One of the things I should have realised, but didn't, is that there were some killer live albums in 1982. Three of them, Black Sabbath- "Live Evil," Michael Schenker Group- "One Night at Budokan" and Blue Oyster Cult- "Extra Terrestrial Live," I bought not long after they had come out. The fourth, Ted Nugent- "Intensity in 10 Cities" would escape my knowledge for a long while. That's the problem when you are in the military and spend most of the year deployed overseas. It creates a Swiss cheese effect on things like musical releases from bands you might follow. This caused me to completely miss a fifth great live album and one that definitely stands shoulder to shoulder with the ones I've already listed. That is Saxon- "The Eagle Has Landed."
Having seen Saxon live before I got to listen to "The Eagle Has Landed," I had a very strong inclination that this was going to be an excellent live album. I was right. It has all of the classic Saxon songs at the time with the bonus touch of being played so well live. I thought it was only natural that they used the great song "Wheels of Steel" for the audience participation part of the show. After all, that song is one of their best known songs.
The added bonus for me was that the album was recorded while Saxon were on tour for my favourite album of theirs, "Denim and Leather." "Princess of the Night" has its much deserved place on the album and is played brilliantly on it. Here is my personal slight disappointment about that. Other than "Princess," the other two songs, "Never Surrender" and "Fire In the Sky" wouldn't have been my first choices from "Denim and Leather" to use on the live album. Don't get me wrong, they are both cool songs but why the hell wasn't the title track on it? After all, "Denim and Leather" is a metal anthem that rings true throughout the metal generations! I thought it was only right that it be on the live album. Another song I would have used would have been "Play it Loud," almost for the same reason. Saying that, "And the Band Played On" and "Midnight Rider" appear on the 2005 remaster. But enough of me nit picking, there are so many great songs on "The Eagle Has Landed" that it makes it a guaranteed good listen.
Track Listing:
- Motorcycle Man
- 747 Strangers in the Night
- Princess of the Night
- Strong Arm of the Law
- Heavy Metal Thunder
- 20,000 Feet
- Wheels of Steel
- Never Surrender
- Fire in the Sky
- Machine Gun
Saxon[/caption]
Biff Byford- vocals
Graham Oliver- guitar
Paul Quinn- guitar
Steve Dawson- bass
Nigel Glockler- drums
Like I said, there were many great live albums in 1982. Saxon's contribution "The Eagle Has Landed" definitely belongs along side of the other great ones from that year.
Next post: Twisted Sister- Under the Blade
To buy Rock And Roll Children,
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