Ankekdoten - Official Bootleg: Live In Japan
	Released: 1998 Label: Arcangel Cat. No.: Total Time:
	Review courtesy John "Bo Bo" Bollenberg, July 2000 Japan has long been known as being the country of the well looked after releases. If they release a digipack over there then you can be sure they needed to chop down half of the rainforest in order to provide the necessary paper and cardboard! Although we didn't hear any new material for some time, "out of the blue" there's this expensive double CD Live In Japan. Expensive, yet worth every cent. Next to powerful versions of well-known material from the Vemod and Nucleus albums we also find four "new" songs which can be situated amongst the "vintage" Anekdoten material. The quality of the recording is superb and the intensity with which Anna Sofi, Jan Erik, Nicklas and Peter bring their music strongly leans towards King Crimson during their Red and Lizard period, Magma and Univers Zero. The booklet states "play loud" and that's exactly what this music needs. The material we know is similar to the studio versions yet the song "Rubankh" which we know from the Nucleus album lasts a cool ten minutes longer here. Also the new material contains a fair bit of mellotron and cello as main ingredients. By means of the uncertain singing of Jan Erik, a song like "Slow Fire" builds and builds and due to the mellotron and the hypnotizing rhythm it works towards an explosive climax. "Road To Nowhere" embroiders on the repetitive bassline of Jan Erik whilst drummer Peter opens all of the percussive registers. In "Groundbound" it's guitarist Nicklas Berg who turns "freaky" forgetting every known rule in the book. The result is a big lump of avant-garde. In "Tabath" Jan Erik is once again allowed to deliver the darkest and most ominous bass sounds ever. A wonderful, powerful, dark album! More about Official Bootleg: Live In Japan: Track Listing: Disc One: Karelia / The Old Man & The Sea / Harvest / Slow Fire / Thoughts In Absence / Road To Nowhere / Book Of Hours Disc Two: Groundbound / Where Solitude Remains / Wheel / Tabatah / Nucleus / Rubankh Part 1 & 2 Musicians: Anna Sofi Dahlberg - keyboards, cello, voice Jan Erik Liljeström - bass, voice Peter Nordins - drums Nicklas Berg - guitar, keyboards, voice Contact: Website: www.anekdoten.se Note: will open new browser window Email: anekdoten@anekdoten.se Discography Vemod (1991) Nucleus (1995) Official Bootleg: Live in Japan (1998) From Within (1999) Gravity (2003) Buy this title at:
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