Even the Red Arrows dropped by, roaring overhead through perfect blue skies, briefly drowning out the sound of lachrymose singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi in the middle of his second drippy ballad. There is every kind of music to be sampled at Glastonbury, from the emotional R’n’B of rising British star Raye to the sunshine reggae of Third World, whose 1977 hit 96 Degrees in the Shade could have been purpose-built for this heatwave festival. That is setting up to be the greatest retirement party in history. Rumours are that McCartney was on site to duet with Elton John for Sunday’s finale, with other guests including Eminem and Britney Spears. Frankly, they played with an economy, spirit and musicality to put LA’s finest to the sword. McCartney was spotted at the festival again this year, briefly appearing on stage with Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, whose band was augmented by Foo Fighter Dave Grohl on drums and The Smiths’ Johnny Marr on guitar. Guns N’ Roses are frankly too good to be bad, but the best-received song was their heavy-handed version of Paul McCartney’s Live and Let Die, which sounded rather better when the great man himself played it in 2022. His vocals were mixed way too loud, when, let’s face it, what everyone wants to hear is Slash unleashing overloaded solos containing every note on the scale, often all at the same time. His voice used to have a shrieking Banshee power but it has become kind of lumpy, with a toneless falsetto and a honking low range, and he switches between these modes with little apparent logic. The real problem was his singing, however. Guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan still look the part of grizzled rockers who only function at night, but Axl Rose has not aged so stylishly, resembling a small-town hairdresser who has been working out too hard at the gym. The veteran LA heavy rockers had a lot to prove, particularly after Lana Del Rey (simultaneously performing her own rather more chilled-out set on Glastonbury’s Other Stage) had dismissed them as “pale, male and stale.” But a big crowd turned out for their unreconstructed rock, and they certainly gave it their best, in a hard, loud, fierce set. According to Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose, Worthy Farm was “in the jungle! And you’re all gonna die!” The audience took it in good spirit, laughing and singing along to Welcome to the Jungle. “Glastonbury, do you know where you are?” is one of those rhetorical question only a rock star could get away with, writes Neil McCormick.
0 kommentar(er)
