I was susprised to see this album was reissued in 2007. When I got it back in 1998, the record label was immediately served with a "cease and desist" because Priest had just released their own official '98 Live Meltdown album, and this one isn't authorized by the band. The album was swiftly deleted and disappeared from store shelves, and most fans didn't know it had come and gone. (Also, at the exact same time, Sony issued another largely live album called Priest Live And Rare, further muddifying the situation.)
As an unofficial part of the Priest discography, In Concert is worth picking up. At the time I bought it, I considered it something to play and put away but now that it's been reissued, I question the dollar value value to collectors. Still, you can't argue with the tunes inside. Recorded live in Denver (you can tell this when Halford yells, "What you sayin', Denver!" right before the guitar solo in Green Manalishi), this is a bit of a lost gem. It's nice to have this alongside Unleashed, as new songs from British Steel are now incorporated and other songs dropped.
It sounds like this CD might have been recorded for a radio broadcast. The sound quality is OK, it's not up to the standards of Unleashed. The band is also not quite as it was a year before, due to the replacement of Les Binks by Dave Holland. Holland is a very blocky, robotic drummer. Play Green Manalishi for an idea of how the two drummers differ, and Priest is that much weaker for it.
Having said that, the rest of the band are playing great, and Halford's voice is fine. Doesn't sound like there are any overdubs or other assorted mess-arounds going on here. Which is the way I like it.
4 stars. Somewhat collectible since Priest would probably like this album to be burned. Good tunes, historic era of Priest history documented on CD for the metal historian.
