Short Reviews [Lifesigns - 2023 - "Live in the Netherlands"]

As one may ascertain from the title, this is a live album which was recorded at De Boerderij, Zoetermeer on the tour for their third album, ‘Altitude’, in August 2022. By this time the line-up was definitely feeling much more like a band than a session set-up, with keyboard player and singer John Young (The Strawbs, John Wetton, Bonnie Tyler, The Scorpions, Fish, Uli Jon Roth) still working with his next door neighbour Steve Rispin (sound) along with guitarist Dave Bainbridge (Iona, The Strawbs) and bassist Jon Poole (Cardiacs, The Wildhearts) plus newest recruit, drummer Zoltan Csorsz (The Flower Kings, Karamkanic, The Jan Lundgren Trio, Tomas Bodin etc.). Yes, this is a bona fide supergroup, with all the players bringing something special to proceedings. I have followed Bainbridge for some 30 years now, loving his touch and finesse, and in Young he has very much found a kindred spirit (although John used to be in The Strawbs, and David is a current member, they were not members at the same time) and he moves between acoustic/classical and electric to ensure he is always providing the support required. Jon Poole is one of the finest bassists in the scene and has been for many years (and as I keep saying, if you ever find his solo Zappa tribute album 'What's The Ugliest Part Of Your Body?' then grab it) and he and Zoltan fully understand there are times in this music when they need to sit back and wait for their time. This is prog music which is reflective, full of lightness and deftness of touch along with loads of emotion and atmosphere. John has a wonderful vocal style, writing songs which suit his style, allowing him to hold the notes and it is strange to realise he is not more widely known for this as well as his keyboard playing. “Ivory Tower” is a wonderful example of the delights of Lifesigns where the first half is all about classical guitar and vocals with just little touches here and there from other instruments until it awakens in the second half with nice electric guitar, a dominant rhythm section and the vocals being far more forceful as the band remember the rock part of prog. The total playing time is just 100 minutes, yet it goes past incredibly quickly as the music brings the listener into John’s world. I highly recommend playing this on headphones so one allows nothing else to intrude into the world being created. They can be more dynamic, such as on “Shoreline”, and one of the joys is the intricate interplay between the three melodic players with Zoltan driving from the rear, while another is the way John switches between keyboards and piano as the need arises. There has been a gap between each of the three studio albums and let us hope we do not have to wait so long for the next one but if you have yet to come across Lifesigns then this is the perfect introduction.