LIVE IN BLOOM

Another disappointing live album? No. Not this time!! I'm really hesitant to explore/investigate live albums as I feel burned time and time again by them. Always seeming to fall below (sometimes way below) what the studio versions sound like along with the risk of having the crowd noises/clapping ruin key moments of (if not all) pieces. It's not prog but an old 1960's live Joan Baez album I have is ruined because of a constant coughing by somone in the crowd in almost every song. The Neil Young Unplugged album has the song "Uknown Legend" (which I love) that is ruined because someone in the crowd decided to shout "Yeah!!!" in the middle of the song when Neil sings. Not to mention, many live albums tend to skim over key solos or other parts of the songs that I love on the studio version.

Having said that, I dislike live albums for the most part. But my love for 1970's italian progressive rock slapped me in the face again due to the resurgance of bands reuniting (oh thank you God for that) again some 30-40 years later from italy. I mean with the likes of RRR, New Trolls, Locanda Della Fate, Murple,Latte E Miele,Osanna, Delerium (what a wonderful album their 2009 album is and everybit as good as their best 70's material), etc.., I then see Alphataurus partaking in this. Being a big fan of Alphataurus' 1973 album, I was excited when I found that they had reunited. They were supposed to have a new studio album out around end of 2010 but I guess it's taken a while as they're still working on it (but their web site says it should be a reality even if it's 2 years later). In the meantime, we have this live album from an italian progfest.

Having the read the reviews here, I could not agree more.

After listening to this for the first time, I thought "Is this some long lost high quality live recording from Alphataurus in 1973?". It's that good. Vintage analog keyboard sounds that sound "soooo 70's and not plastic/digital. Wonderful pounding/thumping bass lines. Nice solid drums. Yes I realize the orginal singer is not back but they did a wonderful job getting this new singer who never takes away from the songs and only adds. Musically, this is everybit as good as the original 1973 studio recording. And the crowd noises don't distract at all. You only hear them in between the songs and even then it's nice to hear as it reminds me that this is a live album (despite sounding so musically good of 'studio' quality).

I should probably give this a 5 star rating but I got the dialog box that said to "be sparing on 1 and 5 star ratings". After that message came up, I gave it a 4.

Thank you so much Alphataurus. Welcome back. I look forward to your new studio album. If you like italian prog from the 1970's but are nervous about this one because it's a live album from their 1970's material: don't be nervous as this is an excellent album. I'll play this just as much as the original 1973 album by them.