 |
Live in Iceland - PLP 1. Adagio |
||
Pär Lindh: Keyboards, Bass, Drums John Herrmansen : Guitar Magdalena Hagberg: Vocals Bill Kopecky: Bass Nisse Bielfeld: Drums
Reviews:
¨The world desperately need music of this quality. Buy everything you can get hold of by PLP!
Now you can experience the masterpiece as a liveperformance. Hats off and bow for the performance by this band¨.
Geir Larsen Chief Editor of Monster Rock Magazine Norway
Iceland is probably not a country with a lot of progressive rock converts. Therefore the fans of Pär Lindh must have been very glad when he and his band did a concert November 10th 2001 in Reykjavik. The recordings were so good that almost one hour of this performance was released as a live disc with the title ¨PLP Live in Iceland¨. Since their last live album ¨Live in America¨ 1999 the band has changed a bit. On bass we have now William Kopecky, the great fretless bass player from American band Kopecky. John Hermansen is nowadays the musician who plays all guitars. The other musicians did not leave the band and are the core of PLP. They are Nisse Bielfeld on drums and vocals and Magdalena Hagberg on lead vocals, violin and keyboard. But we must not forget the Keith Emerson from Sweden, Pär Lindh himself on Hammond organ, grand piano and assorted keyboards. I can imagine why they decided to release the Reykjavik recordings as they are extremly good the band is in great shape. What we hear is are almost all the tracks from the bands new album ¨Veni Vidi Vici¨ Only two songs are not included . But its not strange that we hear almost all songs from ¨VVV¨ because they were on tour to promote this fine album. They did not play it the same way as on the mentioned studio album. For example the song ¨Gradus ad Parnassum¨ has a great percussion solo. But you not only have to hear it but also watching this act is something special. I was so lucky to see it at last years Mexican Baja Festival. Very impressive indeed. Also seeing Pär behind the grand piano is great. On this live recording we can really hear his virtuoso piano playing. For example his versions of Prokofievs ¨Montagues & Capulets and Eubie Blakes ¨Charleston Rag¨ are outstanding. But he not only shows strength on the piano as I also enjoys his Mellotron, Hammond and synthesizer parts. This concert was also planned to be released on DVD, but unfortunately it has not been released sofar. Too bad because I do not only want to hear this great music but also watching it would be great. Hopefully we don´t have to wait too long to one of their concerts ona TV screen. But for the time beeing, the great audio soundtrack will have to do.
Background Magazine
Par Lindh Project's Live In Iceland (Crimsonic (Sweden) CLCS 107, 2002) was recorded during the band's promotional tour for their last album Veni Vidi Vici (review) by Iceland Radio in November 2001. Clearly complimentary to the band's earlier in-concert double CD Live In America (review), this album presents live versions of selections from their latest studio project and several previously unrecorded tracks.
Fronted by Magdalena Hagberg (vocals, violin and keyboard) and Par Lindh (keyboards), the Live In Iceland lineup also includes William Kopecky (bass), Nisse Bielfeld (drums, vocals) and John Hemransen (guitar). The album is comprised of ten tracks and seems to be more vocally oriented than any of PLP's earlier recordings. Production quality is typical PLP--superb--especially for a live recording. As someone that has seen PLP on stage previously, the ambience of the band's live performance has been perfectly captured.
A brief intro ("Adagio") that welcomes the band onto the stage blends into the almost 15-minute epic "Gradus ad Parnassum" where guitar and piano feud temptuously before the Nisse's small spoken vocal part that precedes the main theme. Magdalena's soaring vocal takes over and alternates with Nisse's 'blown away' sequence. Vast progressive-styled keyboard, electric piano, guitar and drum solos that precede the final vocal and keyboard passages make for a stunning opening track.
The percussive introduction to "Veni Vidi Vici" folds nicely into Par Lindh's lush keyboard themes that follow. Listeners will be attracted to Magdalena's searching vocalise that precedes the first of several major tempo changes within the piece. "Tower Of Thoughts" is superbly performed by the band with Magdalena's lead vocal front-and-center, way up in the mix--with a dramatic multi-dimensional instrumental in the bridge, it is clearly an album standout.
Live In Iceland presents several instrumentals featuring Par's keyboards that make their album debut here. These include unique treatments of the well-known "Montagues & Capulets" (by Prokofiev) and equally familiar "Charleston Rag" (by Eubie Blake) that lead perfectly into the introduction to "The River of Tales," a gentle, brief and classically arranged ballad featuring Magdalena's evocatively soaring vocals accompanied only by Par's piano.
In a sharp contrast, the powerful and percussive rocker "Juxtapoint" follows with Magdalena's lead and Nisse's harmony vocals complimenting the heavy instrumental arrangements. The orchestral "Hymn"--another album standout and personal favourite--features Magdalena's crystalline lead vocal and Par's church organ-style keyboard accompaniment alternating with a dynamic progressive instrumental and second theme before blending into "The Premonition." The track features some of Magdalena's most powerful vocal work and continues to build instrumentally--returning to the second theme of "Hymn"--to the album's climax and conclusion.
A list of progressive rock distributors that stock Live In Iceland is online at the band's website. Read further reviews and order the album from amazon.com here. Clearly worth a trans-Atlantic journey, the album captures the atmosphere of the band's on-stage performance and is a must listen!
Review from Musicaldiscoveries.com 2004
Order your CDs via |