Artist: Soul Doctor
Label: Metal Heaven
Release: 2008
Rating: 2.5/5
Soul Doctor are a German hard rock band from Berlin that leans heavily on blending blues and R&B elements into their music. After releasing their fourth studio album “Blood Runs Cold”, the guys decided the time had come for their first live album.
Soul Doctor are brave lads to dare to play a totally stripped-down version of hard rock, one that today is of interest only to hardcore nostalgics. For their first live record, the guys picked the best live material from the band’s gigs across Europe between 2005 and 2007. You won’t have any trouble figuring out that most of it was recorded in German-speaking countries, because in the breaks between songs, singer Tommy Heart addresses the crowd in German.
“That’s Live”, whose name comes from a phrase in the lyrics of the closing part of the Soul Doctor song Temptation, will appeal to every fan of the band, who simply have to own this album. It’s also great if you don’t know the band and need a point of orientation, since it has an even helping of material from all four of their studio albums so far. As for the track order actually following the setlist of a real show, that’s hard to say, because, like I said, the material comes from different live recordings. Still, two facts hint that the order is very likely authentic: the songs from the older albums are tacked on at the end, and the opener is Blood Runs Cold, which, by any sane logic, is how the band would have opened shows in support of the album of the same name.
The performance is tight and polished. The question is how much the guys patched up the raw recordings afterward in the studio, but the album keeps that essential living pulse that makes a live album feel like one. Tommy Heart (ex-Fair Warning) is the factor that grabs all of the listener’s attention, and as a hard rock singer he’s also the most important link, the one who can’t afford to fail. He’s front and center the whole way through, commanding and confident. He loves to flirt with Steven Tyler (Aerosmith), but not just Tommy, the whole of Soul Doctor as a unit are light-years away from the bluesy hard rock swagger of Aerosmith and the bands that move in similar circles across the Atlantic pond. So this is a must-have only for fans of the band, and in general it doesn’t bring anything special to the scene. It’s nice, it’s nicely played, but it’s missing a bit more of that swagger you feel most directly with American hard rock and rock ‘n’ roll bands.
One more thing! In Europe, “That’s Live” also came out as a special limited-edition double CD. The first CD has the 13 live “That’s Live” tracks, while the second disc holds different, previously unreleased versions of Revolution, Laugh In The Face Of Danger, Justine (acoustic version) and The Ocean (acoustic version). This edition can be especially tempting because it includes a ticket to any show by the band. The ticket has its own serial number, and every holder also enters a prize draw for an original Epiphone acoustic guitar signed by all the members of Soul Doctor.
Lineup
Tommy Heart – vocals
Chris Lyne – guitar
Jogy Rautenberg – bass
Michael Wolpers – drums
Track list
1.Blood Runs Cold
2.Under Your Skin
3.Good Time’s Slippin’ Away
4.Temptation
5.See You In Heaven
6.Eatin’ On Me
7.Laugh In The Face Of Danger
8.Goodbye
9.Unspoken Words
10.Get It On
11.What Do U Want
12.Soul Doctor
13.Just Can’t Get Over You
Running time: 77.12
