Label: Silver Lining Music
Release date: August 2, 2019
Genre: Heavy Metal
Rating (3CD version): 9.0 / 10
Today Saxon are considered one of the most recognizable names in classic heavy metal. They’re among the surviving blacksmiths of the most primal form of metal, which plugged them straight into the N.W.O.B.H.M. movement in the early eighties. It’s been well known for years that these guys don’t budge an inch in anything they do when it comes to their own songwriting. Especially after what happened at the turn of the eighties into the nineties: after a commercial shipwreck on the North American continent and the resulting termination of their contract with the greedy (and today long-dead) label EMI, it was their incredible popularity in Germany that kept them alive, and Saxon started enjoying a new heyday. With “Solid Ball Of Rock” they were once again breathing at full lung capacity and they’ve expanded their discography up to this year with an exceptional run of studio albums. A new one has been announced and is in the works. Throughout this whole run, the band has also been diligently lining up a heap of live albums. So that fans wouldn’t wait too long for a new studio album, Saxon have always cleverly cut short the agony of waiting (or at least softened it) by serving up some juicy compilation or live document in the meantime.
And here’s the new one, pompously named “The Eagle Has Landed 40 – Live”. Another live document. From the title and the cover, you could easily and wrongly think it’s a reissue of their cult live album from 1982, recorded on the European leg of the world tour on which Saxon were promoting the then red-hot, crunchy “Denim And Leather”, but with this triple live CD Saxon are actually marking the 40 years that have passed since their cult debut “Saxon”.
So this thick, hefty read is live all the way through again. In the version I’m holding in my hands, spread over three CDs, the material comes from different tours, with recordings arranged chronologically across the three discs and played between 2007 and 2018. It’s a continuation of the story of the live document “The Eagle Has Landed Pt. III” (2006), and it covers the post-millennium era exclusively, with the first two CDs being mostly “German” (the second one especially, with recordings from the Bang Your Head 2013 festival and Wacken Open AIr 2014, is completely German) and the third one combining recordings from the British Isles, North America, Scandinavia and the Benelux. The third CD is interesting above all for its two “Motörhead” moments, which capture guest appearances by Phil Campbell (747 Strangets In The Night, Helsinki 2018) and the (late) Fast Eddie Clarke (Ace Of Spades, London 2016).
No, you don’t even need to guess. If you’re a Saxon fan, you simply have to own this album. If you collect their live releases, even more so. Given that the recordings this time focus (surprisingly, but also very welcome) more on material from the post-millennium era than not, though of course it doesn’t lack for classics from the iron repertoire, this live compilation may not be the most convenient place to start discovering the band if you don’t know Saxon yet. On the other hand, why would you even rack your brain over that? Saxon haven’t changed much over the years, if at all, when it comes to how they approach writing songs. So there’s no need to think long about whether to get “The Eagle Has Landed 40 – Live” or not. The answer is simple and as short as it gets. Yes!
All the concerts, or rather the recordings from the concerts on this compilation, were played by a lineup that has been unchanged since 1996, and one thing remains indisputable. Saxon are, were and remain one hell of a live act. So the eagle has landed again, and its fixed (non-retractable) landing gear didn’t break this time either! Here’s to many more successful landings for the legends!
One more little “trifle”. There’s of course also a considerably more notorious version of this release, called “The Eagle Has Landed 40 (Live) – 747 Signature Edition”. It’ll set you back a “measly” £140.00. It’s a gigantic crate of five vinyl records and a pile of extra Saxon trinkets, whose job is to deliberately stir up and rile the spirits of your pocket reserves of jingling coins. And if you really have too much money and on top of that you’re lucky, buying this mega-crate might also turn up two golden tickets to select Saxon shows already announced for this fall. Good luck, and of course, hurry up.
words: Aleš Podbrežnik
Track list:
CD 1:
1. State of Grace (Berlin 2007)
2. Red Star Falling (Berlin 2007)
3. Attila the Hun (Berlin 2007)
4. If I Was You (Sheffield 2007)
5. Witchfinder General (Berlin 2009)
6. Demon Sweeney Todd (Berlin 2009)
7. The Letter + Valley Of The Kings (London 2009)
8. Machine Gun (London 2009)
9. Live to Rock (Berlin 2009)
10. Hammer of the Gods (Berlin 2011)
11. Back in ’79 (Berlin 2011)
12. I’ve Got to Rock (to Stay Alive) (Berlin 2011)
13. Call to Arms (Berlin 2011)
14. Rock ‘n’ Roll Gypsy (Berlin 2011)
15. Chasing the Bullet (Berlin 2011)
16. Play It Loud (Berlin 2011)
CD 2:
1. Sacrifice (BYH Balingen 2013)
2. Night of the Wolf (BYH Balingen 2013)
3. Conquistador + Drum Solo (BYH Balingen 2013)
4. Stand Up and Fight (BYH Balingen 2013)
5. Crusader (Wacken Open Air 2014)
6. Battalions of Steel (Wacken Open Air 2014)
7. The Eagle Has Landed (Wacken Open Air 2014)
8. Power and the Glory (Wacken Open Air 2014)
9. Dallas 1PM (Wacken Open Air 2014)
10. Princess of the Night (Wacken Open Air 2014)
11. Denim and Leather (Wacken Open Air 2014)
CD 3:
1. Eye of the Storm (Zoetemeer 2015)
2. 747 (Strangers in the Night) with Phil Campbell (Helsinki 2015)
3. Killing Ground (London 2016)
4. Ace of Spades with Fast Eddie Clarke (London 2016)
5. 20,000 FT. with Andy Sneap (San Antonio 2018)
6. Thunderbolt (San Antonio 2018)
7. Sons of Odin (Los Angeles 2018)
8. This Town Rocks (Los Angeles 2018)
9. Nosferatu (the Vampire’s Waltz) (Manchester 2018)
10. Predator (Manchester 2018)
11. They Played Rock and Roll (Stockholm 2018)
12. The Secret of Flight (London 2018)
13. Battering Ram (London 2018)
Lineup:
Biff Byford – vocals
Paul Quinn – guitar
Doug Scarratt – guitar
Nibbs Carter – bass
Nigel Glockler – drums
