Live at Swedem Rock Festival 2001

To date, I had always believed that Yngwie J. Malmsteen did all he could to surround himself with the best singers. This record has shaken my convictions and I'm beginning to think that maybe Jeff Scott Soto's the one who actually goes after the best guitarists around...

In this case, in addition to the eternal Soto/Jacob tandem on vocals and bass (excellent, as usual), we have Pontus Norgren, who plays guitar in Humanimal (also with the other two Talisman members stated above) and Thin Lizzy and by the way, is a real six-string demon; if you don't believe me, listen carefully to the record, and especially to the last song. Not only is it really funny, but it also inflicts a serious wound on a certain genius Swede whose name I don't wish to remember (the answer: a few lines above...).

As regards the concert, I have to admit that I wouldn't have minded being there at all. Old man Soto is in a great shape (could it be because of how drunk he admits to be? I'm sure it has something to do with it), and the band has a great mutual understanding.

The track selection covers his most famous songs, in addition to something from the aforementioned Humanimal project and a couple of really good covers.

A whole lot of quality for a live show, with a line-up of musicians who instead of posing as stars, work on their playing... something which is not that frequent nowadays.