Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
It is the genre for which most arguably feel the stirrings of blood heading towards the heart as if it was on fire, the hose full of water and the draining of the reservoir not enough to quench the undying inferno which rages with passion and excitement. Classic Rock is a genre that might have its detractors but for those the drum kick hunts and the guitar follows like a wolf in the night, insatiable hunger wanting to be sated, it is more than just a type of music, it is the point of existence.
It is the arena, the large auditorium or the open air festival in which the music takes on the grand and imposing, the sense of belief in which a guitar solo and the unswerving refrain can act like a drug speeding round your brain, never allowing the beat to become bland or the lyric disowned. It is an experience always worth savouring and for The Classic Rock Show, one that touches upon the sentiment and power of many a great track and finds it able to stir the conscious and memory of the reasons why a person fell in love with the sound.
Once again the open ended cool and tight pressure on the pulse was felt inside the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, one that had been taken on before by the audience but one that almost pleaded for. The sounds of a guitar taking on tracks such as the Eagles’ Life in the Fast Lane, AC/DC’S Highway To Hull, the Doors Riders On The Storm, Kansas’ Carry On My Wayward Son, Queen’s One Vision and Toto’s Rosanna was not just an anthem of life, it was a reminder that in an era of bland, of beige and often ordinary, Classic Rock is still a fist clenching King, that it the heartbeat of lush oasis and one that requires constant nourishment.
The featureless and the lacklustre may dominate, but place any track by the Eagles, any song by Boston, The Who, Fleetwood Mac, Genesis, Dire Straits or Wings into the mix and see which receives the greater appreciation. A tremendous night of music by The Classic Rock Show, one of unmitigated memories and heart; a serious thanks to all that came before by a band who understand the love on offer.
Ian D. Hall