Green on Red

Recorded on September 4, 2005 at the Rialto Theater in Tucson, AZ and released exactly a year later, the Green on Red reunion opens with three minutes of documentary footage and a dedication to drummer Alex MacNicol who passed away in January of 2004. MacNicol is replaced by Daren Hess on this pleasant 80-minute set, the comeback ostensibly put together for the 20th anniversary of Tucson's Hotel Congress. There are shots of the hotel in the mini-documentary which look like they were filmed two weeks after the event. Frontman/guitarist Dan Stuart says he wishes bands wouldn't reunite, that for art's sake they should just "go away," and he also expresses how much he doesn't like being on-stage. That being said, it appears this occasion did bring bassist Jack Waterson, guitarist Chuck Prophet and keyboardist Chris Cacavas -- the 1985-1987 incarnation of the band who appeared on Enigma and Mercury records -- back together for an extended reunion. The results? Laid-back strumming, perhaps like R.E.M. deciding to slow down their own and the Flying Burrito Brothers riffs, and the boys looking the worse for wear. They're certainly not as out of shape as Michael Lee Smith on Starz' Back in Action: Live 2003 epic, who is the barometer for all these comebacks that Stuart says shouldn't happen. With only Chuck Prophet maintaining some kind of image from the past, Green on Red soldier through 16 tunes, including a strange "Fading Away" which does just that as one of those old-fashioned "off the air" TV signals hits the screen over the audio. Perhaps the camera shut down. Regardless, there's no holy grail here, just a bunch of guys getting together and making some fine music. Works well as background music -- no explosions, no stage diving, and certainly not much to look at, but a decent set delivered by older guys who actually seem to be having a good time rocking on. There's another two-minute clip of reminiscing but no bonus material to speak of. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide