Spock's Beard - Don't Try This At Home

"Good disc overall, but not enough Beard action (too short)."

Spock's Beard's catchy, bombastic and challenging form of progressive rock translates very well to the live medium, because the band plays with incredible energy onstage. Neal Morse, the head honcho behind the band, is a brilliant entertainer, and this album ineffably captures and preserves the band's topnotch live performance. Sound quality is impeccable...about as good as a live album can get. I think there were overdubs tho', for what it's worth.

If only the song selection weren't so limited. You get a pretty good variety, just not enough. Songs come only from the Day for Night and Kindness of Strangers albums. All the songs are good, sure, but when the album only clocks in at around 50 minutes, it leaves you wanting more. The live renditions of this disc's tracks are mostly predictable reiterations of the studio versions, but these guys put on a great show that keeps things interesting. (A lot of the vocal parts sound better with the live versions as well.) It's really something hearing "Gibberish" performed live, with those complex vocal sections.

It's kind of disappointing, but all in all it's a good disc.