GOING OFF ON ONE

I'm such a fan of this band. I guess it all started with PARALLEL OR 90 DEGREES a band that I fell for which really turned into THE TANGENT later on with most of the same musicians.That Tillison / Manning combo is incredible, then add the second keyboardist in Sam Baine as well as THE FLOWER KINGS alumni in Salazar and Reingold. Stolt / Csorsz are in on the last bonus track. Also we get Theo Travis and guitarist Krister Jonsson (KARMAKANIC) and well that's quite a lot of talent isn't it ? Andy relates in the liner notes how awesome it was to play at Rosfest that year.They were treated like kings and the 600 some people loved them. Fast forward to the UK and a little venue called Club Riga where 60 people showed up and whatever could go wrong did go wrong.Two shows that were the polar opposite of one another. In fact Andy told his manager he could forget about releasing this live album because he hated everything about that concert in the UK.That is until he actually heard it and realized the band played their best ever concert. Shocking yes but the audio doesn't lie so here it is.The first three bonus tracks are from the Rosfest concert with the last bonus track coming from a Germany concert.The rest is from Club Riga.This is a two disc affair. I like that even though this is the "A Place In The Queue" tour we get an even amount of material from the first three albums.

"GPS Culture" opens with some attention getting organ work followed by a powerful section then vocals. I love the instrumental section that starts before 3 1/2 minutes. Nice in your face bass before 7 1/2 minutes and I like the vocal melodies too. Sax later. "The Winning Game" sounds amazing once it settles in. More prominant bass as well as the sax at times. Some emotion after 9 minutes followed by a guitar solo.

"In Earnest" really touched me lyrically like never before. Kind of like "Home By The Sea" but more complex. A killer 22 minute ride. I like when Guy sings at one point. "Forsaken Cathedrals" was a bonus track on the "A Place In The Queue" record.The focus is on the instrumental work and it's incredible.

"The Music That Died Alone" opens with flute and piano as the mellow vocals join in. It picks up after 3 minutes. A calm before 7 1/2 minutes.Great song ! "Lost In London" is a favourite of mine and they do it justice.

Disc two begins with "In Darkest Dreams (Part 1) but we also get "In Darkest Dreams (Part 2)" after the next song so this is around 22 minutes in total.The intro is so good ! It blend into "After Rubycon" which I don't know but it's a spacey TANGERINE DREAM (obviously) link to part 2 of the opening song here. Manning sings early on this one and we get some nasty organ before 3 minutes. "The World We Drive Through" is another fantastic song.They just keep on coming folks.

I like the flute on the next song "Skipping The Distance" which is a catchy number.The next track is called "Audience Fun" and i'm glad they kept this in. I didn't know Andy was so funny. "21st Century Schizoid Man" is an amazing cover. So well done. Bravo guys ! "America" ends it with Stolt and Csorsz on board. Love the intro.

This was simply a pleasure to listen to last week and it reminds me why I hold this band in such high esteem.