DVD REVIEW: 21st Century Schizoid Band - Live in Japan CD/DVD
It was just over a year ago that I first saw this band, which is comprised of ex-members of King Crimson, at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. After that concert, the Schizoid Band jetted off to Japan and played a small tour there. This new Japan-only release is a document of that tour and captures the band at its early stages.
The Live in Japan package comprises of a CD and DVD of a concert recorded on the second night of performance at the Shinjuku Kouseinenkin Hall in Tokyo on November 6 2002. The CD omits a couple of tracks (most notably the Ian McDonald and Michael Giles solo stuff) but the DVD has the whole concert. Seeing as there is no difference between the audio on the CD and the audio on the DVD, this review will be concentrating on the DVD title.
The DVD is well presented with an animated menu featuring excerpts of the band and you even get a short interview with each of the members in which they are asked questions about the creation of the band and King Crimson in the inimitable style of the Japanese. This is quite a good addition because you get the where’s, why’s and wherefore’s behind the band, which is great if you know nothing about those guys.
Playing the concert immediately took me right back to the performance I saw at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. However, this time around I was immediately conscious of the sound mix. The saxophones are way too low in the mix and the drums and bass dominate the overall sound. This is a shame because Mel Collins is a real honker and you miss out on his powerful sax. Ian McDonald is virtually missing on the mix and the guitar is buried deep. However, things improve as the DVD goes along, but there is a real sense of a loss in power. This band is completely different live and comes across as neutered on the DVD.
Anyway, you get the whole setlist from the 2002 tour, including a couple of tracks from the McDonald & Giles album and some solo stuff from Michael Giles and Ian McDonald (both also get the chance to sing solo on their material). The picture quality and sound quality of the concert is second-to-none, being sharp, full of colour and there’s a Dolby 5.1 sound mix.
The highlight for me is still the bands rendition of Formentera Lady and the tracks from King Crimson’s “In the Court� album are executed with aplomb. Watching the DVD also provided a stark contrast to the 2003 version of the band that I recently caught at the London Astoria. This band is much tighter, much more focussed and has a better setlist (more King Crimson and less solo material).
So what you get for your cash is a good document of a band finding its way, but don’t think the Schizoids are like this. After a year and a new(-ish) drummer, they are even better than this.