LA DÆMENTIA ROMANTICA - LIVE IN MEXICALI

Almost 20 years ago I bought Visible Wind their debut LP Catharsis. It's still my only album from this Canadian formation because they never succeeded to impress me with their following efforts. Until this live CD, what a wonderful prog and how exciting to experience an omnipresent Hammond B3 organ (nicknamed 'The Beast') along lots of majestic Mellotron waves and powerful, often fiery electric guitar work. And I love the John Wetton- like vocals (both in English as in French), a very pleasant extra dimension to the music. Most of the songs feature bombastic overtones but some contain folky elements with beautiful acoustic guitar and flute. My highlights are Néandertal (lush Hammond, wonderful interplay between intricate vocals and organ and a splendid final part with Mellotron), Dans Le Vide (impressive church-organ sound, sensitive guitar runs, emotional vocals and another wonderufl grand finale with Mellotron) and Emergence (very compelling, layers of Hammond and Mellotron and a captivating accellaration with a fiery guitar solo). In my opinion Visible Wind has released their best effort with this live CD, especially the 'vintage keyboard aficionados' will be delighted! Rating 3,5 stars. By the way, these guys were allowed to leave the mental hospital for one week in order to perform on Baja Prog ..... Canadian humor!