Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The Crazy World of Arthur Brown at Indigo, Stone Free Festival 2017.

To be in the presence of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown is to understand what showmanship is truly like, it is like a magic trick that you cannot see unravel or become clear until it has set you in the mood to watch closely at the quick hands and the sharp, intelligent wit; the magic trick is not one to dismiss as flim flam or as the idle workings of those out to fleece the punter of money. In The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, the magic is there to thrill you, to make you feel something different from the everyday or the run of the mill; this is Arthur Brown at his finest and long may he continue to be that erudite and sensational showman at the head of a three ringed, awesome, circus

The world would not be the same without Arthur Brown in it, endearing and enduring, for those inside the Indigo who may have never have come across the man who inspired so many of the current crop of Heavy Metal vocalists, this would have been arguably the greatest of revelations but it was also one that towards the end of the set would have had many of the older fans and music lovers understandably acknowledging the dilemma the man would have faced as he went to perform his most commercial and much loved song.

Dignity is something that is often lost in music and on stage, the sense of decorum perhaps lost in the moment and the urge to carry on and get to the final crescendo, the moment when the crowd goes wild and leaves the arena with their heads held high and the spirits forever held together.

As the band played tracks such as Devil’s Grip, the fantastic cover of Screaming Jay Hawkins’ I Put A Spell On You, Time Captives and Sunrise, the no win situation of the audience wanting Fire to be played and the dignity of those who needlessly lost their lives to cheap and insidious planning in Kensington would have been at odds; it is in the honour of the man that he performed the opening part and stopped half way through, a gentle man, a hero to many showed exactly the right amount of respect to the past and to those who would have been affected by such a terrible disaster.

To those who had never seen this showman, a man to whom Time has kept carefully close to its buxom heart, this was an eyeopener of a performance, dignity and polish in one superb set, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown is one to explore again and again, a credit to the man and his work.

Ian D. Hall