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This band is what you would consider a ‘neo-prog’ fanatic’s
wet dream, and yet these guys admit that they took their name
tongue-in-cheek from the whole ‘neo-progressive’ rock genre,
it’s no surprise considering that Neo is a supergroup that
consists of members of Jadis, Arena, Shadowland, IQ, Pendragon,
Frost* (RIP), the Martin Orford Band, and Pallas, which literally
came together to play covers of songs form all the groups
they play in a whole new light. The core of the band features
Mark Westwood, Clive Nolan, John Jowitt and Andy Edwards,
with guest appearances from Alan Reed and Nick Barrett; and
there is a lot of material that is performed, covering the
bases.
Considering that most of these ‘anchor’ bands are just
coming to light, especially in the states, rising up from
the underground, Neo is an outlet to expose the music & regenerate
it to an audience. They run through tracks such as IQ’s “Erosion”
(where Jowitt sings lead), Pallas’ “Hide and Seek,” the ethereal
Arena tune “The Hanging Tree,” and eventually closing out
with the Pendragon standard “Nostradamas,” among others. Filmed
at the majestic Teatr Slaski in Poland, the performance is
tight with multiple camera angles used (a crane was utilized
in many cases), and the wide-screen picture quality does not
have that harsh digital texture to it where the overall feature
has film warmth; the sound is also excellent.
As bonuses, you get soundcheck performances, plus an interview
with both Nolan and Jowitt where they give us the background
to Neo in their own words with humor. Band member profiles
& desktop images are also included. Broadcast is the very
first and only release from the band, marking another way
of helping expose the ‘second wave’ of the neo-progressive
rock movement to newer audiences, and what better/appropriate
way to make it an audio/visual release. This is a must for
fans of the bands listed above, but it makes you wonder, will
these guys ever get together and get together and record some
originals?
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