REAL LIVE THING

Ah, Kingston Wall, probably the most important band of my youth. Here in Finland, I'd say anyone who is even slightly interested in music, has heard of the band, as their cult status just seems to be getting bigger and bigger, also thanks to this new 3-cd live album. For those who do not know the band yet, I could sum it up by saying that Kingston Wall played brilliant psych/prog-rock with mystical, dark soundscapes, mainly inspired by the legends Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd etc. However, you can't exactly "pigeon-hole" them just like that, as their music covered many different areas.

KW only released three studio albums, all of superb quality IMO, but there were always rumours going on, saying that the band was even better live. Unfortunately, I never got the chance to see them live (I was too young, obviously), so it's a real treat for me (and many others, I'm sure) to finally hear the band live. Now that I've heard these three live cd's, I can mostly confirm that the rumours were true.

This is mostly due to Walli's unusual way of composing (for a prog band), as the songs usually didn't have a clear structure. Instead, they relied on their abilities to improvise live, in a similar way to Allman Brothers Band. There was always room for some extended jamming, and this is what sets them apart from the average prog band, who play their songs live exactly the same way as in studio.

However, there must be some room for criticism as well. Petri Walli was never much of a singer in studio IMO, let alone live, and there are indeed a couple of pretty annoying moments here. Nevertheless, his performance is mostly much better than I expected. His guitar playing is as inspired and beautiful as ever, and the band plays really well. Hi-Fi buffs might want to stay away from this one, though. As it says on the cover "The Official 2-Track Bootleg Recordings", so naturally the sound quality is pretty weak. In some way, I do understand that some people might find this unlistenable, but I'm just happy they were able to find something that could be released.

For fans of the band, this is a must IMO, despite the sound quality problems. It's certainly not a bad introduction either, as it covers most of their "classics". I would've liked to hear a full version of The Real Thing, because as far as I'm concerned, it was their "magnum opus", and the version presented here is much shorter, and not as good as the original.

It's not too often you get this lucky, though. Three cd's of excellent acid psych/prog-rock for 20?. Not a bad deal, eh?