LIVE FROM NEW YORK

US band KINETIC ELEMENT are fast approaching their 15th anniversary as a band unit, with composer and band leader Mike Visaggio the constant in this band and with other members coming and going a bit over the years. Following three studio albums and a growing amount of acclaim, as well as a line-up that appears to have solidified, it was decided that Kinetic Element were due for their first live album in 2020. The CD is simply called "Live From New York", and was released through US label Melodic Revolution Records.

Kinetic Element has become a rather popular band in some circles among fans of 70's era symphonic progressive rock, and the musicians deliver a quality performance here that will please fans of bands such as Camel, Genesis and Yes quite a bit. The vocals will be very much the one element that will make this live album a hit or a miss though, and while my experience is that this is a detrimental aspect of this live album others may feel otherwise. Hence this is very much a case of try before you buy, to see whether or not you enjoy Kinetic Element as of 2020 and then the vocals here in particular. For those who enjoy the lead vocals, this albums will most likely be regarded as quite the nice little gem, especially if you know and love you retro-oriented progressive rock. For people like myself that cannot overlook the vocal aspect of this album this is a production that probably won't be all that interesting.