Customer Reviews

Live on Earth

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This, my friends, is THE best live album I have ever purchased. It comes with 2 CDs and one DVD of an amazing 2+ hour show that will completely floor you (no pun intended). Performed by Guitarist/Singer/Keyboardist mastermind Arjen Lucassen, keyboardist Joost Van Den Broek, bassist Peter Vink, drummer Ed Warby, and special guest flutist Ewa Albering. But the stars of the show are the singers- Symphony X's Russel Allen, Threshold's Damian Wilson, After Forever's Floor Jansen, her sister Irene Jansen, and finally, the very freaky Robert Soeterboek.

The show in Rijssen, Holland, "lifts off", and you're on a nonstop thrillride all the way until the end. Whether the music is loud and the lights are flashing, or it's slowed down and the keyboards are haunting, there's never a dull moment. An amazing array of material is performed, not just Star One. There are about half a dozen Star One songs, and then there are tracks from every Ayreon album. Fans of Into the Electric Castle will really enjoy the spot on (or really, improved) playing of Isis and Osiris, The Amazing Flight in Space (in which Arjen and Joost have a soloing battle/shoving match, truly hilarious), Valley of the Queens (this is a real gem, an accoustic ballad with Floor doing a superb job), The Castle Hall, and in the encore, Two Gates. The rest of the songs are quite flawless as well. Songs like The Dream Sequencer are amazingly improved with the energy of a live setting.

The DVD also includes some bonus features that didn't have to be there, but certainly aren't bad. A humurous set of behind the scenes footage, an additional encore/closing song Space Truckin, which didn't fit on the audio CDs, two songs from the show in Tilburg, and a nice photo gallery. Not shabby. None of what you're getting in this package is shabby, and again I'll say, it's a fantastic deal. You're getting the entire show in CD and DVD format, for the price of what would be one DVD alone.

In conclusion- if you're a fan of progressive rock/metal music, even if you don't particularly enjoy Sci Fi and Fantasy subjects, get this album. It is surely one of the best live shows you'll ever seen recorded, period.

This is the 2 CD set with the DVD of Star One's live performance.

You are really lucky to hear a good live album, especially with the highly overproduced CD's of today. No overdubs and its unlikely that the singer can sing as high or clear as on the CD. But not so here. Arjen surrounds himself with good singers and musicians, and the sound is huge. True, some of the lyrics are cheesy, and Robert doesn't do so well in spots, but the live versions are often better than the studio versions, with a higher energy.

Standout tracks are "Songs on the Ocean", "Dawn of a Million Souls" (my personal favorite), "Into the Black Hole" (Damian is great here), "Valley of the Queens", and "Isis and Osiris". All are much better than the studio tracks and some have different arrangements which make them better live. Russell Allen and Damian are vocally great. Floor and Irene Jansenn mesh together perfectly. Irene compliments Floor's voice very well. Peter Vink's bass and Ed Warby's drums tones are huge. Arjen's guitar tone is also very good.

The DVD is good. According to Arjen's notes he never intended on releasing the DVD. It was recorded with one or two cameras and sound off the board. Then two fans submitted their extra video shots from in the crowd and they mixed them together into the video. It is surprisingly smooth, although a couple of times seems out of sync (hence the previous reviewer's comment on Robert's lip syncing). The stage is really small for so many singers/players. But overall my friend and I liked the DVD.

Arjen's "Human Equation" CD is in my CD player at home and I listen to it all the time. Star One live is my main car CD rotation.

This live cd and dvd preformance portrays the very best of Arjen Anthony Lucassen's Star One project and Ayreon project. Some of the vocalists are Russel Allen (Symphony X), Floor Jansen (After Forever), and Irene Jansen (Ayreon) among many others. The blaze through a set that spans "Space Metal", "Into the Electric Castle", "The Universal Migrator (both parts)" ,and "Actual Fantasy." Some highlights are the Stargate-like set in which Floor and Irene spend a lot of the time singing beautifully, the drum and bass solos, and the dueling guitar and keyboard segment. If you are a fan of any of Arjen's projects or like very complex progressive metal with elaborate concept albums then this is a must buy. I shall be listening to "Intergalactic Space Crusaders", one of the best songs ever!

A while back, I was on a huge Symphony X kick. I fell in love with the music, but Russell Allen's unique and powerful voice really made the band for me. So when I heard that Sir Allen was a guest vocalist on the new Star One DVD, there was no possible way for me to avoid this release.

Putting aside petty cash reserved for things like rent, food, utilities, etc, I ordered this DVD/CD set, and days later, it arrived. Before inserting the DVD, I checked out the awesome packaging and the booklet, both of which excited me.

Musically, I was blown away. A mix of Star One and Ayreon material is presented here by a band that isn't used to touring together, but it seems like this is a jam band in their prime. The chemistry between the many, many members is electric. Nothing is stale and tired, this is a band who is as excited to be playing as the fans are to be enjoying. The music is tight, complex, and easy to jam to.

The band itself is insane. I mean this in a good way. A TON of members... 5 vocalists, a drummer, guitarist/synth/vocalist who brings back flashes of Kerry Livgren, bass player, flamboyant keyboardist, and a special flute player for three tracks, as well as a guest vocalist for one of the extras. The vocalists really get into their parts, everyone seems happy to be there.

There are dozens of "moments" here that left me with a big stupid grin on my face. The one that stands out the most at the moment (this changes daily) is when Arjen (guitar) and Joost (keys) have a "war" during Amazing Flight In Space, trying to outdo each other, getting into a shoving match while playing the instruments. It's hilarious, it's amazing, and it's just beautiful.

I really can't express enough how awesome this is. It's a great value; for your money, you get the DVD (filled to the brim with extras), as well as two audio CDs that capture the majority of the show (curiously nixing the keyboard and bass solo spots). As a fan of bands like Kansas and Yes, as well as Symphony X and Dream Theater, Star One's latest release fills my craving for both the light and heavy sides of progressive rock/metal. You can't go wrong with this unless you just can't stand intricate, beautiful, fun music!

Oh, and lev3k: This is f'king amazing, times 15!

This is great set!
I wasn'r really impressed by Star One album and gave it 3.5 star for its too heavy sound, though I gave 5 stars the rest of Ayreon releases.
But the show is fantastic, really! Arjen has managed to resolve the major problem that could make live Ayreon (Star One) shows impossible: a number of vocalists were involved in Ayreon's projects.
Five singers took part in the show, and they are all great!
Track list: 6 songs from Star One, 4 from Into The Electric Castle, 2 from Universla Migrator, 2 from Dream Sequensor.
The band sounds very confident and powerful, the show is awesome and delivers a lot of energy!
It is really pity such a great band isn't as popular as it deserves!
My friend, the heavy metal head, was blown away completely! He said he'd buy it ASAP.
Nu-metal guys or some "classic" heavy metal stars sound like kids in comparison to Star One!
Guys, are you still reading it? -:)
Stop it and just order the set! Now!
I swear you won't be disappointed!

You will never hear a more perfect Rock voice than Allen. It really shows because he is along side some other very talented singers.

He is like Paul Rodger, Steve Walsh, and Ronnie James Dio all in one but better.

Great buy with the dvd thrown in there

First, it needs to be pointed out that Star One is NOT Ayreon. That's not a knock on Ayreon - I like most of Arjen's work - but Star One is a METAL project, and many fans of softer Ayreon end up as disappointed complainers when they find out what Star One is about.

Having said that, I can honestly say that this limited edition is the best value I've ever gotten for my money when purchasing music. Two full-length live CD's, plus a DVD; and believe me, the DVD is not some thrown-together afterthought. It's almost two and a half hours, not including the bonus features, and very well done.

The performances on this package are truly stunning. Musically, the band is amazingly tight given the fact that there was very little tune-up for the tour. But it's really the vocals that stand out. Russell Allen and Damian Wilson are arguably the two best voices in progressive metal, and Arjen's music always seems to bring out the best in them. And Floor Jansen (with sister Irene on this album) is fabulous, as always. There are many sopranos in prog/symphonic metal in Europe these days, but Floor is the one that really stands out in my mind.

Arjen managed to mix together the Star One material with some of the heavier elements of Ayreon, and even some of the quieter Ayreon tunes are woven in seamlessly. If there's a lack of crowd noise, it's because the show was recorded in a small venue, and that in no way diminishes the energy of the performance.

With most of the recording industry these days grubbing for every last freaking dollar they can squeeze out of you, it's truly amazing the quality and quantity you get for a very reasonable price with this edition. If I could keep only one album that I've bought in the last year, this one would be it without a doubt.

This is an excellent CD/DVD package. Musically, this is heavy, progressive and driving, but melodic at the same time. A few songs remind me of the band Rainbow especially "Set your controls". Great choice and range of vocalists here; Robert Soterberg being the David coverdale lookalike baratone( he is also a terrible lip-sinker, actually he is quite hillarious at times, especially when he begins to sing a song too early-watch the DVD and see for yourself), Russell Allen has a great all round voice and Damien Wilson having a slightly higher tonal range.
From my point of view, the star performer and suprise here is Damien Wilson. This guy is incredible, what a fantastic singer. A very talented performer, the song "into the black hole" is fantastic due to the powerful and haunting Wilson vocals.
This Arjen guy is also very talented. This was the 1st time I had heard any of his stuff and I was impressed with the quality and depth of songs. A very good buy.

That is assuming this is the same DVD that is sold seperately (Lucassen claims it is). I bought it rather than this because 1) it was cheaper and 2) I can always "Peel" the audio off the DVD using an audio ripper program (which I frequently do with concert DVDs). So the rest of this is my review of the DVD but, it makes my point so someone please let me know if you've noticed the problem on your DVD.

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VERY Flawed DVD of a GREAT Show. The sound is what almost ruins it; not only is it simply stereo (no 5.1) it is one of the WORST examples of a frequent problem: over compression/expansion.

This one is so bad it almost makes you want to turn the volume up and down while you're watching! It suddenly gets louder whenever there's lead singing, or solo guitar or synthesizer, then gets quiter when the whole band is just jamming. In other words the signal strength is over processed.

I remember WAY back in the early 80s, when I first got a dbx rack, I frequently had the same problem until I really learned to use it, especially the 3bx Dynamic Range Expander, which took several months of experimentation. Fortunately, once I learned the tricks, it was simply a matter of re-recording all the earlier Maxell Cassettes I had made. But, once you've done it and released it on a pro-DVD.....................there's no going back!

And I remember many of the early CDs had the same problem, funny to think the "pros" had the same problem! But it had mostly gone away by the early 90s, I guess we have to go through it again with DVDs. Funny. I guess, naturally, the more $$ you have, the better production/engineering you get and Lucassen said it originally wasn't intended for release.

Off the top of my head I can think of 2 other European DVDs that sound fine when in stereo BUT......yep, same compression/expansion problems when you switch to 5.1

One of them is the GREAT Threshold concert DVD "Critical Energy"; it has the exact same over compression/expansion problem when in 5.1, but sounds great in 2.0.....go figure!! But with it at least I HAVE that option. With Star One I'm stuck with the single audio track.

BUT.......that's simply an annoyance on an otherwise good DVD. More than a few of my favorite AA Lucassen songs are here, masterpieces like Dawn of a Million Souls, Into the Black Hole, Isis and Osiris, Amazing Flight in Space, and several others.

And it's nice to have both Russell Allen and Damian Wilson (and others), though I seriously miss Fish, Bruce Dickinson and others that were on the original studio tracks (so I strongly disagree with the reviewer who said this Isis and Osiris is superior to the original. To me, while still a GREAT track, it's simply NOT the same without Fish's Scottish brogue!)

But that's just wishful thinking because I realize getting ALL of them would have been overly expensive if not downright impossible.

Bottom line: 3 Star DVD of a 5 Star Concert = 4 Stars but, if you are a Lucassen fan, this should ALREADY be in your collection.

Progressive Rock is my favorite genre because it offers great musicianship, texture, complexity, various moods, and provides a sense of hope that music still has a fighting chance. More specifically, great music is being overshadowed by trite commercialistic urban facades, a commonality in 21st century media. In simple terms, trained musicians speak (or sing) to me and I don't resort to or rely upon visual culture, bling, and misconstrued superficial media to guide my heart, soul, and ears. Hence, Progressive Rock continues to thrive. Interestingly, "Prog" rock from years ago seems to be more of a fusion of Jazz and Rock or Classically trained Rock Musicians, such as ELP, et al. In contrast, the Neo-Progressive Rock movement tends to be full of texture, yet much heavier ala Heavy Metal. For example, consider groups such as Tool, Porcupine Tree, Spock's Beard, The Mars Volta, Ayreon, etc. A friend of mine recommended Star One and I gave it a quick listen. Instantly, I knew I was going to love it. My friend tends to be more of a metal head, yet he appreciates musicians with speed, dexterity, chops, energy, and outrageous vocal harmonies. Likewise, he knows that I am open-minded to heavier music devoid of cookie monster vocals. Simply put, get as heavy as you want, but melody and harmony must be prevalent. Star One has incredible musicians (Arjen Anthony Lucassen from Ayreon and Guilt Machiine; the ladies, who've obviously rehearsed their parts for ultimate execution (The Jansen Sisters-Irene and Floor); Robert Soeterboek; Damian Wilson; Sir russell Allen--the singer of Symphony X; Joost Van Den Broek on Keyboards (Thank god for keyboard players); Peter Vink on Bass; Ed Warby on Drums (he seriously rocks!). Joost's keyboard performance is stellar (mentioned earlier). Today's technology has a plethora of keyboard sonorities, and I fail to understand why keyboards seem to be placed on the back burner, while guitarists get to crank it up (as usual). It is safe to suggest that most Metal is guitar driven and keyboards act as supportive texture. There is nothing wrong with that. However, keyboards should be able to make bold statements and drive the music as well. Star One seems to provide the quintessential balance of Progressive Metal, texture, and strong vocal harmonies. The consumer gets 2 CD's and an awesome live DVD inside of beautiful packaging. Hence, it's perfect for the visual consumer and the musicians who really engage in active listening. Star One is an amazing collaboration! I'm grateful and once again, hopeful that quality music still exists in a dominating and overbearing video-oriented era which inhibits consumers from exploring newer musical paths.