On March 23, Thunder will release a brand new live set ‘Stage’ through earMUSIC.
‘Stage’ features hits from right across the band’s career and includes fan-favourite classics like ‘Backstreet Symphony’, ‘Low Life In High Places’ and ‘Love Walked In’ and brings things right up to date with tracks from the 2017 Top 3 UK Chart Album ‘Rip It Up’, like the storming title track and ‘She Likes The Cocaine’.
Thunder are of course a noted and globally in-demand live act. ‘Stage’ was captured at Cardiff Motorpoint Arena on March 24th, 2017 during the UK Tour; the band also played Europe, North America & Asia, across Germany with Alice Cooper, at Planet Rock’s ‘Rockstock’ and are preparing to fly to Japan for some January 2018 dates. This is a band that knows how to rock a crowd!
The mammoth release will comprise of a number of formats including Blu-Ray, DVD, Live CD, Vinyl and more.
First up for review is the concert footage DVD “The Stage”. The show is filmed using the usual collection of wide and close-up shots and runs the whole show from start to finish, no bells or whistles just good old fashioned rock and roll. To be clear Thunder do not rely on fancy stage gimmicks, we get no pyrotechnics, no Co2 Cannons, no spectacular lighting etc, but that is what makes it so good. The music does the talking and its loud an clear. In a well thought out set the band take us on a ride through their catalogue, showcasing the songs and the musical performance. The band clearly have an affinity with the Cardiff crowd in fact frontman Danny Bowes says of the recording “The ‘Rip It Up’ album was so well received, it was no surprise the tour was brilliant too. We decided to include a Cardiff Motorpoint Arena show on the tour, purely because it was so good when we played there with Journey & Whitesnake in 2013. Capturing it as well turned out to be one of our better decisions, because the resulting film and album are a shining example of an organic ‘coming together’ of fans and a band. We’ve released a few live recordings over the years, but this is most definitely up there with the best of them. We’re extremely pleased with it.”
However of more interest are the 3 films documenting one night in London in 2016 in aid of Childline and the NSPCC. Combined together the three films “Thunder in London” (Documentary), 29 Minutes Later (Live at Gibson Guitars) and “Live at the 100 Club” (Live at the 100 Club, London). They tell the story of a 2 show, one night only performance by the band and we really get to see them at their raw best. The documentary tells the story of the day, from setup and soundcheck through to the actual performances at Gibson and the 100 Club and when watched together you get a real feel of how the band put together the shows and the challenges that they come across.
This is a highly recommended set of films for any Thunder fan and its various formats give you a chance to own some real Thunder magic. The band never fail to deliver in terms of their musical prowess and this is a testament to the band’s longevity, they have a huge loyal fanbase and this release truly is for the fans.
