Search - John Wetton, Flower Kings, Various Artists :: Progfest '97

Got Live (Prog) If Ya Want It

El Kabong | 08/28/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Double-live albums. Once they were inevitable, now they're spotted less often than Elvis. And a good thing too. Even if you don't subscribe to the theory (as I do) that the concert experience requires your actual attendance to have any meaning, you must admit there's nothing sillier than sitting in your living room listening to a 20-minute drum solo. Face it, the studio is where a musician can better craft a permanent document for the ages; the stage is where spontaneity and the magic of ephemeral moments hold court (if you're lucky, that is). That said, ProgFest '97 is a fine example of a double-live that's not wholly superfluous. A one-time event as opposed to a national tour, most of us weren't there and a lot of us didn't find out about it til after the fact. Throw in the once-in-a-lifetime roster of brilliant bands (in this case Spock's Beard, The Flower Kings, Le Orme, Big Elf, John Wetton Band, Sinkadus and Arena) and a 2cd document of the weekend actually serves a purpose. (It's not as if you can see these acts any old Friday night at the War Memorial, after all.) Each band is here afforded 15-20 mins to give us their best shot, and most rise to the occasion. Wetton sounds VERY fierce on a mini-tour of his work with UK and Crimson, as do the reunited Le Orme, tearing through an extended take of "Felona E Sorona". Spock's Beard, Flower Kings & Swedish doom-symphers Sinkadus contribute excellent performances, while Big Elf do their wall-of-Leslies thing reasonably well. Arena, alas, are their usual pretentiously preening selves - but then, nobody ever bats .1000 & just because they make MY teeth grind doesn't mean YOU'LL hate them too. Throughout, the sound quality is uniformly clear and punchy. All in all, a package that offers storming progressive rock, stylistic variety and value for money. And who'da thunk it? No 20-minute drum solos!"