I shall start with something unconnected to The Coral by stating that the O2 Institute in Birmingham was the most difficult venue to get into (on numerous counts) in over 40 years of attending music gigs and theatres. And with a management policy ignorant of autism.

So, I was in a bad mood before we started, and I was looking for The Coral to lift me. Thankfully, they did, although I was not particularly a fan of the show format, being a 20th anniversary celebration of their self-titled debut album.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the 2002 offering; it has great tracks. But I also like songs from the subsequent nine, therefore, when the opening 11 numbers come from one album, the remainder only average one per subsequent release in a shorter set than most gigs with just 19 numbers in total.

From the first album set and following Spanish Main, standout numbers were Shadows Fall, I Remember, Dreaming of You and the epic Goodbye. I say epic because played live, the extended instrumental break during Goodbye is out of this world. Bisecting the album and second set was the hidden track Time Travel while the band took a short break. And then we had the best of the rest.

Starting off with Bill McCai and Pass it On, The Coral also treated the crowd to a couple from the 2021 release, Coral Island. Now this is where I felt the most disappointment because Coral Island was one of the best releases of last year. To only get two tracks from it, and a double album at that, left me feeling short-changed. The two on the night were Faceless Angel and Lover Undiscovered, but I would dearly have loved to hear Vacancy, among others. Still, of the remaining offerings we did get In the Morning, Holy Revelation and my own personal favourite Coral track, Jaqueline.

The Coral produce original music with a touch of nostalgia, sometimes harking back to the psychedelia of the 60s and fluctuating between melodic and raw energy. The sort of music you can lose yourself in, and long may it continue. In addition to the full-time current line-up of the band (James Skelley, Paul Duffey, Nick Power, Ian Skelley and Paul Molloy), Zak Mc Donnell and Danny Murphey join live proceedings to achieve a massive sound which in a smaller venue like the O2 Institute, makes for something special. I just wish we would have had more from them, even just a further 10 minutes.

So, not the most enjoyable Coral gig I have been to, due to the set content, but still a great night out.

Cheers.

Antony N Britt