TRACK LIST:
1. News from Outer Space 3:07
2. A New World 10:25
3. Welcome to the Freak Show 7:53
4. Light of the World 12:41
5. Not Our Place to Be 7:53
6. What I Really Need 5:27
7. Give Birth to the Sun 10:11
8. Far Away from Home 4:32
9. Hole in the Sky 7:14
10. Sleep 9:15
11. Masters of War 5:59
12. Trying to Kiss the Sun 5:05
13. Roses 7:09
14. Unchain the Earth 7:44
LINE UP :
Yogi Lang - vocals, keyboards
Kalle Wallner - guitars
Markus Jehle - keyboards
Marc Turiaux - drums
Sebastian Harnack - bass, pedals
Prolusion.
German band RPWL have established themselves as a quality act in the 25 years or so they have been an active band, releasing one album after the other that holds a generally high quality, and releasing new live albums every few years that document the phases of the band to an even closer extent than many bands renowned for doing the same. "Live From Outer Space" is the sixth live album by RPWL so far, or the eighth if you also count the live albums where they perform Pink Floyd material, and was released in 2019 through their own label Gentle Art of Music.
Analysis.
RPWL is a band where you know what you will get at this point. Their studio albums will be some variation or another of their particular take on atmospheric laden progressive rock with a cosmic touch and with at least indirect references towards the kind of landscapes pioneered by bands such as Pink Floyd, and their live albums will be this material reworked and executed in a manner that fits the stage. Sometimes with the compositions performed with a bit of a theatrical flair or in a theatrical setting, on other occasions as a more regular concert experience, but usually with something extra added for the stage that makes the concert a bit more than a mere live replication of the studio material.
What we get for certain on this occasion are songs that at least in some cases have been extended a bit, with the beautiful keyboard and guitar solo parts benefitting from this slight alteration, and with some audience participation added in too. Some other details may or may not be accidental or details I pick up on now that I probably should have heard earlier. Like some guitar solo runs perhaps having a bit more of a blusier feel and sounding a bit closer to what the great David Gilmour is famous for, some bass lines being real catchy and driving, some rhythm guitar details reminding me quite a bit of the work of Alex Lifeson, some musical cues here and there that gives me associations towards a band like Eloy. If these are planned or accidental additions, details that are more audible in a live setting or parts of the compositions that I just didn't catch in the studio versions I don't know, but these details along with the solid quality of the material performed makes this live performance an interesting one, even if I have heard some of the songs on some of the relatively numerous earlier live albums by the band.
The focus point of this live album is obviously their new album at the time, "Tales from Outer Space", which fills up the entire first disc of this double CD album. The second disc are select highlights from the rest of the band's back catalogue, and while I personally would have enjoyed seeing a few more songs from my favorite parts of their back catalogue present there I suspect many others could say the same - and point to different albums than I would point towards. Thus it is logical that this second disc is a little bit of everything.
Otherwise the songs, at least in this live setting, manage to ebb and flow quite nicely in mood and mode, with few songs replicating the exact mood of the previous song. Vibrant and more energetic songs, gentler and more atmospheric laden affairs and songs with a harder edge takes turns here in a neat and elegant manner that create and maintain a nice nerve, tension and relief cycle throughout the concert. Which is needed, even if that aspect may not have been as deliberate as it comes across, as this album has been captured at a long concert.
The quality is of course impeccable on this production, and while I only have the double CD at my disposal I'm certain that the DVD and Blu-Ray editions of this live production are of an equally high quality. This is solid stuff, and a good, solid quality is by now one of the trademark features of RPWL as a band.
Conclusion.
With RPWL you really can't go wrong, no matter if you are dealing with a studio album or a live album. If you aren't familiar with this band already, just about any of their productions is as good a place to start as any others. The selling point of this live album, I guess, is that it documents the strengths of the current line-up of the band as a live unit. And if you think that is a good place to start exploring a band, this live album should still be commercially available. For existing fans, this will obviously be a production that features one CD full of songs that haven't been released in a live version yet. And knowing that these are explored in the expected quality of the band is probably all you really need to know. This is a solid live production by a quality band.
Progmessor: January 2023
The Rating Room
