Since the acceptance of the live album as a (reasonably) credible musical vehicle, studio wizardry has often enabled concert recordings to be doctored by filling in flubbed notes or retracking a few vocals. It's a practice many purists abhor. Enter Live in Iceland, the latest album from Sweden's Pär Lindh Project, which sounds like a truly "live" recording -- just as raw, unbridled and exuberant as it must have been on that November 2001 night it was made in (of all places) Reykjavik, Iceland. Add lovely yet distinct female vocals, top-notch musicians and a heavy Emerson, Lake & Palmer influence, and Live in Iceland becomes a model of finely crafted, classically inspired progressive rock played in its most natural form. And that, my friends, is the beauty of this recording…
One of prog’s best keyboard players (especially on the Hammond C3), Lindh surrounds himself with bassist William Kopecky (one-third of the U.S. prog-metal instrumental trio Kopecky), drummer Nisse Bielfeld, guitarist John Hermansen and singer/violinist Magdalena Hagberg, whose slightly operatic voice soars above the higher reaches of these keyboard-rich songs. The 10-song set list relies on eight tracks from last year’s Veni, Vidi, Vici album, with the other two being instrumentals written by classical composer Sergei Prokofiev ("Montagues & Capulets) and ragtime pianist Eubie Blake ("Charleston Rag").
Even if you already own Veni, Vidi, Vici, Live in Iceland makes for a welcome addition to any proghead’s library. You don’t get to hear stuff like this often enough …
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