Record Reviews

AVIV GEFFEN ~ LIVE HELICON 8287 (Barcode: 7293627828727) ~ ISRAEL ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 2007 Released: 2008 11th album by Israeli Rock legend Aviv GeffenFind albums by this artist (13th if one counts the two BlackfieldFind albums by this artist albums), and his first edition of live material, which in many respects serves as a summary of his 15 years on the scene. Geffen, much as his father Jonathan GeffenFind albums by this artist before him, was always at the epicenter of both the Israeli musical and political scenes. His early-days rebel behavior, anti-establishment protest and mannerisms created a huge public debate in Israeli in the early 1990s, but his popularity with the Israeli teens was sky-high. The peak of Geffen’s political involvement was reached when he publicly reconciled with Israeli Priminister Itzhak RabinFind albums by this artist, following Rabin’s dramatic peace efforts, which unfortunately happened shortly before Rabin was assassinated. In time Geffen withdrew from political involvement and public life (other than concerts) and in parallel also became more introvert as musician and lyricist. The themes of his songs changed from protest and rebellion to soul-searching and metaphysical journeys. Since 2003 Geffen lives mostly in London, where he met and befriended Steven WilsonFind albums by this artist (Porcupine TreeFind albums by this artist), which led to the creation of their group Blackfield, and where he tries to develop his international career free from the restrictions imposed by the local Israeli scene. This Box Set includes two CDs recorded live during the summer of 2007. The songs – all written and composed by Geffen – span his entire career, with the older material appropriately rearranged and updated musically. Accompanied by a great band, which includes some of Israel’s best rockers, Geffen delivers his songs with passion and great stage presence. Although not a refined singer (some might even say a poor singer), his charisma and musicality transcend his limitations, as it does in many other cases in Rock music. Overall the delivery is very effective and these two disks summarize Geffen’s career to date perfectly. A couple of new songs, previously unrecorded, are also featured. The enclosed DVD is a great treat to Geffen fans, as it includes 21 video clips and live performances filmed between 1992 and 2008, none of which were previously commercially available. A beautiful booklet with the lyrics of all the songs (in Hebrew) and some nice photographs is also included. I can hardly imagine a better tribute to an artist’s career than this Box Set, which should delight all his numerous fans in Israel as well as abroad.

Updated: 26/01/2019Posted:

2CD+DVD 3 Recommend To A Friend