A true lost gem of the 80's new wave of heavy metal.
Loud at timbeck2@hotmail.com | WEST PALM BEACH,FLORIDA | 02/21/1999
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Saxon at Donnington is a great representation of the new wave of british heavy metal that began in the eighties. There is no doubt that Saxon,along with other bands (Motorhead /Iron Maiden), led the way and influenced a generation that followed. To see Saxon live was a breath taking event that I personally witnessed on several occassions. They are the unsung metal heroes of the eighties that many bands, such as Metallica, even credit as a very important influence. The quality of this release is marred only because it sounds as if this recording had been shelved for so long. Obviously forgotten and that is unfortunate for listeners. It would have been worth the expense for the label of this CD to have spent a little added time to clean up this recording with the convience of modern 1990's technology. Otherwise this is a stellar performance by one of the greatest heavy metal bands of all time. If you are a true metal fan you should own this for the point that it is Saxon! The oddity of this disc is a track called "Bap Shoo Ap" which, as far as I know, is not on any Saxon album from that time period. Also, track 10 indicates "backstage interviews" but curiously there are no interviews. My guess is this CD might have been rushed, which explains sound quality and fair packaging. But any true metal fan will still appreciate the passion in Saxon's powerful performance."
Not the best place to start with Saxon
Celephais70 | 06/10/2006
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Good points- It captures Saxon at aruably their very freshest point, after the Wheels Of Steel album.
Bad points- the sound quality is so bad that frankly I'm a bit surpsised that it was releasewd in this state. To anyone not familiar to Saxon the songs might just seem like a muffled nosie coming from the stage a lot of the time. I have a high end hi fi and even with headphones it's sometimes difficlut to make out exactly what's going on, especially on the closer Machine Gun. I's such and intnese song on the album, and it must have been incredible onstage at Donnington, but it sounds like someone brought a cheap tape recorder to the show and recorded the set with the tape recorder stuffed under 5 pillows.
I give the bands performance 5 stars, but sorry, this CD itself has such a poor bootleg quality that I can't really recommend it and I give it 2 stars."
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1