Node - Node Live. 2018 England

Node Live is the 3rd album from the English Berlin School masters. Interesting that the CD itself gives no indication of when and where the concert was. I don't think I've seen that oversight before. In any case the label themselves has the information, and it turns out the concert was held at the prestigious Royal College of Music in London back in 2015. Hardly Benny's Bar & Grill. Node almost never play live, and the reason is obvious - they have a massive amount of old analog electronic equipment, which happens to weigh a ton. The photos contained within the CD show Node working with about as much electronic equipment as you would see in an old 70s news clip of NASA.

This particular live engagement features the same quartet as found on Node 2. For those who have read my review there, one can clearly see I was losing my mind at just how magical a recording it is. One of the high water marks of the entire Berlin School genre. So is Node Live at that same level? No. Is  it still an excellent album? Heck yea! Like any true Berlin school artist, Node play 100% improvised. They start with an idea and roll with it. For the studio efforts they can edit and replace. Here - what you hear is what you get. In addition, the style relies heavily on the sound texture itself. And while certainly this is a professional recording in a renowned venue, one can still hear some of the hollowness within the instruments. But all the trademarks of Node are intact: Fat Moog sequences, electric guitar, early 70s synthesizer textures, mellotron, and melodic solos. For fans of the style, an easy recommendation. For those looking for further progress on Node 2, it didn't happen here. Not sure that's possible anyway.

Ownership: CD: 2018 DiN. Tri-fold digipak. Tons of photos and some other details. Just not when and where....

2/28/19 (new entry)