XM

This is an in-studio live recording at XM Satellite Studios in Washington. It's made up of mostly "In Absentia" tracks because that particular studio album was just released earlier that same year in 2002.

"Blackest Eyes" opens with the words: "A mother sings a lullaby to a child. Sometime in the future the boy goes wild..." Ah yes one of PT's more popular tunes. I like the calm before 3 1/2 minutes. "The Sound Of Muzak" is another hit with some great sounding guitar before 3 minutes. "Gravity Eyelids" opens with the beautiful waves of mellotron,lots of that throughout this track. Oh my ! Nice bass 2 1/2 minutes in and all hell breaks loose 2 minutes later. Amazing tune.

"Wedding Nails" is a killer uptempo instrumental. So far all of these have been off "In Absentia" until now when "Even Less / Slave Called Shiver" are sort of joined together (not really). The first song is classic PT the second features nice chunky bass and crisp drumwork. Intense ending to this one. "Heartattack In A Layby" is a gorgeous track. "Strip The Soul" is more down and dirty. Check out the guitar before 4 1/2 minutes and how powerful it is a minute later. "Tinto Brass" is an instrumental that recalls OZRIC TENTACLES until it turns more powerful 4 1/2 minutes in.

Well I can relate to the 3 star ratings because if you have the studio album your good to go right ? Well for me this is an excellent addition to my collection (thanks Bonnek). When you look at all of PT's live albums they really try not to duplicate tracks from one album to another. Sure it happens but there are some really good live versions of tracks here you won't find anywhere else.