Жизнь во славу...

Alright, I’ll begin with once again stating I’m probably a tad biased against live albums as a whole, however let’s admit coming from a band as insane and unpredictable as Arkona (Rus), this very one appears by contrast fairly standard, thus slightly disappointing.

As expected, the setlist focuses heavily on the then last album to date, Vo Slavu Velikim, which isn’t a bad thing given it’s probably the act’s best effort yet. Otherwise three songs are taken from the debut: the unavoidable Maslenitsa, the majestic epic Rus’ as well as, oddly, a deep album track which already sounded lacklustre in its original version (Po Zverinym Tropam) and now all the more does when thrown amongst more recent material. Two songs from the sophomore album Lepta, including the sing-along folk closer Oi To Ne Vecher, complete the program.

All these songs, however, sound pretty close to their original versions. That’s the main reason why I deemed this release disappointing as, while apart from the already mentioned exception they’re all very good, I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t expect a live album to be more than a mere compilation. Granted, you’ll get the obviously drunken crowd (just look at the pictures... we’re in Russia, by the way) cheering between the tracks – Maaaa-SHA! Maaaa-SHA! Maaaa-SHA! – as well as a bit of singing from this same crowd on Oi To Ne Vecher or above all Rus’, but the band’s performance in itself most of time appears like a faithful copy from the original recordings. To take it to an extreme I’m sure on a few songs random crowd noise could have been digitally added to the album versions for pretty much the same result. Slightly frustrating, even if this at least proves the guys are able to properly play their own songs... And can you please tell me why, on what is supposed to be the recording from a single show, you get ten seconds of silence at the end of track 4?

The production, as you must have guessed, is exceptionally clear, what again subtracts a bit more from the live experience. Also I wonder whether additional instruments like the accordion on Skvoz’ Tuman Vekov, the glockenspiel on Rus’ or the keyboards on a few other tracks were truly played live, as they sound suspiciously high in the mix. The booklet doesn’t give any clue, and as three fourths of the pictures are centered on Masha Arhipova anyway they won’t be of much help to this respect. Such considerations might not be of much concern to some of the listeners, but this nonetheless further concurs to a too polished, a bit too artificial album.

Apart from this Miss Masha seems to be fully at ease when interacting with the audience, though I’m ready to guess the exact meaning of said interactions will remain a mystery to most listeners. It may be noted on the other hand her singing isn’t as brilliant as on the albums – so, after all, this is indeed a real live recording – as, while her very demanding clean voice remains top-notch all throughout the show, her harsh voice seems to be running out of steam towards the end; it’s especially obvious on Vosstanie Roda. Well, this at least shows our little lady is human, and shouting for nearly one hour with a stuffed fox around the neck without suffocating isn’t given to anyone.

It should also be mentioned this release undoubtedly gains interest with the addition on some (all?) versions of the three songs from the Rus’ demo, but those might be discussed in another review. Ignoring this Jizn’ Vo Slavu is probably a dispensable recording for those who already own Arkona’s three first full-lengths (especially Vo Slavu Velikim), though there’s little to say against the performance itself, but more about its too high similarity to said full-lengths. And Masha is definitely a cute girl but if you plan having sex with her, better wear good earplugs.