THE FIFTH SEASON - LIVE IN CONCERT

In the late Nineties I witnessed a gig by Polish progrock band Quidam, my strongest memory about that concert is the wonderful version of Genesis their masterpiece Firth Of Fifth, say no more! I won't consider that I didn't like Quidam but they did not make music that managed to keep my attention.

This DVD (recorded live in Poland, 2005) is another story, perhaps because of the fresh blood in the line-up? Anyway, the first track Hands Off showcases Quidam their new sound: a wonderful balance between dreamy parts (with warm vocals, sensitive electric guitar and flute) and more bombastic pieces (howling electric guitar and fluent work on organ and synthesizers). The neo-prog sound is blended with progressive poprock bands like U2 (guitar sound) and Talk Talk (especially the vocals). My highlights are the Led Zeppelin cover No Quarter (fine Fender Rhodes piano sound, flute and then a kind of 'symphonic rock Camel turn' to the original quite raw and dark climate), the long and alternating titletrack (halfway a jazzy piano solo along fat guitar riffs and a propulsive rhythm-section) and Everything's Ended (first dreamy, then more and more lush and bombastic delivering howling electric guitar). The song Jestes contains Polish vocals and the final track Not So Close has a final part with the vocal harmonies from Hush Hush by Deep Purple. This DVD also contains lots of many extra's like recording sessions, video clips, festival and concert reports, an interview and a biography, discography and photo galery.

I was very pleasantly surprised by the high level of Quidam and their tasteful and inspired modern progrock sound, along with the extra DVD value (beautiful lightshow, pleasant images and nice crowd participation) this DVD is highy recommended!