It Bites - Live In Montreux

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It Bites - Live In Montreux

Artist:	It Bites
Title:	Live In Montreux
Label:	self produced
Length(s):	60 minutes
Year(s) of release:	2003
Month of review:	[09/2003]

Line up

John Beck - keyboards
Bob Dalton - drums
Francis Dunnery - vocals, guitar
Richard Nolan - bass

Tracks

1)	Fanfare	1.42
2)	Turn Me Loose	5.12
3)	All In Red	4.20
4)	Black December	4.32
5)	Never Go To Heaven	7.01 MP3
6)	Yellow Christian	6.24
7)	Screaming On The Beaches	6.08
8)	Calling All The Heroes	6.16
9)	I Got You	6.42
10)	Once Around The World	15.46

Summary

Except for track 10, recorded at the Astoria, this is a live concert of It Bites recorded around 1988. The band was the young bright hope of prog in that era, with their fresh approach to the genre, until they disbanded around 1991. Of course, many people might not even consider the band prog for being way too accessible. They might have a point, but the band also turned an epic or two and did manage to lighten up the scene in their day and pave the way for bands, such as Ark (including the still unknown John Jowitt) and many bands on the SI Music label. Although a reunion is not in the planning, accidents may happen. The album is only available from www.itbites.com.

The music

Fanfare is a symphonic kick-ass opener leading to the very catchy Turn Me Loose. No trolls and other fairies here, but a plain love song, sung with the very English and recognizable voice of Francis Dunnery. The keyboards play a large role, but more in support than anything else. The guitar is more prominent and features on a rowdy meandering solo. There is also quirkiness in the music of It Bites, a sense of humour they do little to contain. And beneath the catchy surface, the music features plenty of breaks, or signature changes as they should actually be called. Halfway the music drops out, largely and then slowly builds up again, resulting in...party time. The chorus may be a bit on the straightforward side, the rest of the song certainly manages to convince.

During All In Red, Dunnery fires the audience on for a plodding piece of work and great supporting keys. Again, an incredible catchy piece of work especially the strong vocal harmonies of the chorus. Black December opens with rhythm guitar and quickly moves into the direction of a symphonic pop song. Sometimes I hear echoes of I'm Not In Love, sometimes I am reminded of Human Leaque's Don't You Want Me. But the resemblences are superficial, because in the heart this song is not different from the previous one. It is still It Bites. A well-oiled progprop song with some distinctive keyboard parts and some nice guitar work.

With Never Go To Heaven we arrive at the somewhat longer tracks, this one opening with harpsichord like keys. If you happen to know Jadis, but never heard this band, look and hear where they come from. And Nomzamo and Are You Sitting era IQ has some resemblances too. This is a more ballad like effort, somewhat slow with more powerful guitar chords setting in once in a while. A languid track with a fast and energetic guitar solo in the tail.

Yellow Christian is a willowy and waltzy affair. The shadowed vocals are very well done, the band is certainly well-oiled. The guitar line is distinctive, and the drumming is very varied. On the surface pure catchiness, but underneath it all, it is all less evident than may seem at first. On Screaming On The Beaches the keys open very eighties (but hey these are the eighties!). Irony dripping from the vocals, this is very British. Plenty of 'live' fooling around too.

Sometimes, the hitsingle of any given progband is jokingly referred to, but some bands actually pulled it off. In the case of It Bites this is Calling All The Heroes, which at least in the Netherlands, and I would assume also in the UK was single of some name. Among the songs here it is probably the most instantably accessible and grooviest. The guitar solo is a rowdy one, though and accessible does not mean it doesn't contain a keyboard solo.

I Got You is the first encore opening with bombastic keys and guitars, with a loud grumbling bass. During the vocal passage, the keys can be a bit discordant. A very energetic track.

Once Around The World was recorded in the London Astoria and is not part of the previous concert. This is one of their epics here reaching over fifteen minutes. The build up is slow, and atmospheric. There is something of Peter Gabriel in the voice of Dunnery, the mood is quite Genesis like here. And the link stays, although the band manages to take the music of Genesis from the seventies their time. Later when the music becomes funkier, the links disappears. In a later section, the music goes back to the twenties (of the 20th century). The backing vocals come out a bit less well than in Montreux I think. It seems to me the band is fooling around a bit here, not taking themselves very seriously at all. The conclusion has a strong melodramatic melody.

Conclusion

Too bad The Ice Melts Into Water is missing (a personal favourite), but one cannot have everything. The band packs a good groove with energetic renditions of their somewhat accessible material. Underneath that you will find enough variation for a symphonic rock fan, with a sense of humour, generally in the line of the accessible IQ albums (Nomzamo and Are You Sitting...) and Jadis. I guess I have to say though that the energy level is a bit higher here, which is a good thing. A song like Once Around The World also features some Genesis influences, so they know where they come from. An enjoyable live album.