LIVE DAYS

Unlike Into the Dream... Discipline Live, Live Days doesn't offer a continuous live show - rather, it's a grab-bag of songs from various live performances from the 1990s. Whilst I'm less keen on live albums which take that approach - I prefer ones which draw all their material from the same show because I think they do a better job of recapturing the live performances - the expansiveness of the set, the fine performances and decent sound quality, and the brace of rarities all makes this worth the effort for Discipline fans.

The songs from Push and Profit get a live delivery which is very close to how they were performed on that album, whilst the entirety of Unfolded Like Staircase is represented here in performances which are often a little more hard-edged than they were on that album. In addition, there's some great tracks which didn't appear on either of the band's 1990s studio albums; Circuity and When the Walls Are Down wouldn't get a studio release until 2011's To Shatter All Accord, Between Me and the End got a live release on Into the Dream and also appears as a track on Astray, Matthew Parmenter's debut solo album. Mickey Mouse Man and Wrists appear on some of the band's ancient 1980s demo tapes, and the former song is also a live staple of theirs, appearing on many of their live releases, as is the case with Homegrown. Safe In Your Vision, meanwhile, is a song which can only be obtained here.

As well as providing songs which are simply not available elsewhere on CD, the album also helps in a greater appreciation of more familiar Discipline material and in the band's style as a whole. Despite not offering a continuous show, the set does retain at least some of Matthew Parmenter's between-songs banter, which reveal a cheerful and more comical side to the "prog mime" than the subject matter he usually sings about would suggest. I still feel that offering complete shows rather than mixed-up extracts would be a bit more satisfying, but on the whole this is a very good value live release from the band which won't disappoint anyone who likes their first two albums.

Review Nº 794

"Live Days" is the second live album of Discipline and that was released in 2010. This live album was released only eleven years after the release of their debut live album "Into The Dream?Discipline Live" that was released in 1999.

"Live Days" isn't a regular live album because it wasn't recorded from one of their live shows. It's more like a live compilation. It has tracks taken from several live shows of the band. It has selected performances from ProgDay'95 Outdoor Festival, the International Progressive Rock at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Lili's 21 Club 1996 at Hamtramck, Michigan, Orion Sound Studios Progressive Rock Showcase 1996 & 1997 at Baltimore, Maryland, Magic Bag 1997 at Ferndale, Michigan and ProgDay'98 Outdoor Festival of International Progressive Rock at Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

The line up on this live album is the most usual of Discipline. So, the line up on "Live Days" is Matthew Parmenter (vocals and keyboards), Jon Preston Bouda (guitars), Matthew Kennedy (bass) and Paul Dzendzel (drums).

"Live Days" has fifteen tracks and is divided into two discs. Disc 1 has eight tracks. The first track "Mickey Mouse Man" was originally released on their debut studio album "Chaos Out Of Order". "Chaos Out Of Order" was originally released in 1988 as a cassette, plus an additional song from 1987. The second track "Before The Storm/Blueprint" is a live version of two songs of the band, "Before The Storm" and "Blueprint". "Before The Storm" was originally released on their third studio album "Unfolded Like Staircase". "Blueprint" was originally released on their second studio album "Push And Profit". The third track "Circuitry" was released on their fourth studio album "To Shatter All Accord". However, this was a new track because "To Shatter All Accord" was only released in 2011. The fourth track "Canto IV (Limbo)" was originally released on "Unfolded Like Staircase". The fifth track "Homegrown" was never released on any studio album of the band. However, it appears on many of their live releases. The sixth track "Systems" was originally released on "Push And Profit". The seventh track "When The Walls Are Down" was also only originally released on "To Shatter All Accord". So, as happened with "Circuitry", this was also a new track. The eighth track "Safe In Your Vision" was never released on any studio album of them. However and unlike to "Homegrown", from what I know, this is a song which can only be heard on this live album. Disc 2 has seven tracks. The first track "Crutches 1" is an excerpt of a track originally released on "Unfolded Like Staircase". The second track "Wrists" was never released on any studio album of them. However, it appears on some of the band 1980's demo tapes. The third track "Carmilla" was originally released on "Push And Profit". The fourth track "Into The Dream" was originally released on "Unfolded Like Staircase". The fifth track "The Nursery Year" was originally released on "Push And Profit". The sixth track "Diminished" was originally released on "Push And Profit". The seventh track "Between Me And The End" was never released on any studio album of them. It was originally released on the debut solo studio album of Matthew Parmenter "Astray", released in 2004. However, it appeared before on the debut live album of the band "Into The Dream? Discipline Live", released in 1999.

The two CD's, each with a playing time of almost 80 minutes, present recordings of various performances from the period from 1988 to 1997. In spite of some of this material have already been thoroughly processed by the band on their previous live album "Into The Dream... Discipline Live" and on the live DVD "Live 1995", there are many other great and interesting things on this work. So, some of the great classics and best tracks of Discipline were "recycled" for this live compilation, such as, the ingenious long track "Canto IV (Limbo)" as well as the goose bumps song "Nursery Year", besides many other classics of the band. In addition, some things that have already appeared on the Progday samplers, but that are admittedly difficult to get, are here. But, what should make the fan heart beat faster, however, is the fact that "Live Days" contains some titles that have not yet appeared on any studio album, "Homegrown", "Safe In Your Vision", "Wrists" and "Between Me And The End". Besides, the sound quality is very good, making of it a great live document.

Conclusion: "Live Days" is a perfect way to introduce Discipline for those who aren't familiar with their music. The sound quality is very good, given the age of the original tapes, and there are a lot of aspects on the recordings that you've just got to respect. The booklet is nice too, with plenty of rare pictures. There are enough unreleased live tracks to make this an essential purchase even for hardcore Discipline fans. By the other hand, it's perfectly representative of the band's career. For those who already own "Into The Dream?Discipline Live", you may be wondering why you need this, especially considering that every song on that release can also be found here. The answer comes both in terms of the power of these performances, plus the appearance of several unreleased songs. Discipline is one of those bands that are best experienced in a live setting. Concluding, "Live Days" is a great live album that won't disappoint anyone.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)