CLUB VOLTAIRE LIVE

Well, I'll keep this fairly short. This is a live album, and the sound quality is not exactly stellar. But for as obscure a group as Versus X, it still isn't bad. This album features the line up from the second album, Disturbance, and is interesting in that they perform some material from the following album, that would see a new drummer and bassist (both of whom are considerably better in terms of bass, and far better suited for the band, in terms of drums). The opening track features the beginning section of Cutting the Veil from the upcoming album, segueing into a complete rendition of the first song on their first album. This works pretty well, and the transition is smooth. Next we have the longest epic from Disturbance, which pretty much stays true to it's studio counterpart, but does feature some varied playing in certain sections. The other Disturbance song, and probably their best song ever, Curtain Call is a faithful reproduction of the original. The final song, that would appear on the next album with the altered lineup, is the most interesting. It is considerably different in the fact that the final 8 minutes or so are something of a psychedelic jam session, which in itself is unusual for this band from what I've heard.

On the whole though, this is not terribly essential. The band lacks power and energy in the live setting and definitely comes across as a band that doesn't do this for a living. But if you like the studio albums, you will probably enjoy this for the most part. For me, it's barely 3 stars, but I'll go ahead and grant it that rating.