It seems like most live sets and anthologies that focus on chameleon-like rockers
Trapeze are either delegated solely to focusing on the group's era that included singer/bassist
Glenn Hughes, or the group's post-
Hughes lineups. The 2003 double-disc set,
On the Highwire, manages to span the group's entire career (and various lineups), and is comprised of both studio and live tracks. Disc one falls a bit flat (due to the absence of any stellar
Hughes-era studio tracks), as it runs the gamut from the
Bad Company-esque "Don't Ask Me How I Know" and the
Whitesnake-like "Running," to the sappy ballad "Don't Break My Heart." Disc two fares much better, as it focuses on much stronger material (recorded live), including "Medusa," "You Are the Music," and "Way Back to the Bone." For most rock fans, having copies of
Medusa and
You Are the Music...We're Just the Band will fulfill the "
Trapeze quotient" in their album collection. And since
On the Highwire skips the group's studio work with
Hughes (which is by far the group's strongest work),
On the Highwire fails to deliver as a true career overview.
–
Greg Prato, Rovi