K² - "Live In Hollywood" DVD Review

Artist/ Band: K²
Title: Live In Hollywood (DVD)
Label: Umbrello Records
Year of Release: 2008
Offical Artist/ Band Link

The Review:

Back in 2005 I had the extreme pleasure of reviewing Book Of Dead album by K² (K Squared). K² started out as a project from the brainchild of Ken Jacquess (bass, keyboards), who was also in a local Los Angeles prog band called Atlantis. I gave the Book Of Dead high rating and felt that the band was going to be big within the prog world. Sadly after it was halted with the death Shaun Guerin (vocals) shortly after the album was recorded. It was going to be hard for the band to perform live without their lead singer, especially when they‘ve passed on. I’m sure many thoughts ran through Ken’s mind as to what to do. Then they got Josh Gleason who is from a Genesis tribute band called, The Waiting Room. The wonderful thing is that both singers had a common denominator, Peter Gabriel. This was the next step in the evolution of the band.

Joining Ken from the debut album is Karl Johnson (guitars) who did an amazing job performing the lead guitar parts that were mostly done originally by Alan Holdsworth. Both Ken and Karl filled the void left from violinist Yvette Devereaux quite well, although missed. Doug Sanborn (drums) and Spock’s Beard keyboard player Ryo Okumoto rounded off the live edition of K². I’ve had the pleasure of seeing this line-up perform in North Hollywood at The Baked Potato. If they ever tour again anywhere near you, GO! (Note to all festivals, K² would be a great choice.)

The setlist was pretty much the entire Book Of The Dead album with some extras. The first is from Ken’s old band Atlantis called “Forest Cathedral”. Josh’s vocals, to me surpass the original. Another cover tune is “Beware Of Darkness”, which was reworked by Spock’s Beard in 1996. The K² version is similar but the vocals set it apart. I would say Josh’s delivery has more power .For those of you that don’t know, this song is a reworking of an old George Harrison song.

If you enjoy melodic progressive rock that has a slight retro feel, like The Watch, Wobbler, The Source, Astra to name a few, than this DVD is a must have. Just a note, this is a DVD-R but since it’s released by the band, it’s the least thought of part of the music.

Reviewed by Ron Fuchs on July 29th, 2009

Tracks:

01.Infinite Voyage

02. Mirror to the Spirits

03. The Edge of Light

04. Forest Cathedral / Freefall

05. Cloak of Antiquity

06. Beware of Darkness

Bonus material:

DVD extras include behind the scenes footage, a photo gallery, a bonus video from K2's Spring 2006 tour and an impressive menu with new music composed just for this release.

Reviewed Discography

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