Reviewed by John Baugh

Some things need a large canvas - that wide open sky which Iona have always evoked. So when putting them inside a live concert venue you would have expected them to seem, somehow, smaller. This CD puts any such thoughts firmly to bed. The band cannot be contained, they grip our imaginations and take us from the confines of a concert out into an open landscape. I wonder if that works better from the CD than from the accompanying DVD. The imagination can move further and faster without the visuals reminding us of the reality. Another extra you get from a live CD is one of making clear the human connection between the large sound you hear and the real people who craft it. I would be less interested in distant visionaries. The tracks included span the range of the band's output and include three (then) new songs and include all the key Iona features, exquisite solos, faultless vocals and carefully developed song arrangements. So, more than just a record of an event this has something for everyone, fans already or not.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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