I
listened to TMBP cd again today and decided it is time to
review it.
First off this cd gives Live 73 a run for its money as
Heep's best live
recording. The special edge is that I was there at this
one.
L/R
Barry Hoffman, Bernie Shaw, Bob Winward
The cd starts out with Return to Fantasy. A good
version, but the
symbolism of this as the opening song is to hint at the
magic to come that evening,
the return of Ken and John. A return to fantasy!!
The 2nd track is
Tales, better than the original, featuring Thijs Van
Leer on flute and he
yodels at the end. Next up Sweet Pretender, good tune,
good version, now
on to the classics.
I'll Keep on Trying is the 4th track, and I must say it sounds
like it was
written for Bernie! The guitar work is amongst
Micks best, he really
kicks ass on this one. They have found
a new classic for the live set.
July Morning and Circle of Hands, 2 classics that were well
played and
featured Ken's trademark Hammond! These 2 are always
great, always special
and Ken's organ brings the missing ingredient, passion!
Paradise/The Spell in my opinion is the best track on
the cd and Heep's
best live track ever! After the show in Dec.
I approached Trevor and
complimented his playing. He then said "Bob,
between you and I, I played
like shit". Well if that was shit, then his
playing on this song is the
greatest shit I ever heard!! Anyhow, the whole
song is great, complete
with changes, never boring. I just love Lee's vocals on
this song. I
remember the night, and thinking Ken would do the second
vocal, but Lee was
a surprise for us, and he sang great. I would love to
hear more of his
clean powerful unique vocals. I can listen to this song
over and over, and
I do. It takes me to the higher level, those magic
heep moments were I
soar and there are no more problems in the world.
This song epitomizes
the Heep existence for me.
The Magicians Birthday sounds almost as good as the studio
version, with a
few modernized updates. Bernie shines on this
song, and as it progresses
he goes from good to great to utterly fantastic.
Everything comes off
nicely and hearing Mick and Lee doing their respective solos
is awesome.
After Mick's huge solo, the whole band joins back in with an
uptempo beat.
This is definitely new, and sounds better than the original
version. Then
another magic moment, John Lawton on vocals. I
remember that night, what
surprise when John emerges in his black shirt. His
vocals are powerful and
evil sounding and take the song to the next level of
greatness. "I
challenge you all..." I still get goosebumps
and I can hear it in my
head!! A phenomenal performance!! All
along, Phil filled in sound
effects, that shows what a master of the keyboards
he truly is. Things really
start heating up with vocal duel and the instruments
pounding their way to the most perfect rhythm, the
crescendo builds. I am soaring in another world, slaying
fire breathing dragons, battling evil wizards and rescuing
fair maidens. This
is where the music takes me, the magic heep mountain where all
this is
real!!! The music continues to march on and Bernie
captivates with the
greatest notes of sweetness. This is the part than
made me ball like a
friggin' baby, nothing in life can make me feel the way
the ending of this
song does, the ultimate high!!!
Sympathy features John on vocals, this has always been a heep
favorite of
mine, the lineup sounded very comfortable playing it and was a
great choice
to follow TMB. Then onto Free N' Easy. I
always loved the dueling
guitars on this song, Ken is one of the best slide
guitar players I ever heard.
Lee seemed faster on the drums then ever before and Trevor
redefined the
art of bass playing!!
Sunrise is a song Heep did recently live, Bernie does
outstanding vocals on
this. The addition of Ken on hammond makes this the
perfect version!
Easy livin' closes out the set on the cd, the hottest
live version yet!
I love this cd, and having been there, I get to relive
those memories over
and over! And I can barely wait for the DVD.
