THE GATHERING

Magenta close out "The Matthew Cohen Years" with this excellent DVD recorded in The Point in Porth, South Wales. A six camera shoot, recorded in the splendid setting of a TV studio, this very professional recording captures the band at the transfer bewteen touring the awesome SEVEN album, and introducing material form the "soon come" (Ha- ha) HOME CD, currently being worked on by Rob Reed and the other musicians making up this fine band.

I am biased about the quality of the DVD being on the front row of the shoot, accompanied by my wife and daughter, but I do feel the film accurately captures the atmosphere of the evening perfectly.

Highlights are almost too numerous to mention, but the ever superlative GLUTTONY, the catchy I'M ALIVE and the magnificent show closer PRIDE deserve special attention.

The main lowlight of the DVD is the cameraman completely failing to capture my one handed catch of "God" Chris Fry's bottleneck during I'm Alive, something I couldn't wait to see. Ah well, can't have everything.

If anybody is wondering why one (and only one) person is walking OUT during the "Arrival Of The Audience" bonus feature, my wife Celia claims that it was my fault as I sent her to the bar, hence her last minute arrival back into the hall bearing drinks......

All in all a supremely good package, showing a band ready to break through into the big league as soon as Rob gets HOME out onto the market.....

Good luck to Matt Cohen in his new band The Reasoning as well, another Welsh prog band in the making.

Philip Birtwistle