Tracks
CD1
1. 21st Century
2. Colour My XTC (prelude)
3. Soul Divine
4.Drowning
5. Our Song
6. DD Solo
7. Guitar Jam
8. Mountain
9. Eyes Of Love
10. Testify
11. Broken Man

CD2
1. Hey
2. Crazy
3. Piano Medley
4. Gin & Tonic Sky
5. I'll Be Waiting
6. Funky Medley

Band:
Jeff Scott Soto – vocals
Howie Simon – guitars, background vocals
Gary Schutt – bass guitar, keyboards, background vocals
Dave Dzialak – drums, percussion

Discography:
Love Parade - 1994
Holding On (EP) - 2002
Prism - 2002
JSS Live at the Gods 2002 (live) - 2003
Live At The Queen Convention 2003 (live) - 2004
Believe in Me (EP) - 2004
Lost In The Translation - 2004
Essential Ballads - 2006
Beautiful Mess - 2009
One Night in Madrid (live) - 2009

Guests:

Info

Released 3/12-2010
Reviewed 6/12-2010

Links:
jeffscottsoto.com
myspace
frontiers

I spent most of my Swedish version of this lamenting over live albums and about the horrific built quality of my rather expensive apple computer so most of my Swedish review was negative marketing against apple speaking of how bad they make their computers. Still that is just for the built quality what is inside is much better than in my windows based machine which is one awful thing to use even if the physical build is much better. However, this was not was it is about now, this is about a live album by Jeff Scott Soto and his band.

I am not really a fan of live album, actually I equal them with cancer and the similar stuff, like people from the region where I live and other things not good or necessary. Sure, there are exceptions to this, I can name one or two decent live albums and as many good ones. Wether or not this is an exception to the rule of indecent live albums, you will have to read on and see.

Musically, this is hardrock, AOR, melodic rock kind of thing with music from throughout Jeff Scott Soto’s career but also some cover stuff from the disco era, some other stuff as well. Some guitar stuff and some medleys are also there. The sound for this record is of course live but it has a clear and clean sound and not that messy cheap sound that is there on some live albums. There is over an hour of music and seventeen tracks amongst a few are medley tracks and it spans over two compact discs.

I find this record to be rather good actually, not boring and useless like most live albums but then it also shows that having an added value that add something new to audience is quite important. This record has it in form of the ending funky medley which is a cavalcade of well-known songs from times passed, both from the rock genre as well as disco and other stuff. I am sure most anyone will know the songs in this medley which is a great thing, especially if you are playing festivals where there are other fans than your own which is exactly what happens in this case.

I find this to be an exception to most other live albums, it has a very nice and clean sound which makes it sound a bit less harsh and poor. It also conveys quite a good atmosphere and with the added value of songs not on any albums it is well worth checking out even if you are not really a fan of Jeff Scott Soto. This is a live album that can work quite well for almost anyone listening to it and I cannot really find much to complain about with this one. Sure it is not fantastic like it will change the world of music forever, neither will it really make me want to buy it either but it is still a good record be it live or however you chose to judge it.

Well, nothing more to say really than saying that it is a good album for anyone who likes good music, give it a try.

HHHHHHH

Label - Frontier Records
Three similar bands - Talisman/Journey/W.E.T.
Rating: HHHHHHH
Reviewer: Daniel Källmalm