Ah Flying Colors, a band that has been consistently excellent since its inception, is back with a live album at a time when we need reminders more than ever as to the unifying power of live music. Following on from the two previous live efforts (2013’s Live In Europe and 2015’s exquisite Second Flight: Live At The Z2), Third Stage: Live In London draws heavily from 2019’s well-received Third Degree album, justifying its existence by including six of that album’s nine tracks in its set list. Excellently recorded, as we have come to expect from the band, the album is available in a number of formats – 2 x CD & DVD, Blu Ray (with bonus footage from Morsefest) and Deluxe set with 2 x CD, 2 x DVD and blu ray. It’s a sumptuous feast for Flying Colors’ fans, with the standalone blu ray offering the best value for money, as it offers the Morsefet footage and a handful of video clips, even if it is disappointing that there’s no CD/Blu Ray option. This review, however, is for the audio portion of the CD/DVD set.
Harking back to Live In Europe, the show opens with the jazzy shuffle of Blue Ocean, a seven-minute track that is kept lively thanks to Portnoy’s steam-train percussion and Dave LaRue’s smoothly flowing basslines. It’s a strong start to the show and the band follow it up with A Place In Your World, which is given life by Neal Morse’s typically expansive keyboards and the wonderful, three-part harmony of the chorus. While the track may, at times, recall both Genesis and Spock’s Beard, it is primarily a fantastic showcase of Flying Colors’ strengths and it really sets the show alight. Having eased the audience in, the band unleash the grand riffing of The Loss Inside, the opening track of Third Degree and a brilliant offering in the live environment. Casey McPherson just seems to get better as the band rack up new releases and the dynamic between the musicians is a joy to behold on this full-blooded musical adventure. Even better live than on record, The Loss Inside also sees Neal Morse dancing a merry dance on his keyboards with such enthusiasm that you can’t help but raise a smile. Sticking with the album’s running order, the band head straight into More, Steve’s heavy blues riff kicking the band into action for a track that recalls some of Muse’s heaviest explorations of the prog firmament.
Of course, no Flying Colors show would be complete without the emotional singalong that is Kayla. A track that was still new on Live In Europe, it’s now a firm fan favourite and you can hear the audience responding wildly. In contrast, the funky strut of new track Geronimo takes the audience into uncharted territory, albeit with a chorus that is destined for future singalong exploits. A rather more tender moment, You Are Not Alone provides a strong showcase for Casey’s voice before the band explode with Forever In A Daze, a live favourite that features on both of the previous live efforts. The first CD concludes with the Beach Boys harmonies of Love Letter, a psychedelic gem from the last album with a late 60s pop vibe that comes gloriously to life in the live environment.
Opening up the second CD, Second Nature’s Peaceful Harbour is an aptly titled prog effort that ebbs and flows like the tide. An elegant moment of calm, Peaceful Harbour is the perfect mid-set break, setting the scene for the epic-length Crawl. The gargantuan finale to Third Degree, Crawl is a grand tour of the band’s myriad influences and it sees the audience lost in space and time as the band pour their hearts and souls into the performance. From there, it’s a slightly re-ordered reprise of Second Flight’s closing quartet. It is, perhaps, a shame that the band placed the two longest pieces back to back (both Infinite Fire and Cosmic Symphony clock in at twelve minutes) – a failing to which Dream Theater also succumbed in the live arena – and the Second Flight running order arguably worked better in terms of flow; but that’s a minor gripe that should not detract from what is, in any order, a remarkable closing sequence. Certainly, the final pairing of The Storm and Mask Machine send the audience out on a high, and the cheer that greets the latter’s arrival suggests that it’s a track for which many had been waiting.
Another fine live outing from Flying Colors, Third Stage sees the band playing to their strengths and the deft mix of old favourites and new material means that this is a worthy purchase even for those who have the previous two live albums. It does not quite match the pristine recording of Second Flight, although that truly was a reference worthy production, but for fans of the band, this is a no brainer and, with live shows on the back burner for the time being, it will provide some much needed release for those yearning for a show. 8.5
