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Thread: Ayreon-Electric Castle Live is spectacular

  1. #1
    Member rickawakeman's Avatar
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    Ayreon-Electric Castle Live is spectacular

    The much-anticipated (well, by me anyway!) live 2 CD/DVD set arrived at Chez Rick last week, signed by Arjen , accompanied by T-shirt and poster. As you might surmise, big fan of the original which I have enjoyed since its release. Of course, also sprung last year for the artbook edition of the remix!

    Watched the entire DVD with my wife (also a fan) last night. To quote my better half, "Wow! That was really good! Really well-produced!" She even tolerates the brief cookie monster vox (which happily do not overstay their welcome). Of course Fish sings down an octave during some of his contributions but that's a minor quibble. The editing is really good, focusing on the instrumental solos when appropriate and missing that rapid-fire cutting many of us loathe. Of course my wife swoons when Damian Wilson is featured, and as I've said in the past I'd pay to hear Damian sing the phone book. The latrge-scale production is spectacular, though we both commeneted that we believe we enjoyed the show more from the comfy confines of our living room rather than standing in the throng of humanity at the 02!

  2. #2
    Member jarmsuh's Avatar
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    I didn't know that Fish sings on this release. I am still waiting for my copy from Amazon Ca, they have it on stock for weeks, and for whatever reason they haven't ship my Blu-Ray ordered 1 month ago.

  3. #3
    Insect Overlord Progatron's Avatar
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    It's quite well done, I agree. My wife also watched it with me (the way it has to be during this quarantine!) and she enjoyed it, including the interviews & behind the scenes stuff. She's also a huge fan of "Q" from Star Trek, so he was an added incentive for her to stick with it. I admire the amount of work that goes into these productions, and what can I say, I love the music!

    That blu-ray disc is jam-packed full of entertainment! Nice set.
    Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.

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    Member since March 2004 mozo-pg's Avatar
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    What the hell - two stellar reviews. I bought it off Amazon.ca.
    Last edited by mozo-pg; 04-25-2020 at 07:05 PM.
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  5. #5
    Orcopian
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    Watching it now, it’s very good, great performances and very high quality production values, most of all it’s a lot of fun. You can see why Fish has picked Marcel Singor as his new guitarist. My wife also took an interest when Damian Wilson appeared. One of the few prog gigs she has accompanied me to was the stream of passion tour which Damian was part of.

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    I need to get this. Love the original album.

  7. #7
    Insect Overlord Progatron's Avatar
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    The other interesting aspect of this show is the second set, comprised of one track from each of Arjen's 'other' (non-Ayreon) projects. Damian Wilson does a great job of Twisted Coil from the Guilt Machine album, and Simone Simons does Ashes from the Ambeon album.
    Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.

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  8. #8
    Member rickawakeman's Avatar
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    I really enjoyed the live version of Shores of India, perhaps my favorite track from Gentle Storm.

  9. #9
    Insect Overlord Progatron's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rickawakeman View Post
    I really enjoyed the live version of Shores of India, perhaps my favorite track from Gentle Storm.
    I could listen to Anneke sing the phone book. She's just fantastic.
    Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.

    *** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***

  10. #10
    Insect Overlord Progatron's Avatar
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    My interview with Arjen is now up:

    https://www.velvetthunder.co.uk/pink...rjen-lucassen/
    Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.

    *** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***

  11. #11
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    Very nice interview VT !!!

  12. #12
    Member since March 2004 mozo-pg's Avatar
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    I agree, excellent interview!!
    What can this strange device be? When I touch it, it brings forth a sound (2112)

  13. #13
    Insect Overlord Progatron's Avatar
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    Thank you, much appreciated! Arjen was most gracious, he sent me a message saying he really enjoyed it, and wants me to interview him for Transitus when the time comes. Always nice to hear that feedback. Believe me, it's pretty rare!
    Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.

    *** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***

  14. #14
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    It was just announced that Tom Baker (from Doctor Who) will be the narrator on the next Ayreon album...

  15. #15
    Member rickawakeman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jarmsuh View Post
    I didn't know that Fish sings on this release. I am still waiting for my copy from Amazon Ca, they have it on stock for weeks, and for whatever reason they haven't ship my Blu-Ray ordered 1 month ago.
    There's even do "Kayleigh."

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by rickawakeman View Post
    There's even do "Kayleigh."
    I had hoped they excluded it as it sounded awful live. Certainly the weakest moment in the whole show.

  17. #17
    Member jarmsuh's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ChrisXymphonia View Post
    I had hoped they excluded it as it sounded awful live. Certainly the weakest moment in the whole show.
    Didn't fit with the rest of the set list, but at least Fish made some appearance on others songs.

  18. #18
    We bought the blu-ray set after seeing The Garden of Emotions on YouTube. So many of the musical themes worked their way into our heads that we've played the main section of ITEC almost every day since it's arrived. It's impressive that they have (IMHO) actually improved it compared to the studio version.

    On one hand, it's been a major lifeline of new music energy while we've been in lockdown. On the other, it's been a wistful reminder of so many once-in-a-lifetime performances that we've seen - and a reminder that we hope to see more!

  19. #19
    My interview with Arjen is now up:
    Very nice interview. I have 3 Ayreon discs but really do not know much about AL, and this was pretty informative. I have a greater appreication for what he is doing in this work. Thanks!
    I'm not lazy. I just work so fast I'm always done.

  20. #20
    Insect Overlord Progatron's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dana5140 View Post
    Very nice interview. I have 3 Ayreon discs but really do not know much about AL, and this was pretty informative. I have a greater appreication for what he is doing in this work. Thanks!
    Very glad to hear that, thank you for mentioning it!
    Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.

    *** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***

  21. #21
    Member Garyhead's Avatar
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    Just watching all the Interviews / extras on the BluRay last night. Who was the original "Hippie" voice that was deleted when his new manager threw a bunch of roadblocks at the project? Arjen stated he did the vocals himself in retaliation. He later stated that this "talent" and he buried the hatchet and said talent was on his next album.

    Arjen said that he was the 5th choice for the original recording in 1999.

    1. Donovan - declined
    2. Jon Anderson - declined
    3. ?? (don't remember)
    4. Artiste X (completed recording but manager made it difficult for the final release)
    5. Arjen -
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  22. #22
    Who was the original "Hippie" voice that was deleted when his new manager threw a bunch of roadblocks at the project?
    It was a Dutch singer called "Mouse". Does Arjen not refer to him by name at all in these new interviews? A bit odd, would indicate there's still some issue there.

    He still lists him on his website: https://www.arjenlucassen.com/content/mouse/

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