Glass Hammer - Lex Live
Performance
Production
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Glass Hammer - Lex Live
Performance
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Of all the great things that the Internet provides us with (news, forums, research, porn) its greatest gift may just be the virtually infinite access to all of the world's music, which you may never find in your local music store, and most definitely never hear on the sorry state of today's radio. Thanks to many of the great music and review sites on the web, I have been introduced to numerous great bands/projects such as Porcupine Tree, Pain Of Salvation, The Flower Kings, Vanden Plas, Echolyn, and Glass Hammer, to name a few, whom I would never have known otherwise. What a shame. Although many of these bands have seen enough success, or label assistance, to get their albums into the bins of your local Tower Records store, other bands, like Glass Hammer, are independent projects whose albums you will most likely have to find online. My first introduction to Glass Hammer was when I downloaded the song "One King", from their epic, 2002 release Lex Rex, and listened blissfully with a huge grin of satisfaction on my face during the entire song. It was that same day that I placed my order for Lex Rex, and my friends, was I ever glad I did. Glass Hammer is the creation of Fred Schendel and Steve Babb, who are both exceptional multi-instrumentalists, as well as singers and songwriters. Schendel is a keyboard master, who is easily in the same league as that Emerson guy. Yeah, you heard me right. His compositions bring back fond memories of the old-school symphonic-rock sounds of Yes, Gentle Giant, ELP, and Kansas, using a combination of Moogs, Hammonds, Mellotrons, and various other keyboards to create his vast landscapes of sound. He also happens to play all of the guitars and drums on the albums, as well. Who does he think he is Neal Morse? Steve Babb is Schendel's partner in Glass Hammer and he handles all of the bass, as well as some additional keyboards. The band has actually been around since 1992 and have released nine albums, including the brand new Shadowlands, and Live At NEARfest, both release in 2004. They have primarily been a studio project, and live performances have been a rarity, which is what makes this DVD and their 2003 NEARfest appearance so special. Lex Live was recorded at Rhythm and Brews, a small club in the band's hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Not exactly a prog-rock mecca, but then again you'd basically have to go all the way to the Netherlands or Sweden for that. The performance features most of Lex Rex, a brilliant concept album about a Roman soldier who through his search for battle glory and spiritual truth finds himself face to face with the crucified son of God, as he is ordered to spear his side. They also mixed in a few songs from their earlier Chronometree and Perelandra albums, which I was pleased to see were nearly as compelling as the Lex Rex material. The show opened with "Chronotheme", an impressive, classic-prog sounding instrumental from their Chronometree album. Joining Schendel and Babb onstage were Walter Moore on guitar and vocals, Matt Mendians on drums, Eric Parker on acoustic guitar, and the trio of Susan Bogdanowicz, Bethany Warren, and Flo Paris on vocals. Although the production quality of the Lex Rex album was outstanding, the songs sounded much more powerful and dynamic onstage. Although Schendel provided some respectable drumming and guitar playing on the album, the keyboards clearly took center stage, often leaving the other instruments fighting to be noticed. With this live performance, the guitar and drums, as well as Babb's superb bass work, are much more potent and pronounced, and clearly make the songs more compelling than the album versions. Moore nailed all of the guitar solos that were performed by a variety of guitarists on the Lex Rex album, and took them to new heights. This is a convincing reason for making Moore and Mendians permanent members of the band, and utilizing their skills more in the studio. The lush, layered harmony vocals that are woven between Schendel, Babb, Moore and the trio of female vocalists are some of the best I have ever heard live. These three lovely ladies sound like an angelic choir, and each deserve to be stars in their own right. The overall production quality of this DVD is a slight disappointment. The worst offender is the lack of any 5.1 surround audio track, which is unacceptable for a 2004 concert DVD. Fortunately the Dolby stereo track is quite good, providing excellent instrument separation and clarity, and powerful bass response. The video was usually sharp and clear, with only the occasional blurry shot. The camera work was fairly simple and relied on a few different angles, which primarily focused on close-ups of Schendel and Babb, with the occasional pan to Moore, Mendians, and the backup singers. I would have liked to have seen more medium shots of the entire band performing. Some of the shots tended to get very repetitive and boring, especially the one showing the same angle of the drummer. The video would often switch between amateur camcorder shots of the show, which I found annoying and distracting. There was virtually no light show, so the colors looked natural, and the lighting did not create any significant problems for the cameras. The bonus material was extensive and quite good. My favorite segment is of the band rehearsing for the NEARfest show in one of their hotel rooms. They are all performing acoustically, or with minimal amplification, but they still sounded huge. Their talent as musicians, and chemistry as a band, really shines through here. Also included was a tour of their recording studio, video of their DVD release party, and the video for "Tales Of The Great Wars". Although some of the production is flawed, Lex Live is still one of the most enjoyable concert DVDs I have seen this year. The music and performances are powerful and inspired, and perfectly capture the brilliance of Glass Hammer, and especially the Lex Rex album. It is a curious, but inspiring state of affairs in the world of music when your favorite album and concert DVD of the last few years is by an independent, Christian-flavored, progressive-rock band from Chattanooga, Tennessee? Amen to that brother. Reviewed by Paul M. Roy - August 2004 |
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Running Time: 67 Minutes |
DVD Release Date - May 2004 |