LIVE AT THE WHISKEY A GO-GO

For me the invention of the CD turned into Prog Heaven, because so many rare prog LP's were re-released as a CD reissue, from Zarathustra by Museo Rosenbach to Recuerdos Di Mi Tierra by Mezquita. In the early Nineties I discovered the USA progrock mailorder service Syn-Phonic by Greg Walker, this was the place to order all those interesting prog CD reissues, what a huge and varied collection, for decades we kept on ordering at Syn-Phonic. Greg was also the one who introduced me to Spock's Beard, in a very special way. In 1995 I had ordered a bunch of CD's at Syn-Phonic, when I opened the parcel it contained one extra CD that I had not ordered, with a small note from Greg "I am sure you will like it!". The Light from Spock's Beard, really brandnew! And what a discovery, soon I was flooded by the same excitement as the first time with Rush, and with Marillion, everyday was Spock's Beard Day, for weeks, months, and 3 years later it was Spock's Beard Evening, when I witnessed my first Spock's Beard gig, in Utrecht. It was a mindblowing experience, what a band, the crowd turned into euphoric! One year later Spock's Beard released this video capturing Spock's Beard on their Day Of Night tour (4th studio-album) during a concert in the known Whiskey A Go-go in Los Angeles in 1999.

Spock's Beard features five excellent, experienced musicians. Their varied musical backgrounds have resulted in very dynamic music with lots of chemistry. On this video (still not on DVD?) you can enjoy lots of great compositions from their first four studio albums and many sensational solo excertitions. In those days for me Spock's Beard's progrock was a pleasant blend of Genesis, Yes, Gentle Giant and The Beatles, the music alternated from rock and pop to bombastic and complex progrock featuring tasteful vintage keyboards (Mellotron, Hammond, Moog), fiery and biting, often wah-wah drenched guitar soli (using a Fender Stratocaster with the word 'Mellotron' on it!), a dynamic and adventurous rhythm-section and the inspired and humorous multi-talented frontman Neal Morse on lead vocals, keyboards and guitar, awesome!

My highlights.

Go The Way You Go : Great final part delivering a moving guitar solo and majestic Mellotron choir. A sensational solo from Japanese keyboard wizard Ryo on his 'key-tar' (a keyboard body and a guitar neck) with excellent support on powerful Rickenbacker bass and creative drumming (it sounds like mid-ELP),

The Doorway : Virtuosic duo acoustic (6 and 12 string) guitar play from the versatile Neal and Alan,

The Light : Cascades of exciting changing atmospheres and soli in Spock's Beard their magnum opus.

Sqonk : A harder-edged version from this Genesis cover, with a funny acting Nick on vocals.

You don't see many Spock's Beard reviews nowadays but it is still a highly acclaimed prog band on PA, just look at the ratings, studio and live, most between 3 and 4 stars, a band to re-discover!

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