Fritz W

X-Legged Sally (XLS) is a Belgian avant-garde rock/jazz-band founded in 1988 by composer Peter Vermeersch, and disbanded in 1997. They were one of the first bands from Belgium to combine a set of very different musical styles (jazz, rock, improvisation and classical), becoming a starting point for the Belgian indie music scene that developed in the nineties. Initially, X-Legged Sally was formed to compose and perform the music Peter Vermeersch wrote for dance productions, such as Immer das Selbe Gelogen (Always the Same Lies), released as a live cd in 1991. Vermeersch' composing style was becoming too demanding for the constraints of sheet music such as was used in his earlier band Maximalist! From the beginning, improvisation played an important role in XLS' songs. The first X-Legged Sally concert took place in November 1988. Soon, XLS became a band in its own right, although there would be cooperations with dance ensembles throughout the existence of the group.

This wonderful DVD is the same 95-minute-or-so concert from Jethro Tull's lead vocalist/songwriter and the Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt that you'll find on the double-CD audio counterpart, 20 songs beginning with the five-piece band and expanding from there. The visuals are lovely – shots from above, fade ins, split screen, black-and-white footage superimposed on color – which makes the viewing quite appealing…

Triumvirat's 1972 debut Mediterranean Tales was a strong precursor of things to come for this German progressive rock band who were heavily inspired by The Nice and ELP. While perhaps not as polished as later efforts, this first effort is a keyboard lover's dream, with Jurgen Fritz' Hammond, Moog, electric piano, various synths and grand piano out in full force throughout.
The band manages to blow their load right off the bat with the near 17-minute epic "Across the Waters", a true delight for all who love the bombastic nature of Keith Emerson and ELP. "Eleven Kids" is a more laid back bluesy number with Fritz and his Hammond organ providing center stage…