Talisman – ‘Live in Stockholm’ (2015) – Album Review (The Jeff Scott Soto Series)

During the early 2000’s, Marcel Jacob came forward and revealed he was suffering from chronic rheumatism and it would limit his live shows. By 2003, he must have felt up to it because the band played several festivals during that Summer and thankfully for us, a lot of those were recorded. ‘Live in Stockholm’ is the 4th live recording released by the Swedish-American band Talisman. The show was recorded at Club Mondo in Stockholm, Sweden back to August 4th, 2003. You have heard most of this show before as it was previously released as ‘Five Men Live’ back in 2005 which we talked about previously. It was also on the Talisman DVD called ‘The World’s Best Kept Secret.

This reissue was first released only on Digital back on August 17, 2015 and then during 2016, the CD was finally released. What is different about this release is that it was remastered and now include all 18 tracks. A full set and for the very first time the show includes ‘Here 2day Gone 2day’ which was left off the original due to time constraints. The CD set also includes the show on DVD which is also a nice plus if you don’t have ‘The World’s Best Kept Secret’.

The Club Mondo show kicks off with no introduction, just a killer guitar riff…a pause…and the same riff. The band goes straight in to “Break your Chains”. They rock it out and to keep it going they go in to “Color My XTC” which is a massive bass heavy track thanks to Marcel Jacobs. You get a great guitar solo, but that bass is thumping the whole time. It is a massive song. Jeff is in his element and sounds great (although backing vocals are a little weak). And no time for a break, “Fabricated War” comes roaring in and the heavy continues as they totally rock it out. More Marcel high in the mix and you know, he has to be as the Talisman sound is that bass!! And again, no break, no talking to the crowd as the belt out “Mysterious”. It is one banger after another and as a fan, just give me music, no talking necessary.

Then finally Jeff talks to the audience as he lets them no they are recording a new DVD. It is a rowdy crowd for a Monday night. Then with 2 screams we go to a new song from their latest album ‘Cats & Dogs’ with the song “Skin on Skin”. It is a funky number and Jeff plays it up. It turns it in to a melodic chorus and another great rocker. They end the song with band introductions and when they get to Howie, he does a Limp Bizkit riff to “Break Stuff”. After Jamie Borger’s intro on drums, we get a few drum fills and then straight in to “Tears in the Sky” which is a great song and musically they nail it. The end sounds like a little jam session which bleeds straight in to the Seal cover of “Crazy” which the band did on ‘Life’. Jeff’s vocals aren’t as smooth as Seal, but he does a bang up job. In the original release, there was a fade out, which is odd for a live album, but that was due to them removing a song.

Well, that song is removed no more as the band plays it here. It is “Here 2Day, Gone 2Day” which is heavy as you remember. Jeff has the right amount of grit and slays it. Then Jeff is talking with a rowdy crowd wanting “I’ll Be Waiting”, but the band has other plans as they go into “In Make Believe” which is the first time things slow down, well, at least until the song explodes into a rocker with some great drum and bass work. We are now at one of the big treats to the show as we get a cover of Europe’s “Scream of Anger” which Marcel co-wrote with Joey Tempest on the ‘Wings of Tomorrow’ album. Jeff sings it as if he was Tempest which Soto does have a way of mimicking the sound of other singers which is really cool. My favorite track on the album as it was so unexpected!

The band goes in to a little funky groove as they play “If You Can Only Be My Friend” before rocking out again with “Break It Down Again” which turns up the heavy. Jamie’s drumming on this one is great along with a cool bass riff and some fine guitar work by Howie and Fredrik. A killer track and even better live. Then the crowd goes on its own and starts singing “I’ll Be Waiting” before Jeff can even start. It is a wild bunch out there. Jeff does his best Freddie Mercury trying to control the crowd with “ohhhs, ohhhs”, but the crowd wants to hear “I’ll Be Waiting” so the band finally relents and goes in to the song. It seems to be Stockholm’s favorite song as they sing along the whole time. It is crazy. They continue to go nuts after the song is over.

Then we get “NJBBWD” which is a Marcel Jacob bass solo. It is short and sweet, but still totally killer as he was a badass on the bass and is sorely missed. It works perfectly before the heavy ass rocker “Outta My Way” which is one of the coolest songs on ‘Cats & Dogs’. The band nail this one live and might work better this way. Marcel rips a new one with those bass lines and total scorcher and a favorite for me live. Then my favorite Talisman guitarist, Fredrik Akesson, gets his own solo and DAMN he can play. His fingers fly fast and furious over the frets and I wish it was longer because it was way too short for a solo, but I’ll take what I can get.

Then we are on to the two final songs and first up is “Standing on Fire” from the debut Talisman album. Soto still sounds great and the band is playing better and better. With intros again of the band, the final track is a cover of Ozzy’s “I Don’t Know” and another totally unexpected cover. Jeff tries to sing it a little like Ozzy, but not quite as it is too much Soto in that sound. The band rocks it out and goes out with a bang. Still perplexed with an Ozzy cover, but whatever still a rocking track.

The band sounds great live, they’re tight and they sound like they are having fun…well at least Jeff does since he is all we hear from during the show.  It is a great live set that covers every era of the band and then some. Plus that Europe cover of ‘Scream of Anger” is great!! My Overall Score on this release is 5.0 out of 5.0 Stars as they never disappoint live. A band I never had the privilege of seeing live and when I hear this it makes me sad a little that I didn’t. I never really had an opportunity to be fair as they never toured the U.S. or at least never came to my neck of the woods.

THE JEFF SCOTT SOTO SERIES:

1. Panther – ‘Panther’ (1986) – recorded in 1984
2. Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force – ‘Rising Force’ (1984)
3. Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force – ‘Marching Out’ (1985)
4. Kuni – ‘Lookin’ For Action’ (1988)
5. Kryst the Conqueror – ‘Deliver Us From Evil’ (1989) / ‘Soldiers of Light: The Complete Recordings (2019)
6. Eyes – ‘Eyes’ (1990)
7. Eyes – “Nobody Said It Was Easy” (1990) – 7″ Single – Bonus Edition
8. Talisman – ‘Talisman’ (1990)
9. Talisman – “I’ll Be Waiting” (1990) – 7″ Single – Bonus Edition
10. Skrapp Mettle – ‘Sensitive’ (1991)
11. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘Eternal Prisoner’ (1992)
12. Bakteria – ‘Deficate! Suffocate! Mutilate! Masturbate!’ (1992 / 2009)
13. Eyes – ‘Windows of the Soul’ (1993)
14. Talisman – ‘Genesis’ (1993)
15. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘The Ballads’ (1993)
16. Biker Mice From Mars – ‘Biker Mice From Mars (Soundtrack)’ (1993)
17. Takara – ‘Eternal Faith’ (1993)
18. Talisman – ‘5 Out Of 5 (Live in Japan)’ (1994)
19. Talisman – ‘Humanimal’ (1994)
20. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘Between the Walls’ (1994)
21. Gary Schutt – ‘Sentimetal’ (1994)
22. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Love Parade’ (1994)
23. Eyes – ‘November Mass / Full Moon’ (1994)
24. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘Made in Germany (Live)’ (1995)
25. Takara – ‘Taste of Heaven’ (1995)
26. Talisman – ‘Life’ (1995)
27. Jeff Scott Soto, Gary Schutt, Michael Voss, Neal Grusky – ’24th of June: Alive ‘N Kissing’ (1995)
28. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘Black Moon Pyramid’ (1996)
29. Human Clay – ‘Human Clay’ (1996)
30. Talisman – ‘Best of’ (1996)
31. Talisman – ‘Besterious’ (1996)
32. Axel Rudi Pell – ‘Magic’ (1997)
33. Human Clay – ‘U4IA’ (1997)
34. Boogie Knights – ‘Welcome to the Jungle Boogie’ (1997)
35. Takara – ‘Blind in Paradise’ (1998)
36. Talisman – ‘Truth’ (1998)
37. Takara – ‘Eternity: The Best of 93-98’ (1998)
38. ‘Rock Star: Music from the Motion Picture (Soundtrack)’ – Various Artists (2001)
39. Humanimal – ‘Humanimal’ (2002)
40. Humanimal – Find My Way Home: Limited Edition E.P. (2002)
41. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Holding On E.P.’ (2002)
42. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Prism’ (2002)
43. Talisman – ‘Live at Sweden Rock Festival’ (2002)
44. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘JSS Live at the Gods 2002’ (2003)
45. Talisman – ‘Cats & Dogs’ (2003)
46. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Believe in Me E.P.’ (2004
47. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Lost in the Translation’ (2004)
48. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Live at the Queen Convention 2003’ (2004)
49. Soul SirkUS – ‘World Play’ (2004/2005)
50. Talisman – ‘Five Men Live’ (2005)
51. Talisman – ‘World’s Best Kept Secret DVD (2005)
52. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Essential Ballads’ (2006)
53. Journey – ‘Live from Atlanta (Bootleg)’ (2006)
54. Talisman – ‘7’ (2006)
55. Talisman – The Albums Ranked Worst to First
56. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘B-Sides’ (2006)
57. Redlist – ‘Ignorance’ (2007)
58. Jeff Scott Soto – LA Rocks Demo / Vinnie Vincent Demo 1988 (2008)
59. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Beautiful Mess’ (2009)
60. Jeff Scott Soto – “21st Century” / “Gin & Tonic Sky” CD Single (2009) – Bonus Edition
61. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘One Night in Madrid’ (2009)
62. Trans-Siberian Orchestra – ‘Night Castle’ (2009)
63. W.E.T. – ‘W.E.T.’ (2009)
64. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Live at Firefest 2008’ (2010)
65. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Damage Control’ (2012)
66. W.E.T. – ‘Rise Up’ (2013)
67. W.E.T. – ‘One Live in Stockholm’ (2014)
68. Jeff Scott Soto – The Authorized Biography (2014)
69. SOTO – ‘Inside the Vertigo’ (2015)
70. Joel Hoekstra’s 13 – Dying to Live (2015)
71. Talisman – ‘Live in Stockholm’ (2015)
72. SOTO – ‘Divak’ (2016)
73. Sons of Apollo – ‘Psychotic Symphony’ (2017)
74. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Retribution’ (2017)
75. W.E.T. – ‘Earthrage’ (2018)
76. SOTO – ‘Origami’ (2019)
77. Sons of Apollo – ‘Live With the Plovdiv Psychotic Symphony’ (2019)
78. Sons of Apollo – ‘MMXX’ (2020)
79. Talisman – “Never Die (A Song For Marcel)” – 7″ Single (2020)
80. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Live and Loud in Milan 2019’ (2020)
81. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Wide Awake (In My Dreamland)’ (2020)
82. SOTO – ‘Revision’ (2020)
83. Octavision – ‘Coexist’ (2020)
84. W.E.T. – ‘Retransmission’ (2021)
85. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘The Duets Collection, Vol. 1’ (2021)
86. Jeff Scott Soto – ‘Complicated’ (2022)
87. Jeff Scott Soto – The Solo Albums Ranked Worst to First
88. Ellefson-Soto – ‘Vacation in the Underworld’ (2022)
89. Slam – Slam (2023)
90. Art of Anarchy – ‘Let There Be Anarchy’ (2024)
91. D’Luna – ‘Monster’ (2024)
92. W.E.T. – ‘Apex’ (2025)
93. Ellefson-Soto – ‘Unbreakable’ (2025)
94. Jeff Scott Soto – ALL THE ALBUMS Ranked Worst to First
95. Jeff Scott Soto / Jason Bieler – Live In Concert (2022) – Bonus Edition
96. Jeff Scotto Soto / Jason Bieler – Live in Concert (2023) – Bonus Edition