Return - Live | ||
| Tracks:
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Album Cover: ![[Image]](../../Images/return.jpg)
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Label: OSLOVE Producer: Tomas Siqveland Year: 2000 Total Playing Time: 73:26 m:s Review date: 12/1/2001 |
| Web site: www.rockofnorway.com Email: | ||
| Rating: 77 % | ||
| Verdict: A successful reunion. | ||
| Return are a new name to be, but fortunately the CD leaflet gives a brief history. The band formed in 1980 in Stange, Norway. The band played locally of a number of years before changing their name to Return and winning the Norwegian Championship Of Rock in 1985. The band released 5 albums until they broke up in 1994. The band reformed in January 2000 to promote their "The Best Of" album. The band toured throughout the year and recorded this first "Live" album 29.08.2000. The bootleg bonus tracks were recorded in 1991. The band consists of Knut Erik Ostgard on lead vocals and guitars, Steinar Hagen on guitar and vocals, Tore Larsen on bass and vocals and Oyvind Hakonsen on drums, plus Henning Ramseth on guitars, keyboards and vocals. I think the band may well have called it a day again after this album was recorded. Still with a name like "Return", they may well be recording together once again.
When you record a live album you can either go for the warts and all version or you can go into the studio and perform numerous overdubs. The CD leaflet assures us that the album is of the former kind and presents an accurate portrayal of how Return on stage. The album kicks off with bright and breezy "Change The Attitude", before the band crack up the guitars for getting down to the main objective - "Having Fun". Both "Friend Will Be Friends" and Sing Me A Song" are slow tunes. With 5 album's worth of material to plunder, the band do a couple of medleys to give the fans plenty of reminders of their past material. The first one is a rocking affair which culminates with the Diamond Dave sounding "Still Waiting". "Take This Heart", "The Loner" and "Half A Man" are all ballads, which make me think that a good supply of lighter fuel would be a good idea at a Return concert. The slow rocking of "Life Must Go On" splits these up. There is a bit of a Whitesnake feel on display. The band should be shot for coming up a title as naff as "Bye Bye Johnny". Still the crowd seem happy enough singing along to this one. The simple combination of vocals and acoustic guitar give "Can You Forgive Me" a good atmosphere and makes it stand out from some of the other ballads. Then it is the second medley. It starts of with a catchy melodic rocker called "To The Top". Whilst listening to album for the first time I found myself mindlessly singing along halfway through this medley. It took longer than it should have from me to realize that that the "Heaven & Hell" was in fact the Sabbath tune from one of my favorite albums of the same name. Their choice of cover version certainly helped me warm to the band after that. The first bootleg tune, "Main Man", is a pulsating tune that recalls "Ready & Willing" era Whitesnake. By this stage it shouldn't be a surprise when I say the band close the album with a ballad. Return clearly put on a good live performance the night this concert was recorded and are to be commended for issuing a truly live album rather than doctoring it in the studio. If you're an existing fan of a band it is always nice to hear the differences in songs that the band have introduced in their live performances. I enjoy listening to my first introduction to Return and I'd describe it as a pleasant, rather than exciting experience. For me the album is a little too ballad heavy, especially as some those ballads have a few Eurovision-like tendencies. | ||
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