanfare with the Band, "The Genetic Method." The performance by Maud Hudson is a bit more problematic; while she has a strong voice and a comfortable familiarity with blues numbers, there's a certain operatic overstatement in her delivery that sometimes gets in the way of the songs, especially on the covers of "Young Blood" and "Blind Willie McTell." But she sounds splendid on "Willow Weep for Me" and the venerable spiritual "Stand by Me," and just as important, Garth obviously feels comfortable performing with her, and the interplay between them is wonderfully intuitive. In a just world, Garth Hudson would have a long string of solo albums behind him, chronicling his diverse musical interests and his singular gifts on a variety of instruments, but for now it's good to know he's still playing his music, and this disc reveals he still has plenty to offer.