Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Musicians Creating Excellent Music
Review: Being a fan of old school symphonic prog, there are not too many post 70's prog rock I care to listen to, becuase it seemed that most current prog bands thought that the music was essentially songs that contained syncopated beats and stacatto structure and melodies. Then I came upon this group. I found this effort to be very impressive and refreshing in that there is that touch of symphonic flavoring (mellotron and classical phrasing) along with neo prog instrumentation. Imagine Flower Kings fusing with Gentle Giant and you have a musical idea of what this excellent band of musicians can do. Definitely first class!
Rating:
Summary: If you like good music this is for you.
Review: I just got this DVD I have never seen Spock's Beard preform before. The video is great, wow these guys have a ton of energy that's the way a band should play. The DVD is well worth the price because you get tons of bonus features. This is a must get for any prog fan.
Rating: 
Summary: a lot of good stuff but...
Review: I really enjoyed this band. One of the best if not the best progressive band today. On this DVD we get a very interesting documentary of the making of the the album V (the best spock's beard album). And on the second DVD we have a 2 hour show from the day for night tour in Holland. Very good music but the filming is not to my taste, because we can only see close shot of the musicians during the entire concert. There's no audience's view perspective from the back. Despite of this latest point of view, go buy this DVD, if you love progressive music.
Rating: 
Summary: Great band, but disappointing vox on live performance
Review: I really looked forward to this DVD. I love the band and discovered that Neal Morse really doesn't cut it live. His singing and keyboard playing are quite sloppy throughout the entire performance. They do perform some great material including Healing Colors of Sound, but the live version pales in comparison to the studio version. Get this only if you are a hardcore fan.
Rating:
Summary: . . . and the crowd kept on singing "Waste Away" . . .
Review: I've been complaining for years now that the cd of "Don't Try This At Home Either" went out of print about a day after it was released. You see, the Spock's Beard concert on this DVD set was originally released in the form of 2 cds (kinda like what Genesis did with "The Way We Walk Live"). One disc, entitled "Don't Try This at Home" contained material from Kindness of Strangers and Day for Night. The other one "Don't Try This at Home Either" contained Ryo's keyboard solo, and material from "The Light" and "Beware of Darkness."Now, two studio albums later, the whole thing is finally available on DVD. The concert is stunning. Morse is not only an absolute ham of a showman, but his voice is just perfect. He and drummer NDV have instantly addicted vocal timbres. Kinda like Hayward/Lodge, Anderson/Squire, or DeYoung/Shaw. They're also just plain entertaining with their onstage personalities. It's just great. And where else in today's music scene can you find a lead singer who alternates between keyboards, guitars, and drums, along with a drummer who occasionally plays guitar and takes on lead vocals, a keyboardist who mainly sticks to mellotrons and hammond organs, a guitar player who never uses a pick, and a bassist who gives flashbacks of Chris Squire? This band in concert is amazing. The setlist is Day for Night, Mouth of Madness, Skin, Gibberish, Go the Way You Go, June, Healing Colours of Sound, Ryo's Solo, The Doorway, (encores) The Light, Squonk, and Waste Away. There are bonuses on this disc as well. My fave is the "Legend . . . " bonus, which is the acoustic bit in the middle of "The Doorway" at a concert in 2001, where Neal and Alan are both playing the same guitar at the same time (and it's good to) while Nick sings the "I really don't care" part before bringing the band back in. Great great showmanship. Disc two (The Making of V) doesn't even work on my DVD player, so I can't really review it other than to say the first 10 seconds of each chapter (before the disc skips and/or freezes) are interesting. Of course, the fact that the disc doesn't even work can't exactly be a positive review. Disc three is the audio cd that was included as a bonus in the 3 disc "special edition" release of their 2002 concept album, "Snow." It's kinda like a making of audio documentary of "Snow" with live acoustic versions, and demo versions of the tracks from that album, along with a fantastic outtake of a Yes cover. In a nutshell, this is a GREAT dvd to own just for the concert, but don't expect much past disc one.
Rating:
Summary: . . . and the crowd kept on singing "Waste Away" . . .
Review: I've been complaining for years now that the cd of "Don't Try This At Home Either" went out of print about a day after it was released. You see, the Spock's Beard concert on this DVD set was originally released in the form of 2 cds (kinda like what Genesis did with "The Way We Walk Live"). One disc, entitled "Don't Try This at Home" contained material from Kindness of Strangers and Day for Night. The other one "Don't Try This at Home Either" contained Ryo's keyboard solo, and material from "The Light" and "Beware of Darkness." Now, two studio albums later, the whole thing is finally available on DVD. The concert is stunning. Morse is not only an absolute ham of a showman, but his voice is just perfect. He and drummer NDV have instantly addicted vocal timbres. Kinda like Hayward/Lodge, Anderson/Squire, or DeYoung/Shaw. They're also just plain entertaining with their onstage personalities. It's just great. And where else in today's music scene can you find a lead singer who alternates between keyboards, guitars, and drums, along with a drummer who occasionally plays guitar and takes on lead vocals, a keyboardist who mainly sticks to mellotrons and hammond organs, a guitar player who never uses a pick, and a bassist who gives flashbacks of Chris Squire? This band in concert is amazing. The setlist is Day for Night, Mouth of Madness, Skin, Gibberish, Go the Way You Go, June, Healing Colours of Sound, Ryo's Solo, The Doorway, (encores) The Light, Squonk, and Waste Away. There are bonuses on this disc as well. My fave is the "Legend . . . " bonus, which is the acoustic bit in the middle of "The Doorway" at a concert in 2001, where Neal and Alan are both playing the same guitar at the same time (and it's good to) while Nick sings the "I really don't care" part before bringing the band back in. Great great showmanship. Disc two (The Making of V) doesn't even work on my DVD player, so I can't really review it other than to say the first 10 seconds of each chapter (before the disc skips and/or freezes) are interesting. Of course, the fact that the disc doesn't even work can't exactly be a positive review. Disc three is the audio cd that was included as a bonus in the 3 disc "special edition" release of their 2002 concept album, "Snow." It's kinda like a making of audio documentary of "Snow" with live acoustic versions, and demo versions of the tracks from that album, along with a fantastic outtake of a Yes cover. In a nutshell, this is a GREAT dvd to own just for the concert, but don't expect much past disc one.
Rating:
Summary: Can I please give it 6 stars???
Review: If you want a great sounding; straight forward concert DVD this is for you. Who cares about great camera work when you get the greatest american band possibly ever.(definately the most overlooked)The bonus audio disc is also very good live and demo stuff.These guys are right up there with Marillion ; and "GOD" knows that is saying an awfull lot.
Rating:
Summary: The Healing Colors of Sound
Review: It's simply tragic that this DVD concert will be the best document of a live performance from one of the greatest bands of the past 10 years, a group that redefined progressive rock music, that crafted epic songs with musical and lyrical excellent, and that to this day remains completely unrecognized by the popular music industry. This is a good DVD, but it isn't what Spock's Beard deserves. The concert is a transfer from a videotape master, providing a highly watchable but far from perfect picture, and the stereo sound is clear but would sound much better in Surround Sound. The second disc, "The Making of V" is an absolutely fascinating document of the band's creative process and the inclusion of the video for "All On a Sunday" is a great bonus. Still, the production is extremely amateur and might put off casual viewers. Fans, myself included, should be grateful that we have DVD at all, and I'm sure Spock's Beard did the best they could within the confines of their budget. I recommend it as an excellent buy for fans and for those who appreciate innovative music, it's greatest flaw being not what it is but what it could have been.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic content, poor presentation
Review: Let me start by saying that this is possibly the worst-looking DVD, video-wise, I've ever seen. The encoding on the first DVD, the live in Holland disc, is simply god-awful. The blacks are full of blocking, and the video on the bonus features is so blocky it looks like they're meant to be viewed in a small window on a PC but were blown up to full-screen size. The video on the second disc, "The Making of V," is far less blocky but still rather grainy. It definitely looks like a VHS master. However, having said all that, the poor video quality cannot diminish the fabulous content of these two discs. The sound is great, the playing is phenomenal, and (of course) the music is magnificent. The camera work on the concert disc is quite professional, and it's much more enjoyable to watch than the NEARfest/Whiskey or the Live in Leche videos. The inclusion of the second half of the concert also makes it superior to the "Don't Try This at Home" CD. "The Making of V" is simply captivating. The personalities of the band members are revealed, and it is just fascinating to see what goes into the production of a progressive rock CD of "V"'s caliber. Great studio footage, great behind-the-scenes stuff, and an interesting look at the processes and technology Neal and his cohorts use. It's a far cry from the garage-band mentality you see on MTV! There is also a bittersweet feel to watching these DVDs. Seeing how passionate and inspired and just plain fun Neal Morse was as a member of Spock's Beard, I can't help but think that something special was lost when he recently decided to quit the band. Overall, the lousy video is distracting, but once you're captivated by the music and the players (and you will be) you, like me, probably won't mind the poor authoring that much.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic content, poor presentation
Review: Let me start by saying that this is possibly the worst-looking DVD, video-wise, I've ever seen. The encoding on the first DVD, the live in Holland disc, is simply god-awful. The blacks are full of blocking, and the video on the bonus features is so blocky it looks like they're meant to be viewed in a small window on a PC but were blown up to full-screen size. The video on the second disc, "The Making of V," is far less blocky but still rather grainy. It definitely looks like a VHS master. However, having said all that, the poor video quality cannot diminish the fabulous content of these two discs. The sound is great, the playing is phenomenal, and (of course) the music is magnificent. The camera work on the concert disc is quite professional, and it's much more enjoyable to watch than the NEARfest/Whiskey or the Live in Leche videos. The inclusion of the second half of the concert also makes it superior to the "Don't Try This at Home" CD. "The Making of V" is simply captivating. The personalities of the band members are revealed, and it is just fascinating to see what goes into the production of a progressive rock CD of "V"'s caliber. Great studio footage, great behind-the-scenes stuff, and an interesting look at the processes and technology Neal and his cohorts use. It's a far cry from the garage-band mentality you see on MTV! There is also a bittersweet feel to watching these DVDs. Seeing how passionate and inspired and just plain fun Neal Morse was as a member of Spock's Beard, I can't help but think that something special was lost when he recently decided to quit the band. Overall, the lousy video is distracting, but once you're captivated by the music and the players (and you will be) you, like me, probably won't mind the poor authoring that much.
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