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: : Spock's Beard ; Gluttons For
Punishment – Live in 05 : : |
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Band/Artist
Spock's Beard
Title:
Gluttons For Punishment Live in 05
Released
2005
Label
InsideOut |
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Track listing
CD 1
1. Intro:
A Flash Before My Eyes (Part 1-7)
2. The Ballet Of The Impact
3. I Wouldn´t Let It Go
4. Surfing Down The Avalanche
5. She Is Everything
6. Climbing Up That Hill
7. Letting Go
8. Of The Beauty Of It All
9. Harm´s Way
10. NWC
CD 2
1. At The End Of The Day
2. The Bottom Line
3. Ryo´s Solo
4. Ghosts Of Autumn
5. As Long As We Ride
6. The Light
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: : The Players : :
Ryo Okumoto / Hammond and
mellotron | Dave Meros / bass, vocals | Alan Morse / electric guitars,
vocals | Nick D'Virgilio / drums, percussion, vocals |
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: : Gluttons For Punishment –
Live in 05 :
:
I had the distinct pleasure of catching the Beard at Spirit of 66 in
Verviers, Belgium on their last tour, and this live CD comes from that
same tour – so it’s a nice souvenir for me, and a chance to revisit some
happy memories.
It helps enormously that the last album Octane was a marked improvement
over the first non-Neal album Feel Euphoria. Not that FE was a bad
album, but it was a transitional album and the band was still trying to
find its own identity. And fans of Octane will be pleased to know that
the majority of that album is represented on this CD, which is as it
should be.
Sonically the album is very good indeed. Of course you never really know
with live albums how much remixing and “tampering” goes on afterwards,
but it sounds pretty natural to me. The crowd are generally very quiet,
only applauding in between songs. But I guess that’s better than whoops
and whistles spoiling your favourite part of a song.
Almost all of CD 1 is devoted to the “Flash Before My Eyes” epic off
Octane, and it does flow together beautifully and is boosted further by
the adrenaline of the live experience. “She Is Everything” and “Surfing
Down The Avalanche” are particular highlights for me.
A little trip to the back catalogue for one of my personal faves “In
Harms Way”, performed with great energy and enthusiasm, then it’s back
to new album for “NWC”, a manic instrumental workout featuring a drum
duet with Nick and Jimmy Keegan – thankfully it does not outstay its
welcome in the way a lot of drum solo’s can, and does have some
technically incredible moments.
CD 2 see’s the band going back a little further into the past, with the
epic “At The End Of The Day”. Always a great live fave, and here we see
Jimmy Keegan adding yet another string to his bow by providing some
wonderful falsetto. “The Bottom Line” shows that the band has not
completely forgotten their previous album, though personally it’s not a
particular fave of mine.
Ryo’s solo – I have been very
critical of Ryo’s solo’s in other reviews, he’s a darn fine keyboard
player and frankly does not need a solo to show off his talents – they
are readily apparent. But this one is much more subtle and thankfully
shorter than his previous solos, with some ambient electronica leading
into some tasteful piano that segues neatly into the opening of “Ghosts
Of Autumn”, one of the better tracks off Feel Euphoria.
Things get a little funky for “As Long As We Ride”, and the band are
just having a darn good time on this (almost) straight-ahead rocker.
Great cowbell too .
And what better to end with than “The Light”? This is where Nick
D’Virgilio has really come into his own as a frontman, and assumes the
various characters with ease. A great singer and a superb showman.
If you are planning to see the Beard live soon on this tour, you should
get this so you have an idea of what to expect. If you have already seen
them it’s a great memento. But either way it’s just a very good live
album by a band that prove beyond all doubt that they are still a force
to be reckoned with.
Reviewed By: John Morley
: : Visit the Artist’s Website : :
: : Discography : :
Snow - 2002
V - 2000 |
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