Lillian Axe is back in business and this year the band is scheduled to record a new album. While waiting for that album
Lillian Axe has provided us with a strong reminder of what a strong band
Lillian Axe still is. Ron Taylor and Steve
Blaze are the only remaining members from the band that gave us incredible albums like "Love + War". Both Steve and Ron were also the main songwriters, so we can expect a great comeback album.
This live performance starts off chronologically with the oldest
Lillian Axe song
Misery Loves Company. The song is a straight-ahead guitar driven rocker opposite the majority of
Lillian Axe's back catalogue. Lots of the older songs has many facets mainly because guitarist and main composer Steve
Blaze is an inventive player creating lots of great melodies and solos. Just check out the many great riffs boiled together in the song
Innocence where the great guitar playing is like extra spice to a gourmet meal.
Ron Taylor still has a great voice. His vocals holds up throughout the whole show and he hits the high notes just fine on the demanding hymn
The World stopped Turning. Ron Taylor gets a small break during
Nobody Knows, where the audience helps him out. The sing-along is charming because you can easily hear that this is recorded in a small club. The audience knows the lyrics and thereby proves that they have been there since the start of
Lillian Axe's career.
Nobody Knows is from their self-titled debut album.
This Live performance is displaying a tight
Lillian Axe in the year 2002.
We get 21 tracks in your face without any long breaks or long stories told to the audience. The main studio albums covered in this concert are "Love + War" from 1989 and the last studio effort "Psychoschizophrenia" from 1993. The setlist includes 6 songs from both the mentioned albums. The first part of the show is focusing on the "Love + War" album, while the "Psychoschizophrenia" songs dominate the last part. I would have preferred the other way around, because the whole first hour includes all my favorite songs. The concert is covering all albums with the "Psychoschizophrenia" tracks being groovier than the rest of the
Lillian Axe catalogue.
Overall a stunning performance from
Lillian Axe. This recording is from only one complete show, so what you hear is what you get. I like the intensity, because everything has to be nailed on the night. The sound on the album is excellent. It is well produced maintaining the raw live sound. I very much doubt that there are any overdubs on the record.
Strong material and a flawless live performance make this album a "must have" for Heavy Rock fans.
Written by
Michael Thursday, February 13, 2003
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