| Disc One: 1. Resurrection 2. Facing the Animal 3. Rising Force 4. Bedroom Eyes 5. Far Beyond the Sun 6. Like An Angel 7. Brave Heart 8. 7th Sign 9. Trilogy Suite (including Red House & Badingere) Disc Two: 1. Gates of Babylon 2. Alone In Paradise 3. Pictures of Home 4. Never Die 5. Black Star 6. I'll See the Light |
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Prelude |
| It seems to be a growing trend these days, to release live albums that come in twos...meaning the double disc package. We've had Dio, Dream Theater, Manowar, Fates Warning, Stratovarius and the list continues on. But now, for the second time in his career as a solo artist, Yngwie releases a Live disc, much more live than his previous one, that was released almost a decade ago. And yes its a DOUBLE live disc. So there's plenty of music to keep the fans happy. Yngwie's performances on stage have been well documented, with tons of bootlegs being put onto the market for all the fanatics, and in fact, some of these releases are quite excellent, in packaging and sound quality. But nothing beats an official album right? In most cases. Here we have Yngwie armed with plenty of material to make a really explosive package, and that he does, and well. Since Facing the Animal was the last solo metal cd he released, there's several songs from it, plus one from Odyssey, one from Marching Out, one from Eclipse, two from 7th Sign, two covers that were featured on his Inspiration cd, and of course the staples for his performaces, both from the self titled release that he unleashed from the world so long ago. You also get his Trilogy Suite expanded and given an almost completely new form. That means there is nothing from Fire and Ice or Magnum Opus, which made me unhappy, I think it would have been better if he had including a tune from both of those, but its well publicized that Yngwie himself doesnt particularly like either of those discs, going as far as to calling Magnum Opus garbage. I have to disagree with him on that since I love both cd's almost equally. Now Mats Leven was the vocalist on this release, and was the last vocalist to come under the heavy inspection of the fans. He gives an *awesome* performance. Love his voice or hate it, you have to admit he hits every note flawlessly from beginning to end, especially with the material he originally sang on. I was quite impressed with this, Mats isn't really one of my favorite Malmsteen vocalists, but his performance is convincing. Of course that means he is also next in line to have to sing the songs that other far superior vocalists have made classic. He has to manage to sound like Goran Edman, Joe Lynn Turner, Michael Vescera, Jeff Scott Soto, and even Ronnie James Dio and Ian Gillan for the two cover songs. Now that's a task that would strike fear into the heart of most singers, but Mats, well, I have to say he did his very best, and put his own vocal spin on everything. But the shocking thing is, is that it works. He conveys himself very well and handles all the vocal duties with passion. Its refreshing to hear them done with an all new voice behind the lyrics. Yngwie Malmsteen, needs no introduction, nor explanation. His guitar playing is the same over the top, amazing stuff he has been playing for years, but he seems to get better and better, and the slick production really makes his awesome riffs just jump out of the speakers, its like he's playing right there in the room with you. The other musicians are good, but they are just a backdrop for the maestro and his singer. |
Disc One |
| 1. Resurrection
Malmsteen..Malmsteen..Malmsteen! The crowd chants, the
guitarist starts playing, cheers echo through the crowd. The ride has begun, on with
the show! This resurrects all of the fury of Malmsteen's playing, back in action,
ready to put on a jaw dropping show. The fear that Mats would break during a live
performace, flew out the window with the first few verses. I think he can handle it.
The riffs are furious, aggressive and so round you could practically pick them up.
2. Facing the Animal-Almost identical to the original, there are no flaws, Mats nails it wonderfully and every guitar riff is there, only better. And that sexy groove was just made to be played live. 3. Rising Force The creepy opening sets the stage for a song that just rips. Leven has proven himself with this track, he's capable, no doubt about it now. The "thundering spark" is captured here and delivered with a powerful punch. Extremely enjoyable. It was never one of my favorite songs, but its a good, powerful sounding track that translates into this setting nicely and its a great crowd pleaser. 4. Bedroom Eyes-Thank you Yngwie! Mats does such a wonderful job on the super sexy Facing the Animal, that its a no brainer to have him sing this really sexy song from 1990, and Mats takes it to a whole new level. Only Goran could do it that well and make it sound so, so, well, sexy. Yngwie's guitar riffs are so amazingly erotic sounding in their own brutal flirtatious way. This song just explodes wide open. A highlight of the disc. 5. Far Beyond the Sun-He has performed this song on every bootleg live cd I have heard, and probably plays it at every concert, Yngwie said before in an interview that he would play it till he died, well I love the song, and I think most fans would riot if Yngwie didn't perform it for them, so its just as well that he likes it so much. Its as beautiful here as it was on the studio release so many years ago. I don't think anyone can find fault in the performance of this classic. 6. Like An Angel This is the only ballad on this live release, so enjoy it while its flowing through the speakers. The piano and gentle, almost fragile guitar solo at the very beginning sounds like a dream come true. Although Mats voice isn't exactly the best to sing ballads, he still handles this so very well. The full sound of the live production makes this gem of a ballad shine with a whole new light. The Maestro plays rather restrained, keeping to the melody, and inserts the riffs that need to be played, especially during the chorus, but he opens it all up in his most passionate form for the solo, which is so beautiful it brings tears to the eyes. Yes, Yngwie, you are truly the master. 7. Brave Heart--- The opening track from Facing... blasts it all back open for an explosion of Malmsteen music. His guitar tone is practically evil here, growling and adding to the tone of the song, with those spiraling riffs all over the place. 8. 7th Sign--- Ohhh yes! I was wondering how this was going to measure up, when I first saw the track listings. I can't imagine anyone but Michael Vescera singing this, probably because I have listened to the cd hundreds of times in the past four years, but when I heard the opening haunting and ominous acoustic lapping at the beginning, I knew I was in for a treat, but was still...uncertain, then Mats gets cranked up, and YES he delivers!!! He makes this song sound awesome, and the chorus of voices really backs this up, I have no idea whose singing and if its actually on a tape or what, but its what this song needed to keep it from sounding hollow. The original song gave me chills, and upon hearing this, those chills returned. Yes!!! I love it!!!! I can find no faults once again, as hard as I try. Yngwie's guitar is perfect not one off note, not one thing out of place, he solos and riffs and spirals those guitar notes in and out of that song like wildfire, and it all just FITS, Yngwie MAKES it fit. The drum and guitar thing in the middle before the gorgeous solo is sooo neat, Yngwie riffs and the drum pounds right along with him, complimenting and answering each other. This may very well be the best cut on the cd! 9. Trilogy Suite (including Red House & Badingere)--- In true Yng fashion, he plays this again. He definitely has his favorite instrumentals. His guitar and the reaction of the crowd and silence from the rest of the band, really allows him to get up there and does what he does best, show off. But do we fans ever love it! I swear everytime I hear him perform the Trilogy Suite, he does it faster. I remember hearing it on Live at Leningrad the first time, I was blown away, shocked, in awe, and he manages a similiar performace here, although he could just be speedier, is it possible? I think it is......wow.....more arpeggios than you can shake a stick at. Turning from aggressive neoclassical playing, to haunting passages, then moving into a blues tune, just dripping with bluesy passion, with Yngwie himself topping it off by singing like a Jimi Hendrix clone, gotta love it, I love his voice, its so raw and deep and perfect for this blues thing Red House maybe? Yngwie never misses a beat, and in fact, plays around the beat in most cases. The crowd goes wild and just as you think its over, there's more. For guitar fanatics, this is the highlight of the disc. He shreds, he rips, he does it all. |
Disc Two |
| 1. Gates of Babylon---As
usual, Yngwie pulls off his stellar performance, this time, managing to play all around
the melody while still keeping it flowing and intact. Who else could pull this off
this well, and still add their own touches? No one but Yngwie of course. The
Maestro's version is also much more aggressive than the original, and with the slick
production, every note is felt and magnified deep into the soul. 2. Alone In Paradise---This song was never one of my favorite Yng songs, but performed live, this song was given the breath of life. They stick to the basic sound of the song, and the guitar is really beautiful, I can't see how I wrote it off as being just average even on the studio version. Mats sounds better live than on the record, and its no lie. The guitar is ABSOLUTELY beautiful! So pure and sincere sounding, another disc favorite! 3. Pictures of Home---I never understood what was so great about this Deep Purple song, until now...this song sounds AWESOME! Its better than Yngwie's version on Inspirations. I love Joe Lynn Turner, who sang that version, but for some reason, Mats Leven does a much better version on this song, his voice is just suited to this kind of thing. Yngwie solos and solos and throws in a few more for good measure. I wish Yngwie had written a song that sounded like that, and had Mats to sing it as he does here, because his vocal tone is just bluesy enough to be perfection itself, he never wavers, or cracks, its all seamlessly perfect. The whole band does a great job with this, I can see no flaws...even under the musical microscope, everyone gets a chance to do a little solo, the bassist, the keyboardist, just as in the origina, with lots of Purplesque flavor and flair. 4. Never Die---This kicks off and damn, Mats now sounds ALOT like Michael Vescera, its just completely amazing. I am still amazed, the first time I heard it I thought it was Vescera if the truth be known. Just because of the fact this song sounds so much like the studio version, is enough to make me love it. This was ANOTHER song I really didn't pay much attention to on the record, but have heard the version on this double live release and just adore. 5. Black Star---THE instrumental, THE song that most people think of when they think of Yngwie Malmsteen, all of its haunting beauty is captured here, and from the opening acoustic solo, the crowd goes nuts, they just seem to know what's coming next. Yngwie plays a little of this and that on the acoustic, including a quite famous classical run which I don't know the name of, although if anyone has heard it youd know what it was instantly, Yngwie gets the crowd revved up with his acoustic playing on the guitar, even doing a bit of the Icarus Dream Suite while he's at it, and with a bit of synthesizer in the background, its very beautiful . Then from that, its into the opening acoustic solo from Black Star, light gentle and beautiful, I think the drums could have been just a tad better, but the guitar playing more than makes up for it. Although it seems that the drum track becomes stronger as the song moves along, and considering this is live, I'm surprised he gets that kind of sound out of it as it is. Bubbly and beautiful, the mystery and the fire intact, he plays this song with as much passion as he did years ago. 6. I'll See the Light Tonight---The grand finale, and grand it IS! The fury within UNLEASHED! This is my favorite Jeff Scott Soto song, and Mats manages just wonderfully again, and wow, this at the end of the concert, he still sounds fabulous! The man with the golden chops plays with so much fury that it will knock you flat! The raw yet gorgeous tone from this song is captured perfectly, the solo is just as you would expect it, beautiful and all Yngwie. It left me breathless, impressed and in awe. |
Final Comments |
| I don't even like live albums usually, but in the past year I have heard a few from all time periods that were really great or really awful (can anyone say, Zebra Live?), but this, my metal friends, takes the cake. Make that a five layer cake with oodles of frosting and you name it, because the band pulls out all the stops, all the musicians are really great, its just unfortunate that most keyboardists, drummers and bassists are so far behind the guitarist and vocalist that they usually don't even get mentioned. But its just a fact that if the vocalist and guitarist is bad, you can throw the whole thing to the wild dog pack because its not going to be any good. However, everyone does a really good job at backing Mats and Yngwie up, and of course their performances have been well documented and praised throughout the song rundown. Hats off to Yngwie at his song selection. He picked several songs that were well tailored to Mats Leven's voice, especially on the second disc, and they actually sound more tailored to his style than some of the ones he originally sang on. Especially Pictures of Home, that was an excellent choice. He has a very different, quirky kind of voice, that holds up better than just about anyone I have heard. His vocals stay rock solid and just breathtaking through out. I can find no flaws with this disc. Its the best of Malmsteen, played accurately, live. This just might be the best live release ever, what more can one say? |
| Production | Songs | Lyrics | Performance | Overall |
| 9.7 | 9.9 | 9.9 | 10 | 9.9 |
Experience It |
| A MP3 of the performance of Never Die, I promise no one will be disappointed with this, download it and see for yourself just how great this album is. |
