THE BEARD IS OUT THERE

This is a nice early concert from Spock's Beard, recorded at Progfest in 1995, between the release of their first album, "The Light" and "Beware Of Darkness". If you don't like "The Light" (I do), watch out, as the album is played in it's entirety, along with two songs from the next album.

The sound at the beginning is shaky, and gives the feeling that this might be a bootleg quality recording, but that probably had to do with the festival setup (sound checks are sometimes useless, as the band's equipment is usually moved between the check and the performance). After a minute or so, the mix gets straightened out, and the sound remains exceptional through to the end.

The Light is fantastic and played to perfection. Go The Way You Go has some good sections, but the main themes of the song are a bit simplistic for my tastes, and therefore remind me too much of why I dislike much of Genesis' work. Thoughts is the standout track here. I'm impressed that they could perform this Gentle Giant-like piece so flawlessly.

the album closes with a medley of Jimi Hendrix' Fire and Waste Away from "Beware Of Darkness". While Fire makes a nice closing tune, the pairing with the other song is awkward.

It's still a fine concert recording.