With a10-piece live band augmented by percussive turntable scratching, the New York group played it soft with soothing vocal harmonies, played it hard with P-Funk style and laughed it up on a finale that included snippets from “I’m Too Sexy” and the “Addams Family” theme.Secret World Live is a music live recording by PETER GABRIEL (Crossover Prog/Progressive Rock) released in 1994 on cd, lp / vinyl and/or cassette. The surprising variety and melodic sway of PM Dawn’s gentle hip-hop was effective. The New Zealanders’ well-crafted guitar-pop was at its catchiest on “Don’t Dream It’s Over” and “Chocolate Cake,” despite the irritating, ineffective use of smoke machines during a daylight performance. But instead of ending the set on that high note, they did two more songs that were inevitably anticlimactic.Ĭrowded House’s sardonic stage patter connected with the crowd, and a mid-set break when the band formed a human pyramid inspired several attempts in the audience to do the same. But the group lacked a visual focus-except during Steven Marley’s dancehall raps-and the music was often powerful but frustratingly erratic.Ī prime example was Steven’s singing on their father Bob Marley’s “No Woman No Cry,” followed by Ziggy’s vocal on the Melody Makers’ own hit “Tomorrow People.” That was a brilliant stroke-passing from an original reggae anthem to one for the new reggae generation. The strong response to Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers’ set indicated that reggae may indeed be the rhythmic meeting ground for any new, broader world-music audience.
But that paled against the finale, when the unaccompanied closing drumbeat of “Biko” segued into the Burundi Drummers’ arrival onstage, playing large wooden drums balanced on their heads. The “In Your Eyes” encore featured an ecumenical backing chorus of festival performers. So the lineup for the main stage on Saturday fit within the familiar Anglo-American pop context-although it was a broadly defined umbrella encompassing rock, pop, reggae and hip-hop. pop audience that has been fragmented by radio formats and record-industry marketing needs is still unfamiliar with both mixed bills and music from outside the English-speaking world.
WOMAD began presenting concerts in England in 1982, and its reputation throughout Europe now is so strong that it can mount adventurous bills featuring primarily music from outside the Anglo-American pop sphere without losing much of its audience.īut a U.S. She was an animated, high-stepping addition to the meticulously programmed Gabriel band, but wasn’t featured on any of her own material.īut even Saturday’s flying start didn’t resolve questions about WOMAD’s long-range ability to sustain its momentum in America.
appearances on this 10-date tour since being booed off the stage at a Bob Dylan tribute concert in New York last year-joined WOMAD founder Peter Gabriel’s headlining set Saturday at Cal State Dominguez Hills. The WOMAD (World of Music Arts and Dance) Festival-featuring 10 hours of strong performances by a diverse array of artists from five continents, impeccable production values and a crowd estimated at 20,000-was a resounding success on virtually every level.Īnd Sinead O’Connor-making her first public U.S.