THE X TOUR-LIVE

Spock's Beard

Symphonic Prog

3.67 | 52 ratings

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Spock's Beard shows on these two discs that they are still a force to be reckoned with both live and in the studio, the songs off "X" work very well live.

This gig would be the last time the Nick D'Virgilio - fronted the group. The official reason given was that he was to devote his time and energies to his work with Cirque du Soleil. That's the bad news. The good news is we have this set, documenting an exciting concert run-through of the band at the peak of their powers, playing their best material.

Writing reviews for live albums is difficult; am I judging it based on the quality of the music itself, or the exclusively live aspects of it? My appreciation of the original "X" certainly helps me warm up to this performance. This is a nearly two hour recording, split into two halves. The first half of this two-album set is the entire "X" album, although played in a slightly different order. "Kamikaze" has been shifted from second to second last in the running order. The second disc is a collection of older tracks going back much further into Spock's Beard's history with "The Doorway"and "Thoughts" appearing from the band's 1996 second album "Beware Of Darkness", as well as "June" from third album "The Kindness Of Strangers". "On A Perfect Day" from the more recent eponymous 9th album, with keyboard and drum solos completing this second set.

The greatest strength about "The X Tour Live" is also at times it's biggest weakness; the mixing and production. The music itself aside, "X Live" sometimes feels wonderfully organic, overcoming much of the noise that comes with live performances. On the other end of the spectrum, some parts of the show feel poorly mixed and unclear. A little inconsistent perhaps, but "'The X Tour Live" is a fair success for SPOCK'S BEARD, and does a good justice to the studio material.

thesimilitudeofprog | 3/5 | 2019-4-4

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