Live at Montreux (2007)


  
Disc One 1. Siberian Khatru 2. Magnification 3. Don't Kill the Whale 4. In the Presence Of 5. We Have Heaven 6. South Side of the Sky 7. And You and I 8. To Be Over 9. Clap Disc Two 1. Show Me 2. Rick Wakeman Solo Medley 3. Heart of the Sunrise 4. Long Distance Runaround 5. The Fish 6. Awaken 7. I've Seen All Good People 8. Roundabout

 

Although they would eventually release a few more studio albums, no one knew for sure if that would happen around this time. So it wasn’t really surprising to see yet another live album. Strangely, this album represents roughly the same time period as their last live album, 2003’s Symphonic Live with two significant differences. First, there’s no symphony on this record, and second, Rick Wakeman is back yet again. My guess is that it was the latter factor that justified another live album. This meant that the most well-known lineup of the band was back together. Why else would the album cover feature the names of all members in a bright, large font?

The set list is a bit different from the last live offering, which would seem to be the only reason why one would want to purchase the thing. It flows quite a bit better as well. Surprisingly, the fact that the running time is about 20 minutes shorter than its predecessor also makes this somewhat more appealing.

Fortunately, they cover two of the stronger tracks from the studio album they were supporting, which is always a breath of fresh air. There’s plenty of time and track space for individual solo pieces as well. These are a bit of a mixed bag. We’ve simply heard all of this before on other live albums. The duet jam between Chris Squire and Alan White on The Fish is quite spectacular, however.

This album is really as strong as it can be. It’s just a shame that we’ve basically heard all of this before.

Go to the Next Review
Go back to the main page