LIVE AT INNSMOUTH

I was only familiar with Edward Macan's work with his book "Rocking the Classics," which I found entertaining but difficult to read for a profane on the theory of music like me. I may have heard some of his first releases, but I was not impressed with the overall sound, which was too thin. However, when I saw this live release in our prog archives database, I decided to recheck his music. I was surprised to see this live without an audience on YouTube. And what I heard was, to me, another band with a fresh new sound. You have Macan on keys, a drummer, and a bass player. This is instrumental music in the classical and symphonic style on the dark side, heavily influenced by ELP but with no love ballads, mainly 2 long suites of music from 2 albums. The music goes through multi-movements with some complex songwriting and dramatic crescendos, where keyboard lovers will get their money's worth. The versatility of Macan's playing is amazing, going from piano to keyboards with some softer and heavier passages, where it could be spectacular at times when he comes up with some great melody lines. The bass player who uses his mic to scream on some occasions can have his spot to shine with some big bass parts. So, if you want to enjoy the retro sound of music with a keyboard-oriented sound, you may want to check this live album.