-=> From what I recall, Kenneth Newman said this to Lorne Murphy <=-
 (In Seinfeld voice): Hellooo, Newman.
 (Couldn't resist, been dying to use that!)
 KN> Basically anything by Crimso in decent shape, and if you 
 KN> could let me know whatever other prog they might have. We 
 OK, I'll make a list and discuss it with you in e-mail...
 KN> I used to own a copy of this. Good material. Doesn't work 
 KN> as a coherent piece, more like a collection of odds and 
 KN> sodds, but the material itself is good, well played, fine 
 Yes, it is more of a compilation, but some of the songs are just
 excellent (of course), and I also like the inclusion of some
 rarities.
 KN> Anyway, be careful of the cutaway cover which easily gets 
 KN> torn up when you go to put the record back on the shelf. 
 Ahhh, this is what mylar is for! :)
              - LM
 NP: "The Whistler" - Tull '77
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Here are my impressions of the Alan Parsons concert last night in Little
Rock, Arkansas.  I need to do this more often!  8-]
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Wow!  This was one killer show.  I HIGHLY recommend the "On Air" tour to
anyone near one of the stops.  For someone who once said that a live show
would consist of him sitting on stage behind a mixing board, Parsons and
company cook!
   Ironically, the show wasn't a sellout, but there was virtually no
promotion for it whatsoever.  Still, it came close to filling Robinson
Auditorium - quite a feat for an event that got no lip service or
advertising.
   Neil Lockwood (formerly of ELO Part 2 - aha, at last a tenuous connection
between two of my favorite groups...sort of, anyway) and Peter Beckett (who
sang backup on "On Air") did excellent work with the lead vocals, especially
Lockwood.  Beckett mainly handled ethereal stuff such as "Time," "So Far
Away," and "Old and Wise."  Both of them strained to reach - or circumvent
- the heights of the songs written for Eric Woolfson's voice.
   Ian Bairnson stole the spotlight - literally - many times over the course
of the nearly three-hour show (the power of our noisy applause dragged THREE
encore sets out of the group - they EARNED their money in Little Rock!), and
it's safe to say that I was keeping an eye on Bairnson and Parsons for most
of the show.  Bairnson also took center stage before "Brother Up In Heaven"
to tell the story behind the song (the death of his cousin, a helicopter
pilot on the U.N. peacekeeping mission who was accidentally shot down over
Iraq by U.S. planes in 1994), and I think that song and "Blue Blue Sky" were
possibly the most impressive because of their simplicity.
   "Prime Time" and especially "Psychobabble" were dragged out into HUGE
solos!  "Psychobabble" lasted anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes, accompanied by
an eye-searing light show.
   The audience was, rather like the one heard on the 1995 live album,
rather a respectful one.  They were there to hear the music, not scream a
lot - oh yeah, there were a few whistles and some clapping to the beat and
shouts of "All right!" in there to be sure, but once a song was underway,
everyone shut up and let the group do their thing.  This helped to make my
first concertgoing experience (at least where rock music is concerned) a
blast!
   If I had a complaint about the show, it is the arguably necessary degree
to which they had to lean on pre-triggered sequences (or perhaps even a
backing tape).  It doesn't make for much of a show - but then again, this
audience was there to hear the music.  Also, during "Turn It Up," the mix of
all the instruments onstage was gradually pushed up to full blast over the
course of the song, just like on the album.  This was a great idea for a
recording, but live, it served to deafen me enough that my ears were buzzing
for the whole second half of the concert.
   For those interested - yes, there is merchandise, and brother, is it ever
expensive.  A t-shirt will cost $20, a cap $25, and a long-sleeve shirt $40.
And in an extended display of marketing, Parsons sat and talked to the
audience for a few minutes about "On Air," the fact that it comes with a
CD-ROM, and there's a live album out there too by the way, and so on.  Can't
blame the man for taking an opening with a captive audience, but considering
that Parsons' fans are usually quite aware of his new releases and so on,
it's probably a fair bet that most everyone in the place already knew these
things.
   The band seemed to have fun with it (Parsons at one point announced
"You're a more enthusiastic lot than I expected!" or something to that
effect), and it was a tremendous show, well worth the money (hey, if tickets
are $30 apiece, make 'em work for it, get three encores!).
   Now I need to go.  I have three friends who went with me who all want to
borrow the live album, so I need to fight them off. 
   For those interested, here's a set list which is, in places, in no
particular order:
    "(The System of) Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether"
    "Can't Take It With You"
    "I Wouldn't Want To Be Like You"
    "Days Are Numbers (The Traveler)"
    "Money Talks/La Sagrada Familia" medley
    "Old and Wise"
    "Turn It Up"
    "Limelight"
    "Blue Blue Sky"
    "Can't Look Down"
    "Fall Free"
    "Cloudbreak"
    "So Far Away"
    "Brother Up In Heaven"
    "Psychobabble"
    "Time"
    "Sirius/Eye In The Sky"
    "Prime Time"
    "Standing On Higher Ground"
    "You're Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned"
    "Don't Answer Me"
    "Games People Play"
(Every album except "Eve" and "Freudiana" was represented.)
      e  <-- Earl Green  (egreen@ipa.net  or  eegreen@mail2.westark.edu)
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 * SLMR 2.0 * If you believe in the power of magic, it's all a fantasy.
--- QScan/PCB v1.19b / 01-0162
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