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Review:
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IQ are founding members of the neo-progressive rock
movement that began in the early '80s as a continuation
of the progressive-rock style that was born out of bands
like Yes, Genesis, and King Crimson in the late '60s. Along
with fellow British neo-proggers Marillion and Pendragon,
IQ continues to tour and record great new music for their
devoted fans to this day, and they have just released one
the best albums of their long career with Frequency.***
Live In Holland 2007 is a bonus DVD that was included
with the enhanced, limited edition, of Frequency, and it
features a performance that was recorded at De Boerderij
in Zoetermeer, the Netherlands on December 1st, 2007. IQ
has released several other live concert videos over the
last two decades, but most of them are very hard to come
by these days. That is what really makes Live In Holland
such a great bonus.***
Although I have been a big prog-rock fan for some time
now, this new CD/DVD from IQ is my first proper introduction
to this distinguished purveyor of the genre. The DVD makes
for an excellent overview and introduction to this band.
The setlist spans IQ's entire career, taking you all the
way back to their 1983 debut album, Seven Stories Into Eight,
with "It All Stops Here," and all the way up to the new
Frequency CD, with "Crashed And Burned," and the title track.
"Crashed And Burned" was eventually renamed "Stronger Than
Friction" in time for the CD release.***
I was surprised to see two of the new Frequency tracks
performed at this 2007 concert, considering that the CD
was just released this summer. Their previous album, Dark
Matter, was released in 2004, so they had almost five years
to work on new material. They must have started early.***
Although there are only 12 songs performed, the concert
was just over two hours long. Six of the twelve songs are
over ten minutes in length, and the epic Dark Matter CD
track, "Harvest of Souls," clocks in at almost 25 minutes.
"Harvest" was definitely one of the highlights of the show,
as it features everything a good neo-prog epic should; a
shout-out to Genesis' "Suppers Ready," a dash of Yes' Close
To The Edge, and all topped off with a modern dash of Dream
Theater-like heaviness.***
Two tracks from 1998's Subterranea, which many consider
to be the band's finest hour, and two more from their 2001
follow up, The Seventh House, are highlights as well. Long
time fans will also be pleased to see "The Magic Roundabout,"
from the band's1985 album, The Wake, which is considered
by the majority of fans to be their most essential '80s
album.***
The De Boerderij is a fairly small club with a capacity
of about 750 people, so the show was very up close and intimate.
Three large video screens flanked the back of the stage
and alternated between dreamy imagery and a variety of album
cover artwork. The light show provided the perfect compliment
to the band's music.***
The overall production quality of this DVD was quite
good. I was a bit disappointed that the only audio option
was a Dolby 2.0 Stereo track (what do you want for free?),
but it still sounded excellent. The video quality was hit
or miss depending on which camera angle was shown. Most
of the close-up shots were very clear and sharp, but some
of the longer shots showing the entire stage were quite
soft and blurry. For some reason, the two encore songs that
were performed were included as a bonus feature instead
of just putting them in the main feature. Didn't make a
whole lot of sense.***
IQ's Frequency CD is well worth the asking price all
on it's own, but with this superb bonus DVD also included,
it becomes a must-buy for any casual fan of the band or
the neo-prog genre in general.***
Concertdvdreviews.com
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