Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

After a nearly 7 yr. hiatus, Lillian Axe has released "Live 2002," celebrating both the band coming together once again and the 20th anniversary of the New Orleans hard rock heroes. This 2 CD set was recorded at Houston's "19th Hole" in May of this year. Founding members Steve Blaze (guitar) and Ron Taylor (vocals) are joined  by Darrin DeLatte (bass) Sam Poitevent (guiatar) and Ken Koudelka (drums), who also produced the album, have managed to put together a terrific live album that goes on the short list!

You know, the short list of live albums that have quality sound, no harangues for the crowd to join in (Ozzy, pay attention to this!) and a minimum of crowd noise other than the chant "Lillian Axe!" before the first song and at the end of the set.

Although the 21 songs presented on the set have all been released on the band's previous albums ("Lillian Axe," "Love + War," "Poetic Justice," "Psychoschizophrenia" and "Fields Of Yesterday), they manage to sound fresh and interesting. Taylor's voice is far from sounding like he's been doing this for over 20 yrs. and there are some really great harmonies. The instrumentals are impeccable and the dual guitars make some amazing music. The bass and percussion lines are just as impressive.

The first disc consists of songs from all 4 albums, but the radio and MTV hit songs are mostly on disc two. Some of the more recognizable tracks include "Misery Loves Company," "Pullin' The Rats Out," "Dream Of A Lifetime," "True Believer," "No Matter What" and "Sign Of The Times." This is one "live" album I definitely recommend for lovers of all things rock, hard rock and metal.