SAXON

Does anyone really need another SAXON live album? If you're a diehard fan, then the answer is a resounding "Yes!" Others may prefer 1982's "The Eagle Has Landed" for the early lineup and exclusively classic material or 1996's "The Eagle Has Landed Pt. II" for a relatively broad career retrospective. Still, each of the three albums contains tracks not featured on the others, and "The Eagle Has Landed Pt. III" contains very few repeats from its predecessor. In fact, the new platter contains what is perhaps the most representative collection of songs. Disc 1 features the older classic material and Disc 2 includes the post-1991 cuts, except for "Broken Heroes". Provided one can do without "Denim and Leather", one of the greatest NWOBHM songs of all time, not to mention gems like "747" and "Strong Arm of the Law", the third installment will work just fine as an introduction to the work of these legends. It also demonstrates the band's continuing status as a superb live act.

As far as sound quality is concerned, you've got nothing to fear with "Pt. III". As a matter of fact, this is not the sound of studio treatments with over-amped crowd noised pumped in. What you hear is what you get, that being two guitars, bass, drums, and Biff Byford's superb vocal performance (he's not lost a step) — nothing more, nothing less. The instrument separation is more than adequate as well. Drummers Jörg Michael (2004 recordings) and Nigel Glockler (2005 recordings) are rock solid, keeping impeccable time and coloring the palette in all the right places. The same can be said of Nibbs Carter's active bass work.

Culled almost exclusively from live performances in Germany ("This Town Rocks" is taken from a Stockholm show),the selection of classics from Disc 1 will put smiles on the faces of the old timers. A collection that includes "Never Surrender", "Frozen Rainbow", "Suzie Hold On", "Warrior", "Stallions of the Highway", "Wheels of Steel", "And the Bands Played On", and "Crusader" is nothing to sneeze at. A few songs that the band had not been performing on a regular basis (i.e. "Redline") definitely add value.

If nothing else, Disc 2 proves that heavy metal's elder statesmen could still write catchy and rockin' tunes. A handful of shows in England, France, and Germany's Wacken Open Air festival has the band performing strong compositions like "Rock is Our Life" (actually written in tribute to Wacken),"Lionheart", "Solid Ball of Rock", "Unleash the Beast", and "English Man 'O' War".

So what's the bottom line? "The Eagle Has Landed Pt. III" is 140 minutes of live SAXON performed with all the passion of a band decades younger. Where is the downside to that?