Artist: Pell, Axel Rudi
Label: SPV Records
Release: 2002
Rating: 3.5/5
Authentically live, completely unpolished! Axel’s second live record since “Made In Germany” from 1995, also recorded in Germany. This time at Bochum’s Zeche this past May. A fantastic live record. I’d almost say a perfect one.
Well, it’s not perfect, and the reason is the vocals. Live, Johnny Gioeli falls short by just that half-tone shade, so in places he preferred to stay “lower” with his vocals. That’s the one small minus on the record. Otherwise Johnny sings absolutely “full throttle”. But the guys didn’t pay much attention to that. To cover the backing vocal lines they brought along two women, who clicked brilliantly with Johnny on stage and filled the gaps, and also added a colorful contrast of voices.
And then there’s a full measure of improvisation. Unstoppable. Songs stretched out, motifs switching around unpredictably in places where you won’t find them in the original versions. The even sound of all the instruments living in perfect symbiosis, the freedom that comes through in every individual’s performance as they weave all sorts of motifs into the main one, the tightness, the fact that you can’t catch a single mistake, and what else should I list? That has to be enough, and it should crawl under the skin of every headbanger. The first highlight is definitely the “medley” that kicks off with “Masquerade Ball”, flows into “Casbah”, and through a reggae interlude that confirms the incredible tightness and magic between the members, shifts into a solo spot for Mike Terrana on drums. A real “revving up” of the engine, I’d say, courtesy of the double bass pedal. Mike offers everything. Through rolls on tuned drums, Mike coaxes a real melody out of them and the drums truly start to speak. I won’t philosophize anymore. Surrender yourself to the uniqueness of Mike’s drums. And in the closing part of the “medley” maestro Axel shows all his wisdom and his unique virtuoso approach. What arpeggios. Axel is of course front and center. Totally immersed through the whole show! Slowly and with finesse, with full enjoyment, he spins the drama with incredibly sensual, melancholic intros that morph into the madness of his fingers running along the guitar neck. An authentic recording, no overdubs! You don’t hear Axel flub a note even once. The band builds an amazing connection with the crowd. With a great sense of humor too. To the crowd’s rowdy shouts they respond with a coinage: “Fuckin’ geil!” What a combo. The new Esperanto?
The new “A. R. Pell live” is truly a trip back to the early seventies, when bands turned five-minute original album tracks into half-hour symphonies on stage (good old Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin). Today everyone plays the same card: “Play it exactly like the studio recording, or people won’t buy it!” Of course the market is behind that, the music industry destroying what’s good so it can create again. Just the usual capitalist cycles, which like the most stubborn hyphae of parasitic molds eat their way into every sphere of today’s world. This Axel and his crew, though, don’t follow that. So if we take a quick look at the whole thing, going by the observations above we get practically fourteen new songs (I counted Mike’s solo in there too).
This is the real “live” album, the kind that would have been declared a classic if it had seen the light of day twenty years earlier. It naturally also offers an exceptional setlist (“Nasty Reputation”, “The Clown Is Dead”, “Call Her Princess”, and they didn’t forget to work the main riff and a few opening verses of Rainbow’s “Stargazer” right into the aforementioned “medley”). The dynamics are on an outstanding level, precisely because of those constant solo excursions (improvisations) from all the members. Hot! Goosebumps all over, and just think what it must be like actually being there live! Feel the one-of-a-kind magic of musical eternity!
Lineup
Johnny Gioeli – vocals
Axel Rudi Pell – guitar
Ferdy Doernberg – keyboards
Volker Krawczak – bass
Mike Terrana – drums
Production
Axel Rudi Pell
Track list
CD1.:
1. Edge Of The World
2. Nasty Reputation
3. Tear Down The Walls
4. Masquerade Ball / Casbah / Drum Solo / Stargazer / Casbah
5. Follow The Sign
6. Fool Fool
CD2.:
1. Carousel
2. The Clown Is Dead
3. Call Her Princess
4. Snake Eyes
5. Warrior
