Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Live albums are defined by their nature to aim arrows of desire straight at the heart of the discerning and fanciful listener, they are created not only to showcase the brilliance of the artist in the setting of their choice, but to install the craving to witness the machine and the soul working in harmony for themselves; it is a symbol of union that has been proactively astute for decades and does wonders for the morale of both the musician and for the loving inquisitive public.
If that is true, the being urged to pick up the Diamonds On The Road and carrying them in your soul is one that should not denied, but it must be urged with caution that as the Finnish marvel Erja Lyytinen watches from the side, she will not stop you from being overcome with emotion as the music, those weighty expensive crafted and polished songs, from reflecting the light in which they sparkle and illuminate like the stars in the sky as you travel the path to enlightenment.
Ms. Lyytinen understands that there is no fail-safe device when it comes to capturing the live event, that you receive as a performer one opportunity to impress as the stage closes around you, as the room shrinks, and you focus on a thousand pair of eyes and the instrument in your hand becomes your guide and salvation on the road night after night. It is an understanding that makes Diamonds On The Road -Live 2023 one of the finest live albums the listener is likely to ever to be on the presence of.
Every road, every journey, has the opportunity to be driven by a storm, but rather than be cowed by it, rather than hunker down in a shelter, as the storm and lighting, as the downpour of raw electrical power comes crashing down on your mind, you should revel in the authority of natural muscle and perfect aggression that comes from every beat.
As tracks such as Rocking Chair, Waiting For The Daylight, Never Really Had You, Lover’s Novels, the outstanding finale of The End Of Music, and the gripping, pulsating dynamic of the opening and title track Diamonds On The Road, epically shake the foundations of the listener’s imagination, the phenomenon becomes relentlessly cool, anger and harmony delivered in full blow of live and unadulterated music.
With Petri Rahikkala, Tatu Black, and Iiro Laitinen accompanying the Finnish lightning bearer on stage, the mood is set for the storm to rage and the pleasure to be felt as the electricity from a recorded live set magically provides a truth – that music in the live is more than just an experience, it is salvation.
Erja Lyytinen releases Diamonds On The Road -Live 2023 on October 6th.
Ian D. Hall