To my great surprise I like the No Mr. Nice Guy - Live at Alexandra Palace the best. If it has been a while, give it a spin and tell me what you think. I also took out the DVD on Sunday for the first time since years.
It seems to me, and this is my opinion only, that it is somehow a piece that is between the current rather hard and even metal sounding Alice and the more classical rocking version earlier. Perhaps it was the tour with Maiden that turned Alice into more metal sound and he hasn't come back since? Obviously both lead guitars have also changed since.
The reasons I like it - plusses if you like:
Alice seems to sing better than recently, although his voice is still in good shape.
Setlist I think is very good! (Yay Clones!)
The band as a whole seems comfortable and perhaps more relaxed? and there is that room in the sound and little bit finesse and taste in the playing that lets the classic rock'n'roll songs breathe.
Steve Hunter is probably a big reason for a little more tasteful guitarwork and sound overall, and obviously always a plus anywhere.
To my surprise I also thought Orianthi played a lot more tasteful than later on - not that I ever complained. It was just surprising to me, since I have listened to more recent material that much more and remember her as much more metal and shreddy.
The only real complaint that I have is that I think that the technical recording could have been clearer.
A bit of a neutral thing is that to me Orianthi's backing vocals don't really mix that well with the rest of the band. She is a fine singer of course, just a matter of my taste and the circumstance.
The ending thoughts: is this really the best (solo) band he ever had, like he always says about the current edition? :D
As always, these are my opinions only, please don't be mad. Thoughts?
