Pretty Maids
It Comes Alive (Maid in Switzerland)
Frontiers Records
2012
Pretty Maids are in the music business for more than 30 years, and this is their first official live video. I don’t think this fact is something irrelevant with this band. These guys share the same musical qualities and attitude with the greatest bands of the 80s era, which means they know what the purpose of a live concert is. It is not just a show; it is an experience that you live, not just watch. So, I think that their standards were very high (as always) and they waited the right moment to do it. Finally, they did it, in such a successful way that after watching it you feel it couldn’t have been better done! This is Pretty Maids’ style, all things work harmonically, starting from the band’s performance, the audience, the venue and of course all the people that get involved in that project. I think all of them had the same enthusiasm and passion as Ronnie Atkins (vocals) and Ken Hammer (guitars) always had during their entire career. Just watch these two guys along with the other three musicians of the group, Allan Tchicaja (killer drums!), Morten Sandager (keyboards) and Rene Shades (Bass Guitar) to see it with your own eyes! This is one of the most talented and balanced bands I ever seen. I wish I could have been there…
This DVD contains twenty one songs and ends up with a Rocumentary with backstage footage and interviews with the band and fans. The setlist covers their entire career up to their last amazing album, “Pandemonium” (2010), including legendary songs like “Queen of Dreams”, “Back to Back”, “Red Hot And Heavy”, “Future World”, “Yellow Rain”, “Rodeo” and “Love Games” from the 80’s records “Red Hot and Heavy” (1984) and “Future World” (1987). The DVD is accompanied with two audio CDs whose content is identical to the audio part of the video - for all those who would like to have an audio experience rather than a visual one - plus one bonus track (in the case of the European release the bonus song is “Lethal Heroes”).
The only cover song performed here is - as expected - “Please Don’t Leave Me”, written by Phil Lynott and John Sykes, which I always enjoy listening to by this band. But I think that some people, somehow connected them with that song and mistakenly assumed that they could not write good stuff on their own. This is one of the major misunderstandings in the history of hard rock. The truth is just the opposite. Many of their ballads (“Clay”, “Another Shot of your Love”, “Little Drops of Heaven” for example) touched the emotional strength of this very beautiful and beloved song. This is a great achievement and proof of their amazing talent in songwriting. But Pretty Maids also have their heavy songs which are equally inspired and differentiate them from many other overestimated and commercial bands of the genre. This concert very beautifully reveals this particular uniqueness of Pretty Maids’ music.
The norm of our age is being “politically correct”, including rock concerts. But rock ‘n’ roll means doing things without a safety net, a Beautiful Madness in Atkins’ own words… That’s exactly the spirit of this band and I am very glad that they finally succeeded in imprinting it into this live video. So, I think that all the Pretty Maids fans will adore this release. Those that haven’t heard of them before, will surely feel like discovering a hidden treasure. Ronnie Atkins and Ken Hammer - apart from being exceptional musicians - are one of the best songwriting teams in the hard rock/metal history and their songs will always have a place in our hearts.