Pretty Maids - It Comes Alive (CD/DVD)

I can't tell you how long I've been waiting for a live package from Pretty Maids.  They have been a favorite of mine for years.  It seems like forever since they started talking of doing a live DVD, but for some reason it never materialized, but finally in 2012 it came to fruition.  The band is now celebrating their 30th year anniversary with a stellar CD/DVD package called It Comes Alive (Maid in Switzerland).  The band had a plethora of material to pick from, and that is just what they did for this live best of package.  The band did it right by making this an audio/visual package for fans.  This a cool thing for fans that have not been lucky enough to check out the band live. 

It Comes Alive is a monster set from these Danes that encompasses their entire career.  The band sound and look great.  The CD has a nice sound to it which gives you that live feel, but it was the DVD portion of this package that really kicked my ass.  Seeing the band perform classics like Future World, Yellow Rain and Walk Away were just mind blowing.  The DVD is filmed really well, and gives you a sense of being in the front row.  I would love to see this on BluRay. 

The CD is a nice complement to the DVD, but it was the DVD that stole the show for me.  Pretty Maids is a band that like lots of fan participation, which is evident in this package, so the visual portion of this set will help you get into tracks like Savage Heart more, because the the crowd take the chorus for most of this one.  You would never guess that vocalist Ronnie Atkins and guitartist Ken Hammer have been kicking it for 30 years, because they sound as fresh in 2012 as they did when they started in 1981. 

 

Bottom Line:  Longtime coming from the Maids.  A killer set of greatest hits, performed with precision.  Really cool to finally be able to see this band play live.

Standout Tracks: Hell on High Heels, Walk Away, Here Comes the Night, and Clay.

-Ragman is loving this package.