Album “A Live Record” by the Blank Manuskript is not only a live album, it is a complete experience that embraces the heart, soul and downright imagination of one of the most creative progressive rockers in Austria. Captured at their most important concerts in 2022, this almost 80 minutes adventure collects ten beautiful pieces of their discography, arranged and played dramatically and technically accurate.
The most wonderful thing about “A Live Record” is that it perfectly mixes structure and improvisation. The opening song of the album is the eerie yet serene Krasna Hora track, the quiet yet acoustically-oriented brief tune, “Foetus”. Then, the band goes into two lengthy medleys, where each of the two is made up of three distinct songs across various albums. Such suites show the narrative strength of the group, showing a natural, emotional, story-based progression between pieces.
It is progressive rock of the richest kind, with sweeping symphonic prologues and developments, intricate jazz-influenced excursions, textured folk interludes and peakings to raw, blues-tinged grit. Songs such as “Public Enemy” develop vividly moving between full-throttle and self-reflection, “The cult of Birdman” is playful, bordering on Supertramp pianistic and plunging into more serious and dramatic seas. One can feel the presence of prog giants such as Gentle Giant and Van Der Graaf Generator, although not imitated.
Their recording is clear and engulfing, attuned to the subtleties of their instrumentation; fluttering to the highest notes of their saxophones and flutes, reverberating the vintage synthesizers, and haunting vacillations of their voices. Not only is the band (Peter Baxrainer, Jakob Sigl, Jakob Widerin, Dominik Wallner and Alfons Wohlmuth) musically effective, but also emotional, they come forth as a lively and living performance.
A Live Record is a prime example of the progressive live rock, which is not all that common since it involves concept, composition, and performance. It is a celebration to old-time fans. It is an apt entry point in case of fresh entrants.
