LIVE & LIFE

A very pleasant live double album by Arena capturing them at their peak since by then they have already recorded all major repertoire. Vocals are as strong as on the studio recordings, the sound is very decent. Live versions are close to the original ones, quite genuine. The first CD features shorter and more melodic tracks. "Riding the tide" is a nice instrumental and sounds so powerful in that live version; it reminds of mid 70's Genesis. The first CD is ended by an anthemic and hauting "Ascension" which is also one of the most emotional Arena tracks. The second CD continues the winning streak. Pity that the entire 20-minute epic from Immortal (Moviedrome) didn't get to the CD but we have other representative tracks such as "Chosen" and "Butterfly man". "Solomon" and "Jericho" are played together to please fans of the first album. A higly recommended album for fans of any live neo-prog.