ALIVE

This is one of those few live albums that justify their money's worth. And how! This double album does not only serve as a 'best of Flairck' collection but also as a very best of performances! The sound is crystal clear as on their studio albums, the playing impeccable and the intensity and dynamics of the songs are pushed to their absolute limits.

I'll try a short description of their sound since most of you possibly are not familiar with this Dutch acoustic folk prog band. Flairck usually consists of 4 classically trained musicians that play long and intricate instrumental suites based on European and Eastern folk music. The instrumentation has a firm basis of (virtuosic) acoustic guitar and acoustic bass guitar. The main melodic instruments are the violin and a range of flutes you sure didn't know existed. They bring the typical mix of invigorating energy with the melancholic mood that makes most folk music so attractive. I find it hard to come up with bands that sound like them. The acoustic guitar and flute combination doesn't stray too far from Jethro Tull in an acoustic moment. But that is not doing them full justice.

Just try to pick up this double CD because there's not a second of the 2 hours of music collected here that you would want to be different.