GOING OFF ON ONE

A very good concert of one of prog´s most insightful and talented songwriters with a stellar backing band. How could he go wrong? Andy Tillson may no have one of the most stage presence in the world, in fact he rarely faces the crowd while playing and singing, but that does not mean he is not capable of a great perfomance. In fact, it is amazing how he can handle such difficult keyboards passages and still sing those long and elaborated lyrics without messing up now and then.The man is truly a genious.

But The Tangent also has some of prog´s best musicians nowadays including solo artist like Guy Manning (acoustic guitar and vocals) and members of The Flower Kings, past and present: Jonas Reingold (bass) and Jaime Salazar (Drums). Newcomers Krster Jonsson (electric guitar) and Theo Travis (Flute and Sax) may not be that famous, but they can handle pretty well the parts done by such prog legends like Roine Stolt and Hgh Jackson. This is no small feat.

The show was recorded in a small club in England, which gives the intimate enviroment required for a dedicated audience of fans that were lucky enough to be there at the moment. The band delivers a briliant performance. Big, epic songs like In ?arnest, with its 20 miinutes of many changes and shifting moods are done like the group was playing forever. It is very pleasant to see those guys doing live as good as they are in the studio. The Tangent functions as a big whole unit, with no ego trips and everybody seems to be doing it for the music. And the music is elaborated and eclectic (Yes being the obvious influence) and still they are smooth and accessible. One fo prog´s best symphonic bands of the new millenium now has a fitting live DVD. Highly recommended!

A short review based on three or four views of a rental disc. A show that will thrill fans of The Tangent, the band is filmed in a very small club providing an intimate up-close live experience. Sound and filming quality are both very good considering this seems to be a low budget affair. The emphasis is on the music, rightly so. As for the material I'll wait until I get to review the studio albums, but I will say that their best moments occur when the individual members break free from their keyboard master. This appears to be the Tillison show with backing members and there are great stretches when his keys/voice block out nearly everything else and in those spaces the sound gets repetitive very quickly. I'm afraid his voice doesn't sit too well with me, sort of a strained Al Stewart warble. But aside from that I did enjoy some of the material, particularly "The Music That Died Alone" which featured some incredible fantasy artwork superimposed over the band. Almost a Roger Dean feel to it. For me personally it can't climb above 3 stars when so dominated by the person who interests me the least but I do acknowledge the band is certainly good. Recommended without hesitation to fans and those wishing to check out the band for the first time.