WAKING THE DEAD - LIVE IN JAPAN 2005

I am NOT a fan of live albums, in general, but the previous reviewers of this album were so enthusiastic about this one that I decided to try it (as difficult as it was to procure) as my first Anekdoten disc. (I've been listening to and really enjoying the samples I've been hearing through the web but heretofore hadn't purchased any of their music outright.) I agree with Heptade that these renderings surpass those of their studio recordings--even my fave, "Hole." Every prog-lover should experience the amazing mellotron work of "Moons of Mars" and its sister "The Sun Absolute." Spine-tingling is right!! Everytime I listen to this disc (which I have over fifty times now) I hear new things--nuances and cadences, instrumental subtleties that I'd not heard before (and Anekdoten is, if anything, a group of extraordinary subtlety). There are few groups out there I'd pay to see live at this stage of my life, but this is one of them. I would love to be in a room with the waves of mellotron filling the space, building and building as they echo off the walls. Also, is it my imagination, or has Nicklas Barker's voice/vocals been improving with time/age? An masterpiece of progressive rock music; essential to anyone's collection. Five stars.