In 1983, just about every up-and-coming hard rock guitarist was mesmerized by -- and copying --
Eddie Van Halen
's two-handed tapping technique. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, came
Yngwie Malmsteen
, who introduced "classical metal" to the masses. Before making a name for himself as a solo artist,
Yngwie
was briefly a member of L.A. rockers
Alcatrazz
, which resulted in a studio album (1983's
No Parole from Rock 'n' Roll
) and a live album (1984's
Live Sentence
). But come 2010, an archival live album appeared from the band (from the "
era"),
Live '83
. As its title states, the album is comprised of live performances from the same year that
's debut album was released, and will certainly be of interest for longtime
fans. Featured are all the expected
classics, including fine readings of
"Too Young to Die, Too Drunk to Live,"
"Island in the Sun,"
and
"Hiroshima Mon Amour,"
as well as covers of
Rainbow
's
"Since You Been Gone"
the Michael Schenker Group
"Desert Song"
(since singer
Graham Bonnet
did time in both groups prior to
). The only misstep is a bonus track, which is an unnecessary and grating-sounding studio re-reading of
"All Night Long,"
which includes
George Lynch
on guitar.
offers further proof that
were quite possibly
's best ticket toward commercial success, if he would have stuck around for longer than just a year or so. ~ Greg Prato