Product: Uriah Heep: Magic Night
Rating: 5.0
There I was on a November evening ....
.... looking for great rock. And, oh boy, did I find it at London's Astoria!Thijs van Leer's legendary Focus was a magnificent support act (Eruption and Hocus Pocus being genuinely stunning), keeping the capacity crowd more than happy for 90 minutes. Then the Heepsters took to the stage to thunderous applause. If the tight and powerful renditions of Easy Livin' and Shadows of Grief warmed up the already ecstatic fans, the absolutely blistering Pilgrim (a very underrated Heep classic that doesn't get enough outings) totally blew us away! Mick's screaming guitar, Bernie's wild vocals and Lee's military-marching rhythms coming together perfectly in an absolutely unmissable performance that sent shivers down your spine. The gutsy, hard-edged Bad Bad Man and Devil's Daughter kept the adrenaline going in fine style. The acoustic set that dominates the middle of the show then gave us a chance to get our breath back, the highlight being a sensitive but powerful version of The Wizard. Spirited renditions of Stealin', Been Away too Long and Cry Freedom build up to the seminal July Morning which, believe me, has never sounded better! The guys still hammer out this classic with such enthusiasm and obvious enjoyment that it still sounds as fresh as the first time I heard it on Look at Yourself. Trevor Bolder in particular excelled himself with some almost miraculous bass work. Mick was clearly enjoying himself no end and entertained us with all the great axeman tricks he has made his own - playing above his head and holding that long-loooong note before blowing it out. Lady in Black - a great singalong as ever, closed this remarkable concert, which is one of the best I have ever been to in all the long years I've been into rock.A few comments on the DVD presentation. Strangely, the default audio setting appears to be a Dolby surround sound option that only produces silence on my system. I had to go to the audio link (a tiny option tucked away on the bottom right of the menu) and select basic stereo to get any sound. Stereo separation was good though, with Mick's screaming guitar assaulting you from the left, Bernie and Lee centre stage and Phil & Trevor over on the right. I found the sound did need a little bass boost though. Picture quality is absolutely pin-sharp throughout. The camera angles do flit around rather a lot, but not enough to ruin my enjoyment. My main disappointment is that the Magician's Birthday, including Mick's show-stopping guitar solo, is bizarrely absent from the DVD. I don't know if this has anything to do with the rather nasty strobe effect the lighting guys chose to employ througout Mick's virtuoso performance, but the absence of this track is a big disappointment. Furthermore, it is a shame that most of Bernie's and Mick's banter with the fans between songs has also been cut out. No extras of any kind on the DVD is a bit of a shame too, but let's not get too picky eh? What music fan could grumble at 90 minutes of such sublime rock?So 6 stars for the Heep's great music and maybe 4 for this DVD presentation, equates to a rating of 5 overall in my book. Whatever, I just HAD to buy this!When the camera pans around to the left during Stealin' you can see me (tall guy in the denim) and my son, who enjoyed it every bit as much as I did.This is a great souvenir of a great night and, I'll certainly be there for the 2004 party at Shepherd's Bush Empire!