Finest melodic rock from one
of Sweden's best hard rock bands ever; Talisman. The
genius Marcel Jacobs project together with (among
others) the powerhouse Jeff Scott Soto will forever
be something special. This live performance is from
1993, recorded in Kawasaki, Japan and originally released in
1994 and for all you readers that haven't any of the Talisman albums
in your possession, you will have a nice
time with this disc.
A short history lesson of the band: Talisman was formed
in -88, debut disc 90 (Talisman) with the big hit
song 'I'll Be Waiting', which is one of my
personal favourites songs. Six studio albums and
three live albums came before Marcel Jacob sadly
ended his life due to personal health problems in
2009. Marcel Jacob worked with John Norum (Europe)
and Yngwie Malmsteen before Talisman and both of these
guys have a lot to thank Marcel for their personal
success in the metal world.
I don't like live albums normally, because it's just
a cheap way to rip us fans of our money and milk old
tracks over again. Often with a bad sound. My
feelings towards this specific piece is a little different.
This is an awesome tribute to Marcel's memory and a
chance to keep these lovely songs alive for us hard
rock fans. I curse myself that I missed their show
at Sweden Rock Festival in 2002. Those who were there
said it was one of the coolest shows they've seen on a
stage at this latitude. 'Mysterious (This Time It's
Serious)' is also one of the best songs from their
repertoire and it opens the show and in 'Standin' On
Fire' Marcel does an amazing bass solo and the
instrumental skills of the rest of band are also sky
high. Fredrik on guitar is now a member in Opeth,
Jamie Borger (Treat, Last Autum's Dream).
It glows and burns in every track and
in the funky and catchy track 'If You Would Be My
Friend' it explodes. The killer track 'I'll Be
Waiting' still makes me plays air-drums like a savage and
sing as a maniac.
The transition to the next song was stylish as hell!
'Time after Time' runs away like a wild river,
throws and twists their dangerous eddies. Jeff has a firm
grip of the audience with a firm hand and turns the
sensitive 'All I Want' into a power ballad. Strong! 'Dangerous'
and 'U Done Me Wrong' are two melodious
and very guitar-based songs. A tight and relaxed
live performance, which is fun to spend the time with.
I wish that this night was recorded as a DVD, but
this is the closest I will get of a Talisman live
concert. I'm very pleased with almost one hour of
hard rock pleasure.
RIP Marcel..
Talismans core line-up:
Marcel Jacob - bass
Jeff Scott Soto - vocals
Fredrik Åkesson - guitar
Jamie Borger - drums
