LIVE IN AMSTERDAM

This is a 'nostalgia trip' for me, since the band was founded in the second half of the Seventies I have seen fellow Dutchmen Flairck at least 10 times during the tours of the albums Variaties Op Een Dame (1978), Gevecht Met De Engel (1980) and Circus (1981), mainly in the wonderful venue Diligensia in my hometown The Hague. Every concert was a captivating and adventurous musical journey with virtuosic skills on a wide range of instruments and .. some fine Dutch humor (the Belgians can also enjoy it).

This live 2-LP (1980) is a perfect registration of the Flairck sound featuring many exciting improvisations and extended solo work. The one moments you hear warm 12-string guitars and soaring flute, the other moment propulsive acoustic rhythm guitar and powerful acoustic bass, blended with swirling panflute (very omnipresent) or violin. The one moment it's folk (from Celtic to Eastern Europe), the other moment jazz, classical or a blend of several styles with lots of shifting moods and great solos on many instruments. The great thing about Flairck is that the skills are from excellent to virtuosic but the music contains a lot of emotion, it never sounds too clinical.

I still feel honoured that I have seen this awesome progressive folk formation many times on stage, I hope this era will be captured on a DVD. My conclusion: highly recommended and a good start to discover the unique Flairck sound in the late Seventies and early Eighties, later their musical direction changed, not always my cup of tea.

This is an interesting live album...... but still kind of lost in translation.

The translation I am referring to is between the stage and the CD. I am pretty sure this would had been an excellent DVD. Take away the pictures; a lot of this performance is lost when translated to an audio-only format. Which is a pity !

I had no idea what I was letting myself in for when I listened to this album for the first time. After overcoming the initial shock, I pulled myself together and gave it the ten spins required.

Flairck do accoustic prog folk somewhere in the area between symphonic prog, jazz, gypsy music, South-American folk music and celtic folk music. Most of the music is filled with solos from various instruments. The instruments ranges from various flutes to guitars. When Flairck are flowing freely, they are excellent. Their music also have a melodic emotional and poignant parts. There is a lot of things going on here. All songs are pretty long and that is why I have included symphonic prog as a reference point.

For me; the loss of translation between the visual and audio-only is a considerable loss. The music in itself is good. But I have problems keeping my concentration up throughout this album. But on the basis of this live album, I have just ordered their studio albums. This is an interesting band well worth checking out.

3.25 stars

No matter how astounding their studio albums are, the preferred Flairck experience is the live one. This double CD set from 1980 features nearly every track from the first two albums and one unreleased 20 minute masterpiece.

The live setting creates a focused energy that brings out the best performance in each player, making each track more vital and dashing then its studio counterpart. On top, Flairck take plenty of opportunities to improvise; they change tempos, add or extend certain sections, remove others, and so on. It makes this into a must-have live album for fans and for others it's an excellent compilation to get acquainted with this music.

All tracks are from Flairck's beginnings, which were their most progressive period. Flairck doesn't play rock obviously (no electric instruments nor drums) but this is as progressive as folk can get, it's an instrumental mix of European folk traditions and classical music, but the long symphonic compositions and musical virtuosity have nothing ado with traditional folk song or pop song writing. Flairck take you virtually anywhere within the course of their songs. Especially the 20 minute pieces The First Day After You Left and Variations on a Lady are an intricate array of musical scenes, melodic wealth, different moods, changing tempos, solos,... the works. No, it's no rock 'n' roll, but it sure rocks.

Flairck are a stunning band and their first few years especially are highly recommended to prog fans and folkies. 4.5 stars.

In 1978 Flairck was for the first time on the Dutch television and the band impressed with their captivating acoustic blend of different styles, and their virtuosic play. Soon after Flairck did a serie of gigs in my hometown The Hague (supporting their debut LP entitled Variaties Op Een Dame, from 1978), I was invited to join a group of friends who played in a folk band and were very eager to watch Flairck.

I still remember the huge excitement of our group, and in fact, the entire crowd, lots of cheers, 'wows', long handclapping and in the end a standing ovation! After their splendid second LP Gevecht Met De Engel (1980) Flairck went on an extensive international tour, resulting in the double live LP Live In Amsterdam.

Flairck delivers outstanding and very inspired versions of their two studio-albums tracks, featuring many improvisations and soli.

From warm 12-string guitars and soaring flute to propulsive acoustic rhythm guitar and powerful acoustic bass, blended with swirling panflute and violin.

From folk (often Celtic and Eastern Europe hints) and jazz to classical or a blend of several styles with flowing shifting moods and exciting soli on a wide range of instruments.

The band puts a lot of emotion and also humor into their music so it never sounds clinical, in contrary!

After this double live album Flairck released their third album Circus in 1981, also interesting but then the sound of the band shifted to more experimental and even avant-garde elements, not really my cup of tea.

Flairck - Live In Amsterdam : a true masterpiece of progressive folk, highly recommended!