LIVE IN THE USA (EAST COAST WEST COAST)

I have never had the pleasure of seeing Touchstone live: an unfortunate function of living in the otherwise lovely Canadian province of New Brunswick. This album serves to heighten this regret. While the tracks are taken from a couple of different performances, the two CDs flow with the feeling of a single live performance. Instrumentally, the performances are strong and, while close to the originals, not carbon copies of them. Seviour's and Cottingham's vocals are similarly excellent, with her contributions to The Mad Hatters Song most welcome (she does not appear on the band's first EP, from which this song is taken). There are a few production glitches, but nothing that should impede most people's enjoyment. Highlights, in terms of energy, as Wintercoast, Mad Hatter's Song, Zinomorph, Strange Days, and Mad World, the last being a cover of Tears for Fears and an appropriate conclusion to an album by a band that wears its 80s influences on its collective sleeve.

A highly recommended live album by a band that shows a lot of promise--essential, I think, for fans of contemporary Crossover Prog