Essentially a celebration of MSG's 30 year history,that the majority of its tracks come from his first 2 albums,tells its own story,still those are his best tracks and its nice to have several from his last studio disc plus one from the Gypsy Lady project,of course there are the perennial UFO staples of 'Rock Bottom'/'Doctor Doctor'
Thanks to a poor audio mix,this release is equally frustrating as it is entertaining,Simon Phillips & Neil Murray are top class musicians but here they are relegated into the background via a audio mix that nueters their sound,either that or they both turned in average,workmanlike performances on the night. In regards to Wayne Findlay(who he?) for the most part you would be forgiven for forgetting he's there given the barely audible/understated keyboard parts,only the occasional background vocal(way in the background!) to let you know he's still alive.Gary Barden was never the greatest vocalist in the heavy rock arena but he does a passable job here(but blots his copybook with some poor attempts at communication with the audience and on several occasions allowing the fans to sing instead of him,frankly ruining a couple of tracks,especially 'Doctor' Doctor' and 'Dance Lady Gypsy' where the audience clearly dont know the words.
BUT and its a massive but,when Schenker peels off those solo's you cant help but smile,a frustrated smile yes ,that yet again a man as talented as ANY guitar hero from that generation has released a sub standard product that doesnt fully represent what he's capabable of,and yet those solo's from the opening 'Welcome Howl' thru to 'Rock Bottom' the man pulls out every solo in the book,that sound ,the tone perfect,the only thing the audio mix gets right.
All in all,tread carefully with this one,there are moments of exceptional guitar playing,all the classics are here,just dont expect 'Strangers In The Night'/'One Night At Budokan' levels of excitement.