Natalie Imbruglia released her first live album, London – Live, last week; it is everything you’d want from a live album.
Natalie Imbruglia first rose to fame in the early 1990s with her successful acting career, which was shortly followed by her just as successful singing career, she started this in 1997 by releasing Torn. Torn was a massive hit (it still is!), it topped the US Billboard Radio Songs Chart for 11 weeks, and was listed by Rolling Stone as one of the 50 Best Songs of the 1990s.
Fast forward to 2024 and Natalie Imbruglia is still smashing it! Her latest release is her first ever live album, titled London – Live, enabling fans to feel as if they are at one of her atmospheric concerts. The album features 18 tracks of Natalie’s best-loved songs, including Torn and Wrong Impression, and was recorded live at her show in 2022 at London’s iconic O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire during her ‘Left of The Middle 25th Anniversary Tour’.
With an exhilarating intro to the show within the first track, What It Feels Like, it serves as the perfect introduction to Natalie, her music and her first live album. As I listened to the album, it felt like I was actually at the concert as the instruments and Natalie’s vocals are so clear. You can also feel the crowd’s atmosphere through the songs, it’s a great combination of hearing Natalie, her band and the crowd. There is nothing worse than listening to a live album and just hearing the crowd chanting or screaming through each and every song. London – Live was not like this, it was a fantastic combination. Not only this but each song flows seamlessly into the next one which I really liked.
I also think it’s necessary to comment on how amazing, not just Natalie was, but her band too, I absolutely loved listening to each of the instrumental bits in the songs. My favourite instrumental happened to be in City, it was terrific. However, my personal favourite song from the album was Pigeon & Crumbs, Natalie’s vocals were stunning and the band sounded incredible too.
If you’re into a rockier sound then I’d recommend listening to Big Mistake first as your introduction to this album, this had a very fun outro and felt very rock. But if you’re feeling nostalgic then definitely turn to Torn first, this one understandably had an electric atmosphere from the crowd with those hints of nostalgia.
Natalie says of London – Live:
I’ve always loved writing and more recently producing, and the process [of producing music for a live album] has been particularly fulfilling and satisfying. Choosing which tracks to include on the vinyl and capturing the spirit of the night has been as much of a pleasure as the shows themselves. I especially enjoyed working on the songs from ‘Firebird’, as that was my first co-production, and the level of detail I put into that continued through to this album. It was such a joy working with Adam Alexander (Bamm Bamm Wolfgang)… I hope everyone who hears this album loves it as much as I do and can feel like they were there with us on the night.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this live album and would definitely recommend it. I’m unfamiliar with some of Natalie’s not-so-popular songs but I really enjoyed each of the songs she sang in this album, it broadened my knowledge and enjoyment of her music.
If you’d like to have your very own copy of London – Live, please keep an eye on our Instagram page as we will be giving one away. Alternatively, you can order your own or listen here.
Image source of featured image.
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