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The Poodles: No Quarter (Live)

AOR/Melodic Hard Rock

3.75/5.0

Frontiers Records
www.thepoodles.se
www.myspace.com/thepoodles
By Craig Hartranft,  11.07.2010

Having the balls to call your band 'The Poodles' and then belt out catchy melodic hard rock and metal tunes takes, well, some rather large balls. Certainly, there's little tongue-in-cheek satire missing here. Nevertheless, in terms of pure European melodic hard rock ala the best 80's Sunset Strip flamboyant glam, you will not do better than Sweden's The Poodles. After three studio albums, The Poodles give us their first live album, No Quarter, from their 2009 tour.

Some of my favorite Poodles songs are here including: Metal Will Stand Tall, Night of Passion, Echoes from the Past, and I Rule the Night. Yet, the set list is a good selection across their short career; of course, it's a bit heavy on their 2008 release, Clash Of The Elements, but that makes obvious sense.

The band is in fine form, and the recording is clear offering a balanced mix from all members. Audience engagement is encouraging, but rather minimal, and they are often speaking in their native language. While not nearing a crass over-dubbed representation, No Quarter could still pass as sanitized live studio recording. It doesn't have the warts, wounds, and mistakes of a true live recording like Thin Lizzy's Live and Dangerous or UFO's Strangers in the Night, the two best live albums ever. But in this modern era, I think most listeners are less forgiving. Nevertheless, The Poodles sound fine on this recording.

The Poodles' No Quarter is probably a poor substitute for seeing them live, but that can be said for any band. Therefore, No Quarter is a better than average representation. Hopefully, the accompanying DVD (which I haven't seen) will shed greater light upon The Poodles stage performance.

Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.

The Poodles' No Quarter is probably a poor substitute for seeing them live, but that can be said for any band. Therefore, No Quarter is a better than average representation.

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By far, Sweden's Eclipse is one of my favorite bands. Always consistent and always entertaining, Eclipse has been delivering their 21st century version of melodic metal rock since songwriter, producer ... [ Read More ]