SPA:
El pasado Miércoles 28/2 publiqué una foto mía en el sillón de casa con nuestra perrita Yorkshire "Nina" en un brazo y el disco pirata de Saxon "Heavy Metal Thunder" grabado el 28/2/84 ( de ahí mí pequeño post de homenaje al aniversario , ya que en ese momento justo 40 años atrás se estaba celebrando ese concierto) en Nimegen (Holanda) durante el exitoso World Tour Crusader ' 84 .
La verdad es que me dormí en los laureles , porque para esa noche quería tener preparado este post y publicarlo en ese momento , pero bueno los planes fallan y cambian... Considero como fan coleccionista que soy de ellos que dentro de la discografía pirata o bottleg de Saxon los discos y ojo !!!... siempre hablando de bottlegs editados en tiempo real en vinilo y obviando a los piratas en CD o posteriores ediciones actuales de antiguos conciertos en vinilo debido al auge tanto de la presente carrera de Saxon como al auge del vinilo como formato . Los más representativos son , el "Strong Arm Of The Law" grabado el 19/12/81 en el Hammersmith Odeón de Londres por histórico , puesto que fué el primer disco pirata de la historia de Saxon , sacado desde la mesa de sonido del concierto con el propósito de potenciar la gira que poco más tarde iniciarian por Japón en el '81.
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Y este "Heavy Metal Thunder" por la popularidad que adquirió al ser un disco doble editado por la discográfica UFO en la cúspide de la carrera comercial de la banda con una portada un tanto épica con aires a las ilustraciones de Richard Corben. Evidentemente en la época existian otros legendarios bottlegs como el "Redline" del Power And The Glory Tour '83 o el "Princess Of The Nigth" del The Eagle Has Landed Tour '82 , este editado actualmente en 2020 por Cult Legends Recordings con la foto en blanco y negro de portada de una chica sexy con una guitarra sobre sus hombros . Recuerdo ver de jovenzuelo adolescente a principios de los 80 este disco pirata en la histórica tienda "Papermusik" de la calle Riera Baixa de Barcelona , que era con identica portada negra de letras rojas y logo del aguila plateada del The Eagle Has Landed , pero ponía con las mismas letras góticas Princess Of The Nigth . Por supuesto yo en aquel entonces no tenía dinero para comprarlo y tenía que ser muy muy selectivo con el poco dinero que tenía para compar mis primeros cassettes y revistas de Metal , por lo cual ahora la edición que tengo de ese disco es la de 2020 , pero siempre hay sorpresas en el coleccionismo , por ejemplo hará un par de años conseguí la primera edición del The Eagle Has Landed (1982) Alemana , en la cual el Aguila del logo mira hacia la izquierda , será una frikada , sí , pero solo lo tiene la primera edición Alemana del 82 así que era un objetivo a conseguir . Esto me lleva al disco que ocupa este post el "Heavy Metal Thunder" , disco que he conseguído de segunda mano claro está , este pasado mes de Enero después de tantos años tras él , porque lo recordaba ver en los stands guiris de las firas del Disc de Jordi Tardà a precios siempre elevados por aquel entonces y ahora lo he conseguido a muy buen precio al haberlo comprado a un particular en Terrassa (Barcelona) recogiéndolo yo mismo , según me dijo el hijo del propietario que el disco llevaba años en el fondo de un armario... para que os hagáis una idea en el momento que escribo este post por ejemplo hay tres ediciones de este disco a la venta en Discogs que oscilan entre los 75 € y 150 € pero con gastos de envío caros ya que dos de ellos están en Australia , aunque veo que en la tienda "Cd And Lp" se puede compar una copia alemana a 43 € con gastos de envío incluidos , buen precio si alguien está interesad@ , ahí lo dejo... Particularmente no recomiendo los discos piratas a no ser que se sea un fan acerrim@ de la banda y se quieran contemplar ya otros aspectos de la grabacion más "Raw". Este para mí gusto ofrece alguna curiosidad que otros como el Princess Of The Nigth '82 y algunos más no ofrecen , así que lo comentaré un poco... cómo frikadas a destacar algunas erratas gráficas en los títulos 1 , 5 , 9 , 11 ,13 y el tema 14 que yo flipaba pensando que sería un tema inédito al llamarse "Never See No" y en realidad es "And The Bands Played On", ni idea de a qué viene el otro nombre . Vayamos con el audio para mí gusto está bien , manteniendo ese particular eco que tienen los pabellones , dando esa sensación de sonido "en crudo" quizá por destacar lo peor sea el sonido de la batería , pero es bastante aceptable, que estamos hablando de bottlegs !!!. En vez de caras A , B , C ,D ( Side A , B, C , D ) está dividido en Episode I ,ll , lll y IV muy medieval a lo Crusader.
Tras una intro hablada , llega la intro musical nada más y nada menos que "The Hellion" de sus adorados Judas Priest y ya comienzan con "Power And The Glory" seguida de "Princess Of The Night" y "Dallas 1 P.M". con la grabación de los altavoces en el momento del asesinato de John Fitzgerald Kennedy , que ha habido Tours en que no llevaban efectos de grabacion , aunque eso fué en momentos más bajos de su carrera, nada que influyera mucho en sus directos , pero mola mas que los lleven. Le sigue "Just Let Me Rock" la primera de cantan de Crusader el álbum que promocionan en ese concierto y siguen con "Never Surrender ", para ya volver con el tema título "Crusader" , pero sin la intro "The Crusader Prelude" tras ella viene "Strong Arm Of The Law" y vuelven al álbum Crusader con el single y tema más comercial del disco "Sailing To América" y ya retoman su anterior disco Power And The Glory con "This Town Knows How To Rock" en la que Biff juega con el público , para luego seguir jugando Nigel Glockler con el público haciendole participar en su solo de batería , siguen con "The Eagle Has Landed" y "747 (Strangers In The Night)" con el efecto de grabacion del avion y el público coreando a sus anchas el estribillo. Y llega para mí la sorpresa del disco con "A Little Bit Of What You Fancy" que Biff Byford alarga cachondamente jugando con el público , está acaba en el disco con un empalme extraño y mal hecho ( el único de este doble Lp) con "And The Bands Played On" con el que se aprecia que Saxon salen del escenario y la gente les llama entonando un curioso Ooooooooeeeeeeee ooooooooeeeeeeeee ooooooooeeeeeeee hasta que vuelven a las tablas ya en lo que es el Episode IV o Cara D del disco que comienza con un solo de guitarra de Graham Oliver que alterna solos de cosecha propia con riffs del "Smoke On The Wáter" de Deep Purple , el "Paranoid" de Black Sabbath , el " Pretty Woman" de Roy Orbison , el Purple Haze de Jimmy Hendrix ( ídolo indiscutible de Graham Oliver) y tras él un solo de guitarra que acaba con "Riff Raff " de AC/DC , siguen con "Wheels Of Steel" y "Denim And Leather" en donde Biff y el público vuelven a jugar y cantar , para acabar con "Heavy Metal Thunder" haciendo un Medley intercalando parte de "Stand Up And Becaunted" y "Warrior" volviendo a acabar con Heavy Metal Thunder.
Esta version del Heavy Metal Thunder con este Medley más un trozo de "Taking Your Chances" la incluirían en la cara B del Maxisingle del "Rock And Gypsies" del que sería su próximo álbum "Innocence Is No Excuse" (1985) , para mí uno de los más preciosos y completos de la era Saxon tras el cierre de su anterior etapa con el directo The Eagle Has Landed de 1982 y la "americanización" de su sonido. Pero eso ya es otra historia.... En estos últimos años se están editando en vinilo algunos bottlegs antiguos "Never Surrender" , "Donington Park 1980" o el interesantísimo "Stand Up And Rock" con demos e inéditas jamás editadas en vinilo , veremos qué más nos trae mundo bottleg en el universo Saxon , que de momento lo han vuelto a petar con su último álbum de estudio "Hell , Fire And Damnation" (2024). NEVER SURRENDER !!!!!!
ENG: Last Wednesday 2/28 I published a photo of me on the couch at home with our Yorkshire dog "Nina" in one arm and Saxon's pirated album "Heavy Metal Thunder" recorded on 2/28/84 (hence my little post tribute to the anniversary, since at that moment just 40 years ago that concert was being held) in Nimegen (Holland) during the successful World Tour Crusader '84. The truth is that I rested on my laurels, because for that night I wanted to have this post prepared and publish it at that moment, but well, plans fail and change... I consider as a collector fan that I am one of them that within the pirate or bottleg discography of Saxon the records and be careful!!!... always talking about bottlegs released in real time on vinyl and ignoring the pirates on CD or later current editions of old concerts on vinyl due to the rise of both Saxon's present career and the rise of vinyl as a format. The most representative are, "Strong Arm Of The Law" recorded on 12/19/81 at the Hammersmith Odeon in London because it is historic, since it was the first pirated album in the history of Saxon, taken from the concert's sound board. with the purpose of promoting the tour that they would begin shortly after in Japan in '81. And this "Heavy Metal Thunder" for the popularity it acquired as a double album released by the UFO record label at the peak of the band's commercial career with a somewhat epic cover reminiscent of Richard Corben's illustrations. Evidently at the time there were other legendary bottlegs such as the "Redline" from the Power And The Glory Tour '83 or the "Princess Of The Night" from The Eagle Has Landed Tour '82, this one currently released in 2020 by Cult Legends Recordings with the photo Black and white cover of a sexy girl with a guitar on her shoulders. I remember seeing this pirated album as a young teenager in the early 80s in the historic "Papermusik" store on Riera Baixa street in Barcelona, which had the identical black cover with red letters and the silver eagle logo of The Eagle Has Landed, but it said with the same gothic lyrics Princess Of The Night. Of course, at that time I didn't have the money to buy it and I had to be very very selective with the little money I had to buy my first Metal cassettes and magazines, which is why now the edition I have of that album is the 2020 one. but there are always surprises in collecting, for example a couple of years ago I got the first edition of The Eagle Has Landed (1982) German, in which the Eagle in the logo looks to the left, it will be a freak, yes, but only It has the first German edition from '82 so it was a goal to achieve. This brings me to the album that occupies this post, "Heavy Metal Thunder", an album that I got second-hand of course, this past January after so many years after it, because I remembered seeing it in the tourist stands at the fairs of the Jordi Tardà's record at always high prices back then and now I have gotten it at a very good price having bought it from an individual in Terrassa (Barcelona) picking it up myself, according to what the owner's son told me that the record had been in the back for years from a closet... to give you an idea at the time I write this post, for example, there are three editions of this album for sale on Discogs that range between €75 and €150 but with expensive shipping costs since two of them are in Australia, although I see that in the "Cd And Lp" store you can buy a German copy for €43 with shipping costs included, good price if anyone is interested, I'll leave it there... I particularly do not recommend pirated albums unless you are a die-hard fan of the band and want to consider other aspects of the more "Raw" recording. For my taste, this one offers some curiosity that others like Princess Of The Night '82 and some others do not offer, so I will comment on it a little... how cool to highlight some graphic errors in titles 1, 5, 9, 11, 13 and song 14, which I was freaking out thinking would be an unreleased song because it was called "Never See No" and in reality it is "And The Bands Played On", I have no idea what the other name comes from. Let's go with the audio, for my taste it is fine, maintaining that particular echo that the pavilions have, giving that sensation of "raw" sound, perhaps to highlight the worst thing is the sound of the drums, but it is quite acceptable, since we are talking about bottlegs !!!. Instead of sides A, B, C, D (Side A, B, C, D) it is divided into Episode I, ll, lll and IV, very medieval like Crusader. After a spoken intro, comes the musical intro from none other than "The Hellion" by their beloved Judas Priest and they begin with "Power And The Glory" followed by "Princess Of The Night" and "Dallas 1 P.M." with the recording of the speakers at the time of the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, there have been Tours in which they did not have recording effects, although that was at the lowest moments of his career, nothing that had much influence on his live shows, but it is cooler let them take them. It is followed by "Just Let Me Rock", the first song from Crusader, the album they promoted at that concert, and they continue with "Never Surrender", to return with the title track "Crusader", but without the intro "The Crusader Prelude" after she comes "Strong Arm Of The Law" and they return to the album Crusader with the single and most commercial song of the album "Sailing To América" and they already return to their previous album Power And The Glory with "This Town Knows How To Rock" in which Biff plays with the audience, and then Nigel Glockler continues playing with the audience by making him participate in his drum solo, they continue with "The Eagle Has Landed" and "747 (Strangers In The Night)" with the recording effect of the plane and the audience chanting the chorus at will. And the surprise of the album comes for me with "A Little Bit Of What You Fancy" that Biff Byford extends playfully playing with the audience, it ends on the album with a strange and poorly done splice (the only one on this double LP) with " And The Bands Played On" with which you can see that Saxon leaves the stage and the people call them, singing a curious Oooooooooeeeeeeee oooooooooeeeeeeeeee oooooooooeeeeeeee until they return to the stage in what is Episode IV or Side D of the album that begins with a guitar solo by Graham Oliver that alternates homegrown solos with riffs from Deep Purple's "Smoke On The Wáter", the " Paranoid" by Black Sabbath, "Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison, Purple Haze by Jimmy Hendrix (indisputable idol of Graham Oliver) and after it a guitar solo that ends with "Riff Raff" by AC/DC, they continue with " Wheels Of Steel" and "Denim And Leather" where Biff and the audience play and sing again, to end with "Heavy Metal Thunder" making a Medley interspersing part of "Stand Up And Becaunted" and "Warrior" ending again with Heavy Metal Thunder. This version of Heavy Metal Thunder with this Medley plus a piece of "Taking Your Chances" would be included on the B side of the Maxisingle of "Rock And Gypsies" of what would be their next album "Innocence Is No Excuse" (1985), for me one of the most precious and complete of the Saxon era after the closing of their previous stage with the live The Eagle Has Landed in 1982 and the "Americanization" of their sound. But that's another story.... In recent years some old bottlegs "Never Surrender", "Donington Park 1980" or the very interesting "Stand Up And Rock" have been released on vinyl with demos and unreleased ones never released on vinyl, we will see what else the bottleg world brings us in the universe Saxon, who have hit it again with their latest studio album "Hell, Fire And Damnation" (2024). NEVER SURRENDER!!!!!
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