STORYBOOK

"Storybook" is a live album from FINISTERRE's gig at the 1997 Progday Festival in North Carolina. FINISTERRE, for those of you who are not aware of them, are one of Italy's best prog bands at the moment. Many consider their 1997 CD "In Limine" as their best release to date. Their style of prog is deeply influenced by the Italian symphonic prog scene of the early 70s, and early GENESIS (thankfully, they don't imitate GENESIS). Personally, I tend to enjoy studio albums over live albums. Besides live MAGMA, KENSO, Frank ZAPPA, and a few others most live prog performances don't compare to the studio work. But, incredibly, this live album kicks ass. First off, the sound-quality is superb. And FINISTERRE's live sound is as rich and fat as their studio work. In fact, I'm much more impressed with the live versions of some of their best tracks from "In Limine". The band not only play their compositions note-perfect, but also extend them with inspiring jam-sections. Their live keyboard-sound relies less on the modern digital sounds found on their studio albums, and more on analog keyboards like the Rhodes, Mellotron, and Moog. The overall sound is earthly, and organic. Along with several tracks from "In Limine", and their previous albums. The group also breaks out into jams that turn into covers of several well-known prog classics. Overall, this is one of the best releases of the year. Fans of FINISTERRE and Italian prog will be in for a treat.