What has four members, lots of swirling keyboards, sizzling lead guitar work, and grooves that combine rock, techno, and jazz-fusion? Why Ozric Tentacles of course! Sunrise Festival is the instrumental outfit's latest live album, recorded June 2007 at the Sunrise Festival in the UK, featuring many of the band's classic tracks, which for longtime fans might be a little of "jeez, haven't we heard those tunes enough already?", but for those new to the Ozric's, this is a great sounding, red hot set. Did I say great sounding? Yeah, this is one of the better live albums you are gonna hear, all the instruments crackling with energy, Ed Wynne's guitar work especially on fire, as he scorches some molten solos throughout cuts like "0-1", "Jurassic Shift", "Erpland", and "White Rhino Tea". The rhythm section of bassist Brandi Wynne and drummer Merv Pepler are locked and loaded on the funky "Vita Voom", and let's not forget keyboard player Joie Hinton (Ed also adds in some keys here) who provides the bubbling background for all the skyrocketing guitar explorations. A little side note-Joie and Merv are both former members, appearing with the band here for the first time in over a decade, making this set somewhat of a memorable reunion.
If you like the Ozrics taking lengthy journeys into space, look no further than the wild "Sunrise Jam", as fluttering synths and gurgling bass lines set the stage for Ed's scorching electric guitar leads. Of course, no live set would be complete without the standout "Eternal Wheel", a powerful and majestic cut featuring some haunting melodies to go along with the virtuoso arrangements. The synth work on this one is just breathtaking.
This set also comes with a companion DVD, so you can witness the full stage show and experience all the lights as if you were there in person. The package comes housed in a wonderful digibook, complete with a booklet chocked full of color photos and information about the band's appearance at the festival. Sure, you can buy plenty of Ozric Tentacles live albums, but this one is a real nice presentation that would be a great addition to your new or existing Ozric CD collection.
Track Listing
1. ...Blimey!
2. 0-I
3. Vita Voom
4. Jurassic Shift
5. Sunrise Jam
6. Erpland
7. The Throbbe
8. Snakepit
9. Eternal Wheel
10. White Rhino Tea
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