|
The Last Live Show — Exposé, Issue #33, May 2006 (USA) Vasil Zook was a four piece progressive band from Ohio that existed for a few months in late ‘77 – early ‘78 and played a total of five gigs before splitting up. The show featured on this disc is the fifth and last of these, the only surviving recording of the band, transcribed in glorious mono to a cheap cassette deck. So just to be perfectly clear, we’re not talking Fleetwood Mac production levels but nonetheless there are many great moments herein. Legend has it that when the band landed their first gig…well, there actually was no band! They put their entire act together in four days and nights of intense rehearsals, a mix of cover tunes and original material that each of the players brought to the table, plus some stories and segues to kill time between the tunes. King Crimson was an influence, as the powerful and bristling covers of “Talking Drum” and “Larks Tongues Part 2” will attest, but KC is also a major influence on many of the original tunes as well. Peter Banks’ “Knights” and the “Close Encounters…” theme are also covered, but one of the highlights is the humorous and Zappa-esque “Sportender Saga”. In all, a fun listen and a little piece of history. Eventually three of the four would go on to form St. Elmo’s Fire. Peter Thelen |