Search - Oliver-Dawson Saxon :: Re-Landed

What SAXON without singer BYFORD sounds like...

eveoflove | North York, Ontario Canada | 06/16/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Made in UK in 2000, Serial# PHMUKCD-001, Playing Time 60:46I'm not going to debate whether this is the "real" SAXON or its alter ego: it doesn't matter...What matters is the music: the band is recorded live in 2000, and performs tracks that are at least 15 years old (except for "Past The Point"): covering material from the "Wheels Of Steel", "Strong Arm Of The Law", "Denim And Leather", "Power & The Glory" and "Innocence Is No Excuse" albums, what some people may refer to as the "peak" of their career.Musically, the album is great, comparable to "The Eagle Has Landed" (volume 1); unfortunately, singer John Ward doesn't have the clarity and power of "original" singer Byford; though he does an adequate job, in a truly honorable effort, tracks like "And The Bands Played On" and "Motorcycle Man" fall a bit short vocally.I'm interested in what the gang can do in the studio, where Ward (who has a good but raunchier voice) can sing material that's more within his range: the rest of the band provides enough power and crunch to make for some exciting music.Who knows what the future holds. I would recommend this only if you've got every SAXON album from the 80s, including their live albums; this is more or less a carbon copy, but with a different (and weaker) singer."