Saxon
The Eagle Has Landed - Live

THE REVIEW

Those who listen to heavy metal or hard rock are often people who actually deviate significantly from the commonly accepted archetype, that is, the long-haired, boisterous, troublemaking hooligan to be kept at a distance as much as possible. Epithets like "junkie" or "alcoholic" are normally associated with those who play and listen to rock/metal, and it seems that this way of thinking from "ordinary" people is naturally linked to all untamed music that is meticulously ignored by MTV.

Those who listen to heavy metal or hard rock with a minimal understanding don't stop at the flashy tunes produced by bands like Guns'n'Roses or Bon Jovi (to name the first that come to mind) and, without taking anything away from the aforementioned bands, defy the boundaries set by major label marketing. Because they are fundamentally curious people. And they try to listen to and appreciate something different, something that perhaps doesn't base its success (or lack thereof) on extraordinary video quality or on global product distribution. I say "product" and not "work" because much of today's music resembles more a wholesale supermarket than a craftsman's workshop; and it's comforting to know that, in this rather melancholic panorama, despite everything, there are still those who play just for the love of it. Sure, making a living is making a living, and that's undeniable, just as certain as the fact that there are seven notes and that's that. But those who appreciate a certain type of music have an intuitive understanding when they're in front of mercenaries or people convinced of what they do. Also because often the rocker, even if adorned and flashy as needed, has a respectable musical background that spans from the sixties to today, taking in a bit of blues, psychedelia and, why not, jazz, country, singer-songwriter music, and so on. In short, in my opinion, the true rocker cannot disregard respect for other musical genres: they can calmly say "I don't like it" but never "it sucks." Because Music played with heart always has the same value. Factors may change, but the product does not. All this rambling just to introduce an extremely important album for those who have been rockers, are rockers, or want to become rockers. Or for those who simply want to understand what that small great musical revolution commonly referred to as the "New Wave Of British Heavy Metal" meant, which invaded the world in the early '80s.

"The Eagle Has Landed," first live album by Saxon, dated 1982, is one of the first metal records I listened to, and it's only natural that I remember it with a certain involvement. Who knows, it might have just been the raging hormones, a product of flourishing adolescence, or it could be that this first live album of the English group indeed represents one of the most thrilling records in the band's history (and not only)? I'd lean towards the latter, without underestimating, however, the powerful impact of puberty...

The Saxon are among the most respected heavy metal bands on the planet, with a few lows and many highs. Partly because of the strong personality and stage presence of the gigantic singer "Biff" Byford, partly due to the tenacious philosophy that has accompanied them since their inception (a philosophy that can be summed up by the title of one of their more recent songs: "I've Got To Rock (To Stay Alive)"), and greatly because of the overall quality of their music. Formed back in 1976, they have made very few mistakes in their career (musically speaking), and an excellent way to get closer to this historic group is to purchase this great live album, which only flaw is that it doesn't last long enough. Although it is not the recording of a single concert, but a mix of several songs from that year's European tour, "The Eagle Has Landed" loses nothing in terms of engagement and participation.

The opener "Motorcycle Man" is introduced (who would have thought?) by a roar of motorcycles apparently racing at breakneck speed that, amidst a cheering crowd, soon gives way to the historic opening riff. "Motorcycle man" is Saxon: incredibly engaging and exhilarating to the point that even today, after listening to it one or two million times, I can barely restrain myself from making a fool of myself in front of my little son. Then follow the band's great hits, still performed in today's concerts without faltering: "747 (Strangers in the Night), "Princess of the Night, "Strong Arm of the Law, "Heavy Metal Thunder and the swift "20,000 FT

"Wheels Of Steel", among the best-known pieces (rightly) in the group's history, transforms in this live into a real bomb of pure rock. It proceeds on the usual track for the first few minutes until reaching the interlude where Biff, against a background of bass and drums, incites the audience to sing with him "She's got wheels... wheels of steel!". An endless series of minutes that one wishes would never end. It is undoubtedly the most intense and fulfilling moment of the whole album and probably one of the highest points in Saxon's entire career, which achieved in those years success and notoriety that seemed indestructible but gradually waned over time. Only in recent years is the group deservedly being reassessed, partly thanks to their consistently good records (I mention the latest work from 2007, "The Inner Sanctum": if only there were more albums like this ...), partly thanks to their being "real" on every stage, just as engaging in front of two hundred people as in front of the enormous crowds at the latest W.O.A. Let's face it, all the great bands of the past (and not only) have gone through difficult times, miscalculating musical or commercial choices, throwing records to the market far different from their usual style, or simply yielding to the glimmers of incompetent record producers. Some of them have disappeared without a trace. Others, supported not only by the bread we mentioned above, have continued on their path with determination, stubbornly refusing to retreat an inch from their initial choices. Saxon is also this.