Monday, May 6, 2013

**** Live from Oz by Planet X – Calling All Planet X Junkies for a Poor Man’s Greatest Hits Package


There is some excellent improvisation on Live from Oz, but I was hoping for more.  The album is very good, except for the fact that it’s sound quality is slightly less than what we would expect from a studio album.  I don’t know how that could be changed.
I love that Virgil Donati’s drums are not triggered.
Planet X was created as a band that was created to “Strike fear into the hearts of musicians.”  I have to say that I think that they failed on that one, at least on the Live from Oz disc.  Derek Sherinian has a tremendously over inflated opinion of himself if he thinks Planet X is the best progressive rock act going.  While I would say this act is one of the better acts in music, the technicality of it is often reached by other artists, especially those who are also at the top of their discipline.  Also, I do believe that both Tony MacAlpine’s and Virgil Donati’s parts were better than Derek Sherinian’s.
One important issue I want to address here is whether or not someone should feel that he or she has a complete Planet X discography if he or she does not have Live from Oz.  At that one, I would say, if you don’t have this one, there is no reason to rush out to the store to get it.  Also, chances are the store might not have it, and additionally you may have to look pretty hard to find this one.  IMHO, in most instances, the studio versions are better than those on Live from Oz.  Live from Oz is for the Planet X junkie, and I won’t say that I wish I hadn’t bought it.  I happen to be a planet X junkie.  The price to buy the cd when I got it was well worth the price of admission for Live from Oz.
Lastly, Live from Oz can definitely serve as a type of poor man’s greatest hits for Planet X. 

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