LIVE AT THE BOERDERIJ

Mostly Autumn was formed in the middle of the 90's. They're a band with a very regular musical production. So, in 1999 they released "For All We Shared" and "The Spirit Of Autumn Past", in 2001 "The Last Bright Light" and "Music Inspired By The Lord Of The Rings", in 2003 "Passengers", in 2005 "Storms Over Still Water", in 2006 "Heart Full Of Sky", in 2008 "Glass Shadows", in 2010 "Go Well Diamond Heart" and in 2012 their last studio album at the time "The Ghost Moon Orchestra". Besides all these studio works they released also a true very impressive amount of live works.

"Live At The Boerderij" is the fourteenth live album of Mostly Autumn and was released in 2013. It was also released in the DVD format in the same year. It was recorded and filmed live at the Boerderij, Zoetermeer, Netherlands in 15 September 2012. "Live At The Boerderij" is a live album recorded and released with songs taken from their live tour to promote their last studio album, at the time, "The Ghost Moon Orchestra" that was also released in the same year.

The line up on "Live At The Boerderij" is Olivia Sparnenn (lead vocals and tambourine), Anne-Marie Helder (backing vocals, flute and keyboards), Bryan Josh (lead vocals and lead guitars), Liam Davison (guitars), Iain Jennings (keyboards), Andy Smith (bass guitars) and Gavin Griffiths (drums).

"Live At The Boerderij" has eighteen tracks. The first track "Distant Train" was released on "Passengers". The second track "Unquiet Tears" was released on "The Ghost Moon Orchestra". The third track "Drops Of The Sun" was released on "The Ghost Moon Orchestra". The fourth track "The Devil & The Orchestra" was released on "The Ghost Moon Orchestra". The fifth track "Evergreen" was released on "The Spirit Of Autumn Past". The sixth track "Ice" was released on "Go Well Diamond Heart". The seventh track "Questioning Eyes" isn't a Mostly Autumn's track. It was released by Breathing Space. The eighth track "The Dark Before The Dawn" was released on "The Last Bright Light". The ninth track "Deep In Borrowdale" was released on "Go Well Diamond Heart". The tenth track "Passengers" was released on "Passengers". The eleventh track "The Last Climb" was released on "For All We Shared". The twelfth track "Tennyson Mansion" was released on "The Ghost Moon Orchestra". The thirteenth track "Wild Eyed Skies" was released on "The Ghost Moon Orchestra". The fourteenth track "The Last Bright Light" was released on "The Last Bright Light". The fifteenth track "Heroes Never Die" was released on "For All We Shared". The sixteenth track "And When The War Is Over" was released on "Go Well Diamond Heart". The seventeenth track "The Last Train" was released on "The Ghost Moon Orchestra". The eighteenth track "Tonight" was released on "The Ghost Moon Orchestra".

The CD 1 of "Live At The Boerderij" opens with a suitable atmospheric, the moody instrumental "Distant Train". It's followed by the opening three tunes from "The Ghost Moon Orchestra", "Unquiet Tears", "Drops Of The Sun" and "The Devil & The Orchestra". They showcase Josh's guitar histrionics and his raw vocals and Olivia's immaculate singing. She's also pretty skilful covering "Evergreen" a track from the time of Heather Findlay. The set list proceeds with the inclusion of the catchy "Ice" and the original Breathing Space strong emotional and breathtaking track "Questioning Eyes". The CD 2 begins in an up-tempo fashion with "The Dark Before The Dawn" and the ponderous "Deep In Borrowdale". A welcome respite from the two previous heavier tracks mayhem comes in the shape "Passengers", a very Floydian and beautiful track "The Last Climb", where Anne-Marie shines in her solo flute spot, and the more recent "Tennyson Mansion" from "The Ghost Moon Orchestra". Also from "The Ghost Moon Orchestra" we have the anthemic "Wild Eyed Skies" that precedes a couple of old favourites of their fans "The Last Bright Light" and the very emotional "Heroes Never Die" to close the main set in a fine style. The live set has also three more tracks as an encore. It starts with "And When The War Is Over" followed by the great pairing "The Last Train" and "Tonight". Here Olivia is at her best, especially on "Tonight" where she gives everything she has. This is a great way to close this excellent live set.

Conclusion: "Live At The Boerderij" represents another great live album from Mostly Autumn. It's mostly focused on their two last studio albums at the time, "Go Well Diamond Heart" and "The Ghost Moon Orchestra". However, it revisits some other studio albums. Again the band chose to release a double live album with the second CD longer than the first one. But contrary to "Live 2009 ? Part I and Part II", "That Night In Leamington" and "Still Beautiful ? Live 2011", the quality of both CD's is practically equal. However, the general quality of "Live At The Boerderij" is a bit lower of those three live albums. Anyway, "Live At The Boerderij" remains as an excellent live double album that features some of their best songs. The set list is very good and the sound quality is really superb. With this live album Mostly Autumn proved, one more time, they are still able to continue producing some of the best progressive live music in the world.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)