LIVE

Well I do think this deserves 4 stars relatively speaking, but I feel that the power, intensity and darkness that draws me to this band is sorely missing from this live album. Sure we see glimpses of it but that's not enough.This just feels like a "safe" recording to me. This performance came after the "Implosion" album, a recording that contains those three attributes in a big way. Part of it might be because the lineup for this live release is about half of what was on the "Implosion" album. My least favourite UNIVERS ZERO album "The Hard Quest" is represented the most here as well. This is a really good album i'm just giving reasons why it doesn't thrill me like most of their recordings do.

"Xenantaya" is the song that comes closest by far to representing what I love about this band. The dark atmosphere for the first 3 minutes followed by the bass and drums is great. Violin 5 1/2 minutes in and check out the keyboards before 8 1/2 minutes as drums and bass support. Great tune ! "Civic Circus" is from "The Hard Quest" and it opens with heavy drums before settling into an intricate soundscape. Violin before 3 minutes as a calm with piano follows. "Electronika Mambo Musette" is from a Daniel Denis solo album. Odd sounds to open before it kicks in around a minute with horns leading. Violin then organ follows. Horns end it. "Kermesse Atomique" is from "The Hard Quest" and is laid back as different sounds come and go. Some dissonance to end it.

"Bonjour Chez Vous" is from "Ceux Du Dehors" and has a more Classical style to it with a rhythm. "Meandres" just doesn't sound as good as the studio version from "Implosion". Violin, drums and aboe stand out early. I like when it settles after 5 minutes with piano. Drums and bass join in. A dark calm before 9 1/2 minutes. Good song. "Falling Rain Dance" is also from "Implosion". It opens with a drum solo of sorts. Love when the chunky bass arrives 4 1/2 minutes in. "Toujours Plus A L'est" is from the "Crawling Wind" EP. It opens with piano as violin joins in. A full sound follows. A calm 4 1/2 minutes in with violin and flute. It kicks back in around 7 minutes.

I'm not giving up on this one yet, but I just wouldn't feel right about giving it 4 stars right now. Still if your a fan of this band i'm sure you'll love it. It's their only live album right now.