ACOUSTICALLY DRIVEN (DVD)

Ok, I have to admit I approached this DVD with a not too opened mind, or even much good will. I don't really like these 'unplugged' formats. Every band in the world seems to be doing that kind of thing these days, mostly for money. And when I saw the long list of guest muscians (specially the 3 female backing singers, another plus everybody seems to be using to beef up their live vocal performances) my prejudice soured even more.

Of course all that was gone by the time I finished watching this DVD. Although I still think that I'd rather hear those guys doing their own backing vocals like they do so well and I think some of the black and white rehearsal footage coming in the way of the songs too much was a bit annoying, everything else is perfect. The set list is one of the most impeccable I've ever seen, the arrangements are wonderfully balanced (while respecting the originals they actually added something more to every song) and the perfomances are flawless.

To me , Bernie Shaw is the star of the show: the man is really Uriah Heep's best singer since the late David Byron. He has a tremendous stage persona besides his fine voice, plus sometimes he really seems to be possessed by the spirit of Byron himself, so amazing are his interpretations of some classics of that time. I also admired a lot of Trevor Bolder bass playing, he could emulate all the marvelous Gary Thain's runs note by note. But credit must be given to all band members, they were realy terrific that night!

Everything works here (yes, even the female backing vocalists I dreaded so much!) and I loved to see the band playing tunes like Echoes In The Dark, The Easy Road, Circus and Blind Eye. Wonderworld (excellent arrangement!) and The Shadow And The Wind were another great choices. Even the newer stuff are shining here and they sit well with the classics, believe or not.

Conclusion: one of the best, - if not the best - acoustic DVD done by a major band. A must have for any UH fan and an excellent addittion to any prog fan colletion. 4,5 stars at least. Highly recommended!