House Of Shakira - Review for album Live+

Strutter'zine wrote:
'Live+' is the new CD of Swedish melodic rockers HOUSE OF SHAKIRA. It's not really a new CD, because as the title predicts, this is a live CD. 'Live+' contains 13 songs recorded on a warm summer night in June 2001. The sound and production is from a very high level, and of course, the musicians are playing their instruments very well, and above all, lead singer Andreas Eklund is doing an excellent job. The strong melodic hardrock of HOUSE OF SHAKIRA really sounds great live. Highlights are "In your head", "Nearly orgasmic", "Miracle" and "Method of madness", while also the JOURNEY covers "Stone in love" and "Separate ways" do sound perfect and come dangerously close to the originals.
Points: 8.5 out of 10

Andrew atwww.melodicrock.com wrote:
Shame on me for not reviewing this earlier! House Of Shakira are good friend to this site and have never failed to deliver with their studio albums. These young lads are one of the brightest talents on the AOR scene, with a knack of writing infectious melodies, while also trying new tricks within a tried and true format. They have a great sound and a great following. Live + is a nice thank you from the band - available only through their website, but not the budget release you might expect. That is of course, depending on your view of things. Personally I love live albums to be as raw as dogs balls, with mistakes and out of tune solo's left in tact, as performed on any given night. I don't detect any out of tune solo's here, but it sure is raw and 100% live. This audio is a nice capture of the guys live, devoid of overdubs and therefore full of energy. Pontus Norgren is the live engineer, so it should be no surprise why it sounds so good. The songs are great, although considerably less polished than the studio versions. The band run through 10 of their favourite songs, from the heavy Wings, to the very heavy Black And Blue Skies, to the totally commercial In Your Head, to the wonderfully over the top melodic rock anthem Method Of Madness. Just for good measure the band have thrown in their very competent cover versions of the Journey classics Stone In Love and Separate Ways. A second bonus is a new acoustic cover of the song Seven Bridges Road. BOTTOM LINE: Sure enough this is mainly a fans only release, but the atmosphere is so good that any others that might catch an earful could be converted to the charms of these Swedish AOR Gods. Bring on the new studio album already!! For those that love their live albums raw and 100% in your face!
Rating 82%

AOR-Europe wrote: (http://www.aor-europe.com/)
HOUSE OF SHAKIRA : "Live+"
House Of Shakira Music 2001 Review by Kimmo Lauttalammi 5 November 2001
"Be prepared, this is a raw, almost no overdubs, live recording" writes guitarist/keyboardist Anders Lundström in the accompanying letter. Very live it does sound, but as for it being "raw", well...I guess "cooked" means "Hysteria"-like slickness for these guys! House Of Shakira are not known for writing simple three chord songs, yet they deliver their brand of sometimes complex hard rock with total ease. This band sounds like a well-oiled machine! The song selection seems to concentrate on the first and the third album, and while it features some of my favourite Shakira tracks, I wouldn't have minded hearing a couple of the better tracks off "On The Verge" too. Maybe on the expense of one or two of those heavier tracks from "III"... There are also three bonustracks here, older live recordings. Two of them are Journey-covers, "Stone In Love" and "Separate Ways", both very faithful to the originals and both very good. "Seven Bridges Road" is total departure from the rest of the album, an acoustic romp that proves that the guys can change their style in a heartbeat, if nothing else. All in all, a highly professional sounding live album, that could've been a little bit longer and naturally I would have liked to have ALL my favourites included, but then again, who wouldn't?
Rating: 7/10

Kurt Torster of STRIKTLY FOR KONNISSUER (SFK) wrote:
House Of Shakira - Live+
- For my money, this lot are probably the most original rockers in the genre. I must admit, they do sound pretty good live, but this disc is a touch raw for my tastes. Great songs, great performance.the production could have used a boost. Bonus tracks include awesome covers of "Stone In Love", "Separate Ways" and "Seven Bridges Road".

Torch of Rock And A Hard Place wrote:
Diversification... simply stated, is what Melodic Rock will have to do to gain ground in the mainstream. It's not about the prettiest hair or the sappy ballad anymore, it's about longevity and moving the genre forward. These two bands have done exactly that with their latest releases. House Of Shakira, in my book is the best AOR band out there. They've added to the genre like nobody else with their diverse influences. House Of Shakira "Live" Make no bones about it, I love this band, ever since I heard their debut "Lint" I felt they were the reincarnation of Journey. Don't think they are rip-off of the living legends, "House" has their own distinct sound and production that don't have that "arena" sound of Journey, but certainly have some of the most powerful harmonizing I've ever heard. Hearing this raw, from the board Live recording more than solidified my belief these guys are truly brilliant. I actually had a note from guitarist Anders Lundstrom "warning" me that it contained to overdubs or editing. Needless to say I was completely blown away by everything I heard! I've got to give credit to Pontus Norgren who was the Live sound engineer for helping create an amazing mix. The band itself was superior live, they were tight and on the money. Lead Vocalist Anders Ecklund proved he is one of the best as he hit EVERY note with a power that few can achieve. They also showed me that they are much heavier than their studio albums let on. Guitarist Lundstrom and Mats Hallstensson were an incredible duo that showed their true nature may very well lie in Power Metal! I can't leave out the rhythm section of Per Schelander on bass and Tony Andersson on drums. They supplied the backbone for the tracks and a solidified the bands overall live presence. They did 9 cuts from their 3 studio albums, although there were none from their middle album "On The Verge" (guys, "Best Of Times"?? come on!). They did "Alien", "Wings", "In Your Head", "Black And Blue Skies" and "Miracle" from their latest "III". From "Lint" they did "Morning Over Morroco", "Elephant Gun", and ended the show with "Method Of Madness". Obviously not enough for a diehard fan, but a nice mix nonetheless. As bonus cuts you get stellar versions of Journey's "Stone In Love" and "Separate Ways" and a killer version of the Eagles "Seven Bridges Road". For Melodic Rock to ever resurface to the mainstream here in the States, you NEED to sound this good live. Consider this the model for which bands of this style need to live up to.