5 comments about VH-1 Storytellers.

1. It's hard to fault this pleasing album. Billy Idol is right on the money and belts out a set for posterity. The songlist speaks for itself...not much else to say!



2. This is easily the best Billy Idol CD to date.
   
   Not only is it chock full of Billy's earliest and greatest hits but is so full of raw rock and roll energy, it is one of my overall favorite CDs I own. (And yes, I own hundreds of music CDs!)
   
   This CD leaves you feeling satisfied and throughly rocked out. Idol's newest rendition of LA Woman makes the Door's version very weak and dull by comparison. Ever since Billy debut'ed this newest song version - he owned it!
   
   Every single song on this CD is fantastic. His best ever.



3. Billy Idol is without a doubt one of the finest artists of our time, and also is very underrated. But this 2001 performance at the legendary House Of Blues for the VH1 show "Storytellers" is a great way to bring Idol back into the spotlight.
   
   This album is unlike nay other album Idol has done, live or studio. It's a mostly acoustic perfromance, which gives the songs performed new lives. For instance, when listening to "Cradle Of Love", the opening track and Billy's best song, one does not hear the hard rocking 1990 hit. Instead one hears a jaunty barroom rocker complete with some excellent piano flourishes. Similarly, electric guitar driven numbers like "White Wedding" and "To Be A Lover" are done brilliantly acousticly. And who but the great Steve Stevens can help revive these classics with his siganture guitar talents? The only track that I thought could have been better is "Rebel Yell". To hear a really good acoustic version of this classic, pick up "Billy Idol - Greatest Hits". That has an awesome version of that song and it's done acousticly.
   
   Towards the end of the show, Billy plugs in, kicking off with a blistering "Dancing With Myself", a nod to his Gen X days. That 1970s' puk band is also represented finely on "Ready, Steady, Go", another underrated gem. "Blue Highway" is a rocker from "Rebel Yell" that is great for a long carride. "Mony Mony" has a foul mouthed Billy really getting inot the song with Idol flair. Clsoing out the album is an explosive "L.A. Woman", which I prefer to The Doors' original.
   
   This is definitely a must own for all Idol fans. Heck, most people wo like anything music will love this. Just go out and get it.



4. Billy Idol is truly an enigmatic rock star. He was, arguably, the driving force behind Generation X, a late 70's punk band. He saw the wave coming (new wave) and got on it in the U.S. with his MTV good looks and bad boy style and dynamite delivery. Idol knew how to make good music, but he was an even better at marketing himself. He made sure he surrounded himself with excellent people (Steve Stevens). He kept up his style and his image and it served him well. Unfortunately, as the 90's came about, Billy seems to have begun to believe his own press and he started spiraling down a drug addicted path that saw him become creatively deprived and his career dried up.
   With this Storytellers album, Billy and Steve prove that what they had previously crafted wasn't just about fluff and image. It was real music with real emotion behind it.
   They're the same songs we knew and loved (and still do), but they're much more acoustic here (for VH1 Storytellers show). Rebel Yell is not the stadium song it usually is. Eyes without a Face is even more achingly painful. Catch My Fall is emotional with a bit of a rockabilly twist to it. You get the picture.
   Left to deliver his music without his stage antics (and hopefully sober - come on Billy we're nuts about you - get off the drugs), Billy proves that he was and is a real talent.



5. This culls songs from Billy Idol's Storytellers show on VH1, but it's JUST songs (if you're looking for all the between-songs-stuff, you need to get the DVD instead). Still, it's great to hear Idol dust the cobwebs off of his old hits, ranging from "Dancing With Myself" to "Cradle of Love". There's not too much to recommend this to anyone who already owns his Greatest Hits or isn't an Idol fan, but you do get to hear him swear when he messes part of a song up, and that's kind of funny.

5 comments about March 16-20, 1992.

1. country/rock/folk, whatever. this is such a fantastic recording. not a dud song in the lot. great singing, great songs. i call this an american classic.



2. No doubt this is the coming together of two brilliant musicians at a moment in time which has produced the most brilliant album which has clearly started a movement. Every song is brilliant. Sensational buy this before any other alt country album its the best



3. This is a fine roots album if ever there was one. Before Wilco, before Son Volt, there was Uncle Tupelo. And of all the Uncle Tupelo discs, this, in my mind, stands supreme. The songs alternate vocals between Jeff Tweedy and Jar Farrar. Farrar, in his preacher's baritone, tends to sing more politically oriented songs, songs of the early twentieth century, socialist songs focusing on coal miners unionizing or the ills of capitalism on the small man. Farrar's version of Moonshiner is like a priceless relic suspended in amber. Tweedy (his voice sounds younger and more contemporary than Farrar) also tackles some good old Americana in "I wish my Baby was Born" and "Satan, Your Kingdom must Come Down." Overall Tweedy leans more toward the personal and emotional while Farrar seems more comfortable with traditional ballads. Most of the songs are traditional tunes - folk songs, blues songs, spirituals. The guitar work is strong, with both men playing acoustic to fill out the sound. On some songs there are mandolin and violin - but it's really an acoustic guitar driven record. The band does a superb job of capturing the timelessness of the older music, and does well to blend their tunes with such a venerable canon. This is folk music as it was meant to be - raw, intense, masculine, topical. There is nothing cheesy on this record - and "Atomic Power" is probably the standout cut on the disc. Buy this music - you won't be disappointed - I guarantee!



4. If you are looking for one of the best Alt Country / Americana (whatever those are) CDs ever created this is it. Look no further. These guys were the masters of it. With so much crap on the radio, its nice to look back in time and find some real gems if you are willing to branch out and spend some $$. This album will lead you to buy CDs from Son Volt, Wilco, and Jay solo. A must for the critical music lover.



5. The other three Uncle Tupelo albums each have some good songs, but don't really hold together that well as records. "March" does, beautifully. Recording at a crossroads in music history when underground bands were getting mainstream radio airplay, Uncle Tupelo's popularity might have exploded if they had stayed where they were for "Still Feel Gone." This is one case, however, where you'd rather not think about the might-have-beens, as this album, all acoustic and roughly half traditional folk covers, is one of the rare albums that nearly defines "rocking." Tweedy is at his finest with the simple, sadly meditative "Black Eye," and Farrar contributes "Criminals," a song with a social conscience that manages to not seem dated. The folk songs are all beautiful, and the instrumental "Sandusky" is flawlessly executed. Though recorded in the short span of time noted in the album title with only acoustic instruments, this album manages at once to be timeless and to be eminently of its own time.

5 comments about Live at L'Olympia.

1. It may be coincidental that my favourite Jeff Buckley songs were written by others...'Lilac Wine' and 'Hallelujah'. But in the usual banter we have when comparing him to his father, it's Tim trumping the prodigal with his lyric skills, which is by no means an attempt to diminish Jeff's gifts. 'Grace' is unquestionably a more listenable, intimate and coherent album than any of his fathers'. And if you wanted added proof of his virtuosity then this concert, held in July 1995,is a fabulous testament. The warmth of his voice is astonishing. But my prompt to get the album is the incomparable, final track, with my idol, Alim Qasimov, not from the concert at L'Olympia. It's tacked on, fairly seamlessly, from a concert of Sacred Music, held two weeks later, in the small village of Saint Florent Le Vieil in Western France. The latter had heard Jeff and invited him to the event. When he heard Qasimov rehearsing he was so overawed by the master's supreme purity, Buckley endured a period of great doubt before agreeing to join Qasimov for this duet. What a find! Or a find that these two matchless souls could unify, if only briefly.'What Will You Say' is the evidence. A treasure to pursue!



2. Fans have rightly complained about too many posthumous Jeff Buckley releases, but this import-only live album is something special. Buckley considered his Summer 1995 performances at the Paris venue L'Olympia, once the haunt of his idol Edith Piaf, to be among the best of his career. Incredibly, Buckley had a cassette tape of the performance which, except for a little hiss and some slightly unideal miking, sounds quite fine.
   
   The first Buckley live release, MYSTERY WHITE BOY, was a mishmash of American concert dates. Though they show Buckley still in fine vocal form--by the L'Olympia dates his voice had been weakened from excessive smoking--the selections for that album are tame and unexciting. On the L'Olympia recordings, however, he really lets loose. The album starts with an extended version of "Lover, You Should Have Come Over" that improves over even that on GRACE. The electric version of "Dream Brother" complements the album version well, and some added lyrics make its allusion to Jeff's father Tim Buckley all the more poignant. "Eternal Life" is played savagely, easily moving into a cover of MC5's "Kick Out the Jams". And the wild performance of "Grace" here lacks the control of the album, but goodness, he's doing such vocal acrobatics live!
   
   There's also a great rapport between singer and crowd here. A brief break has Buckley playing Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" as if it were a 33 RPM record played at 45. In "Hallelujah", he makes a slight change in the lyrics to "I used to live with Leonard before I knew you." And, as insensitive as it might occasionally seem, Buckley taunts the crowd with mentions of Piaf and the little French he knows. And very touching is the way this crowd adored the singer. Buckley found instant fame abroad while he remained an underground figure in the US. At one moment Buckley has to interrupt his sound to say as if overwhelmed, "You people, you crazy people".
   
   I suppose this album was import-only because MYSTERY WHITE BOY was selling sluggishly in the US and the label thought there was insufficient market for Buckley there. Nonetheless, if you are a fan of the singer, you absolutely must seek this out.



3. I'd like to comment on the heck of a job the audio people did in creating this CD. They pulled the songs off of some old tapes and yet the quality is pretty good. It's awesome to hear Jeff really 'get into' the music on these songs. This CD is quite unique I'd say. Sounds like he really owned Kick Out the Jams on this version.



4. I'm Still waiting for "vancouver" and a few other songs of his to be published on cd, but until the time comes when all of Jeff's material is released, this cd in wonderful. "That's All Ill ask" is a good unrealesed song, and the versions of "dream brother" and "Eternal Life" are great. I'm dissipointed there isent a good quality live version of "Last Goodbye". The one of "Mystery White Boy" is the only bad quality recording on the entire cd.



5. Jeff Buckley's "Live A L'Olympia" is a work of art! You can just feel the happy atmosphere in the concert, and it's like you're actually there. Jeff's Zeppelin parody is hilarious, and every song will have you either laughing or crying!
   I have total respect for Mary Guibert, and for even allowing us to have this capsule of time of Jeff is too nice of her. "Live A L'Olympia" is one of my all-time favourite CD's, and you will love it too!!

5 comments about Live Seeds.

1. I wrote the same thing about the live CD of Nick Cave's early band, the punk act The Birthday Party. With the release of this album, "The birthday Party live 81-81", as with the live dvd "Pleasure heads must burn", Nick Cave showed he was much more than just a singer; he was a performer, shocking, arresting, preaching, screaming, howling, even menacing... but always moving.
   
   After the early demise of TBP Nick came back in the early eighties with his ensemble The Bad Seeds. First with some experimental albums like "From her to eternity" and the more than wonderful "The Firstborn is dead", then some crossovers between the experimental and the more pop music orientated songs ("Your funeral... my trial" and "Tender prey") and then the real polished, mainly matured LP's like "The Good son" and "Henry's dream".
   But even the polished, pop orientated albums are always full of surprises, off beat musical structures, dark, oppressing moods and filled with Oldtestament-like preachings.
   
   Now there is the first official live cd "Live Seeds" and it's a smasher. It takes guts to open with the song "The mercy seat", (for theatrical performance a little abridged - the original lasts about seven abrasive minutes) because you have to be a real artist to top such a sheer musical rumpunch of genius.
   But Nick Cave just proceeds like a howling blind man, with such rock songs as "Deanna", "Papa won't leave you, Henry", the apocalyptic "Tupelo", "Brother my cup is empty", "Jack the Ripper", that other Biblical thunder: "The Good son" and of course "From her to eternity".
   
   In between are some moments of contemplation with ballads like "The Ship song", "Plain gold ring" and "New morning".
   With the exception of some truely great songs, Nick Cave's weak point is the ballad - like I said, he can be great but most of the time, his slower songs don't really stick, they don't eat away our memories, they don't devour us, not like the stage-smashing rock pieces do.
   
   But this album rocks, it stuns. It devours.
   And when it leaves you gasping for more, try the two live dvd's "The Road to God knows where / Live at the Paradiso" and "God is in the house" - and you'll come to the same conclusion as me, graphicly mentioned above: put The Nick and his topnotch musical ensemble of the Bad Seeds on a stage, where they belong.



2. Like your traditional "live" album, this is a collection of some highlights from several albums, rendered IMO perhaps better than the original versions. One of Nick's many mighty virtues is his flair for performance, and this album showcases him and the Bad Seeds clearly at the height of their powers -- not to say those powers have diminished.
   
   I can go on and on about Nick and his abilities as a singer, a performer, or slightly less known, as a scholar of English-Lauguage folk music, but this album really demonstrates that wonderfully. OK, just one remark: I believe "Papa Won't Leave You, Henry," originally from "Henry's Dream," is in great part inspired from a much older English song, "Tom of Bedlam." For any Nick enthusisast who isn't aware of his bardic side, it might gladden your heart to study the original and to discover more of the history that Nick is so well-versed (literally) in. I was originally thrilled to see a pal of mine, a massive scholar of English music, play this song at a coffee house one evening. To my mind, Nick is a great scholar of folk music, and a genuine great performer of our time. It is the darkness he dwells upon that has obscured him from broader acceptance, of course.
   
   So let me just give wholehearted approval and not go on for too long. Five stars.



3. I have enjoyed all of Nick Cave's work with his penchant for acting , drama, and the doggerel lives of the backwaters, the crooked, the low life characters that convince us of the rawness of life and the band's story telling ability. This CD is more convincing though because you can feel the band is really engaged and you feel that you are being sung to directly as a person. There are few instances in life, even in a live set, where we the audience become we the experience. The songs connect and take you into the rhapsodic balladic stories. This is grand rock and roll, people, it's just wailing and bringing the hammer down.

   Matthew Hahn, www.movingtracks.com




4. This is a terrific album, with a lot of great songs played passionately and with conviction. I had the opportunity to see Nick Cave in San Francisco recently, and I came away somewhat disappointed. Perhaps Nick is the sort of musician who's determined to never repeat himself, and therefore makes an effort to make each and every show different from the last. Unfortunately, he played very little of the material presented here. Most notably, he passed up "Papa Won't Leave You, Henry", and "The Ship Song", which are my favorites on this album. "Deanna", and "The Mercy Seat" also contribute nicely to this riveting live album.



5. Yes, the previous reviews say it all. This CD is, to put it simply, essential to the CD collection of any serious listener of rock music or any sort of music for that matter. I will only add that the all the songs are excellently recorded and that Mr. Nick Cave has never sounded better or more charismatic. It's Epiphany Time!

5 comments about Stand by Your Van.

1. This album changed my life.
   
   I heard this album at the age of 14 (I'm 23 now), and I can honestly say it was the album that made me pick up a guitar and eventually become a professional musician.
   
   Though my musical tastes have evolved, the beauty and soul of Bradley Nowell's voice, bumping bass lines of Eric Wilson, and rocksteady beats of Bud Gaugh get me every time. Live is the way to listen to Sublime. For superfans, I would suggest finding copies of "Contact Buzz" and "It All Seems So Silly in the Long Run" to experience the entire shows that this album cuts from.
   
   I really hope Bradley Nowell died at his peak, because to think otherwise is sad for all of us.



2. This album was mostly recorded live to 16 track tape at Komotion, a warehouse/performance space in San Francisco's Mission District in September 1994. The 1st three tracks were delivered as a "triple threat" medley and create an awesome introduction to an underground band laying down serious jams for a happy few dozen sweaty and drunken friends & fans, with all getting their $5 worth. The band would later go on to sell millions of records, but these tracks are true to the loose spirit and incredible live give and take they had with audiences on certain magic nights.



3. this is a must have album for a Sublime fan... you can feel the vibe as if you were there in the concert.



4. I wish I had a van. Vans are pretty cool. I mean...there's just so much room. And sure, they can't drag real well, but you don't drag in a van. You got subs, and room for gals. And if you're really classy you can get a couple of couches back there and a TV, and you can roll in it.
   
   If I had a van I'd probably be playing this album in it. I kid you not, Stand By Your Van has been in my '04 Taurus' CD player for the last 5 months. That's staying power music isn't supposed to have.
   
   There's something magical about this album. I think it has something to do with the band in general. Sublime was a real band. They were underproduced until their final album, and a lot of the stuff they recorded came straight out of their living room. The problem with that is that their earlier stuff had pretty crappy production. It felt like the music was on plastic. And a lot of their later songs, although good, sounded a bit overproduced.
   
   Stand By Your Van is a perfect blend of good production with that authentic sound you can only get live. Bradley Nowell is drunk, the crowd is singing, a lot of the songs have improved parts. I think this is Sublime at their best. Particularly, the first 8 songs on the album - the flow is amazing, and the live sound tops each and every studio recording.
   
   I'm not the biggest Sublime fan. But I can roll to this album anyday. If you want to hear Sublime, get this.



5. Ok. I'm a big Sublime fan. I have All their cd's but the acoustic one, but anyway, that's not the point. I'm a sucker for live records, and this one is one of thier best. There are a lot of bootleg live albums on the net, and they have their moments, but the sound quality is hard to handle cuz alot of them suck. This is a very good cd. It shows sublime in their true form: "three guys and a dalmation playing reggae and punk songs at parties for beer" to quote, incorrectly, but close enough, the liner notes of this cd. If you are a Sublime fan, get it. Otherwise get 40 oz. To Freedom and s/t. This is a good mix of songs from 40 oz. and Robbin' the Hood. Speaking of which, it does Robbin the Hood justice because they do actual full band versions of the home-produced 4-track songs that were usually just Brad by himself. Highlights include "New Thrash", "Don't Push", "Let's Go Get Stoned", "Greatest Hit's", "Date Rape", "STP", "Pool Shark" (which is a mix of the original and acoustic versions), and an early version of "Caress Me Down". Good Luck.

5 comments about Stop Making Sense.

1. I have a soft spot for this album, since it was what turned me on to the group in the first place. This isn't as good as the film (which, as several have stated before, is as good as concert videos get), or the full-blown soundtrack, but so what? Very cool. For one, it's got my favorite Talking Heads version of Take Me to the River - excellent studio version, but if you ask me it sounds better here, if just for the decrescendo/unexpected crescendo ending part. Also great is the acoustic Psycho Killer and an excellent take on Byrne's solo tune What a Day That Was. These are the bset, but really, everything's good: Swamp is as bizarre as ever; Slippery People, Girlfriend is Better and Burning Down the House are still funky, and will always be; Once in a Lifetime is... Once in a Lifetime, though that's one of those tracks where you NEED to see the accompanying live video footage. Life During Wartime is a bit of a disappointment, but that's only because the tense, suspenseful studio version makes for something hard to create on stage. My only problem is the lack of a couple great performances. I understand the limits of vinyl technology, but they had sufficent room to throw in Heaven and probably Cross-Eyed and Painless as well. This is almost useless now that the full-blown take exists, but it still has its purposes: it makes for a great start for the band if you're looking for something on the cheap; and it's a lot of fun.



2. If you can only have one Talking Heads album, then get this one. Frenetic energy, fabulous changes, perfect pacing, it captures the entire Talking Heads legacy. "Life During Wartime" and "Take Me to the River" are unbelievable to end the set. I wish The Clash had something like this for posterity. This compares to The Band's "Last Waltz" for best rock performance in a live setting. Daniel



3. I love Talking Heads. I do. But I love them in the way that someone who knows them mainly through hearing his older siblings constantly playing them as he grew up loves them. I don't own many of their albums, and I've never even see the film "Stop Making Sense," though I've watched David Byrne's "True Stories" dozens of times. I picked this CD up out of a bargain bin a couple of years ago, and though I like it, I just don't feel it's Talking Heads at their best.
   It's got a great version of "Psycho Killer," played the way David Byrne would play it back in art school--with recorded music played on a boombox kicking off the song--some okay tracks by the Tom Tom Club, and some genuinely clever liner notes ("In the future women will have breasts all over").
   But, almost all the songs here aren't as good as their album counterparts, and overall the CD feels erratic and irregular. If you love Talking Heads, you should own this. You probably already do. But if you're just looking to get into them, this probably isn't the album to start with. Check out their "Popular Favorites" compilation instead, or either of their first two albums. Those are much better.



4. When he came out in that big suit and started with the funky chicken type stuff. Man, I'm still laughing. Great music too.



5. This is essential because it draws from their very best material, and the songs have never sounded this good. "once in a lifetime" is particularly improved, giving it a harder edge compared to the studio version, but you will find all of the songs are very well arranged live. It doesn't really sound like a live album, its so good. If you are new to the band get this and the newly released The Name of the Band is Talking Heads, another great live album. Or you could opt for the Best Of disc instead. I am having a hard time deciding between the two, actually. But I have no doubt that this is a necessary musical document of the greatest band of the 80's.

5 comments about Live & Rare.

1. I think he/she missed out on the track "Freedom" and thus confused it with "Intro(Black Steel In The Hour of Chaos)". That song is NOT "Freedom". The track that A. Stuheit was talking about where Zack shouts out "anger is gift", THAT is "Freedom".
   
   It is "Into....Chaos" which is track 6 that features Chuck D and not "Zapatha's Blood". So the review that he/she was talking about for "Intro...Chaos" is for "Freedom" and the review that was on "Zapatha's Blood" is actually for "Intro...Chaos".
   
   And by the way, this is one of the best live CDs of RATM ever. I have to agree with Stuheit that this live version "Bullet in the Head" is possibly even better than the original version. Tom is outstanding here.



2. "Live And Rare" is an import, so it's pricier and harder to come by than Rage's 2003 live album "Live At The Olympic Auditorium." But I still prefer this C.D. to that one.
   
   One advantage, to me, is that frontman Zach de la Rocha talks to the crowd more, here, than on "Live at the Olympic." For instance, before track three begins, Zach tells the light man to get the spotlight out of his eye, then he gives a brief lecture to the crowd about the FBI conflicting with the American Indian Movement (and that Leonard Peltier was thrown in jail for "crimes he did not commit.") Zach also encourages the audience members to write a letter or fill out a pamphlet and send it to "Dixie Crack Clinton" (and "fill that punk's room full of mail").
   
   If, for some reason, you don't like live songs, there are still the two rare studio songs at the end ("Greed" and "Clear The Lane"). Plus, the last four live songs ("Zapata's Blood," "Without A Face," "Hadda Be Playing On The Jukebox," and "F The Police") can't be found on any other Rage album.
   
   The first five live tracks, which taken from Rage's self-titled debut, are all very powerful and great. Some moments are so emotional and urgent, they even make the studio songs seem tame. From the beeping guitar and bass notes to the wild, crazy guitar solo, "Bullet In The Head" is perfectly executed, and, I think, even better than the original! Plus, this song's chorus sounds like it has some backing vocals from Tom Morello. "Settle For Nothing" isn't quite as melodic and restrained as the studio song, but it is still performed very well. Thirdly, "Bombtrack" is played without a hitch. Tom pulls off the tempo change greatly and Zach's rapping is as fluid, fast, and consistent (he is able to rant and rage throughout the whole song without even pausing to take a breath.) This is also the case on the two following songs. Plus, I didn't realize this before, but "Take The Power Back" also features some great musicianship and trippy guitar work (so it must have been quite hard to perform this song live.) And track five, "Intro (Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos") is actually the song "Freedom." On here, Zach doesn't just whisper "anger is a gift"...he yells it!
   
   "Zapata's Blood" begins with the crowd clapping rhythmically. Then Zach introduces a surprise guest (Chuck D. from Public Enemy), who comes out and raps over Tom's wah-wah guitars. Zach also starts a chant of "Everything for everyone, and nothing for myself!"
   
   Next, "Without A Face" begins with Zach comparing the Berlin wall to the wall that separates the U.S. and Mexico. He then explains that Rage wrote this song (which appears on their "Evil Empire" album) when they found out that 1,500 dead bodies have been found there. Zach, Tom, Tim, and Brad also perfectly execute this song.
   
   With just one, repetitive guitar line, "Hadda Be Playing On The Jukebox" is, musically, pretty simple. But this song was not written by RATM; this song (which features lyrics like "the CIA and Mafia are in cahoots") was originally written by the poet Alan Ginsberg. It's a long song, too, so props to Zach for memorizing the whole thing.
   
   Next comes a cover of N.W.A.'s "F The Police." It begins with Zach referring to the song as a "nice, friendly message," and he then dedicates it to the Philadelphia police department. And, with angry rapping and hip-hop sound effects, it seems like Rage were almost meant to play this song.
   
   The first of two b-sides at the end is "Darkness." This song originally appeared on the "Crow" soundtrack. I'm a big Rage Against the Machine fan and even I'll admit that this song isn't that great. Fortunately the lyrics (which deal with governmental greed and lying) are very well written. The other rarity is "Clear The Lane," which has beeping, wah-wah guitars, a grumbling bass, surprisingly calm vocals, and is really quite catchy.
   
   So, "Live And Rare" is a great buy which is absolutely essential for all Rage Against the Machine fans. If you're a diehard and you need another C.D. to listen to, and you don't yet own this...what are you waiting for? This is a pricey but very highly recommended album. And, as aforementioned, you should at least get this for the two rare tracks (even though they aren't Rage's best songs, they're required listening).



3. Rage against the machine is has been one of the best rock band in the rock world.
   I highly recomend live and rare.



4. I was always too young to go to a Rage show (thanks Mom) and by the time I could go they had broken up (thanks Zach's ego). This is the closest thing to actually being there or so I've heard. I own all of the albums and live DVDs and this is Rage at their most raw. Tom is still in his prime as a live performer and you can hear it on this record. He improvises on a few songs and just kills it. The band just flows so well together live that it almost sounds like a studio session. The rare tracks are good, but they are not even near the energy level of the live tracks. Plus, the album even features an Allen Ginsberg poem. True Rage fans have to own this to complete the collection.



5. This "official bootleg" is a telling compilation of various Rage concerts throughout the mid-90s and may represent the final phase of "old school" RATM. What do I mean by old school? From the beginning up until the Evil Empire days, Rage's live concerts emphasized speech and wicked guitar improvisations. Oddly, this sense of adventurism faded out around the time BOLA was released... and it's quite obvious too. The "Bullet in the Head" solo on this disc destroys the one on Grand Olympic Auditorium. "Zapata's Blood" is a recognizable live track to any hardcore Rage fan and this may be the best performance of the song ever. The bonus demo cuts are pretty good, and "F*ck tha Police" is a wild ride. But the real treat is "Hadda be Playing on the Jukebox", an 8 minute poem that tells a story by its guitar work alone.

   This CD may not be as accessible to Rage newbies as Grand Olympic Auditorium, but will be an instant classic to true fans.

5 comments about Live at Sin-é.

1. This CD set, probably more than any other product released, reveals more of the personality and charm of Jeff while interacting with the audience, and more importantly, shows his passion and emotion for the music he plays. Listeners familiar with the songs released on the Grace album will find them re-presented in a new, but certainly not diminished, light. Some songs in particular that show their more sentimental sides are "Eternal Life", "Grace", and "Lover, You Should've Come Over".
   
   This is an exquisite representation of Jeff's talent and charisma. A must have.



2. I had the EP when it came out. I was floored when I heard it... "one guy"???
   
   He's another "sing the telephone book and it would sound awesome".
   
   My opinion is this: he wasn't intending to release the whole thing when he had the tapes rolling, but was capturing his cafe days "in the moment" before he started playing larger venues (although theaters were the norm for him and a few festivals). This was a place he served coffee at AND played his heart out.
   
   It is funny to hear his swipes at the then current "grunge scene" and then going into all these different styles that cover the spectrum of the 20th century, not just in America but internationally. You could tell he was already fighting being pigeonholed, not just in with Nirvana and Pearl Jam but his own father. If you see the music videos it just seemed like one of those mandatory things that he would rather not have done. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant among others became huge fans. One would've hoped he would've done his father's "Song to the Siren" when he recorded this.
   
   I can't believe how much material was recorded, and this is probably 1% of the songs he knew.
   
   I think Mary's (his mom) paced the releases out nicely. This year the limited release movie about Jeff is supposed to be on home video.



3. I am a fan of him and Grace is still one of the best cds of the 90s but this sure does blow. His voice is mostly awful on this. I especially dont like those very long covers he does on here. The way young lovers do does not need to be 10 minutes with a bunch of annoying sounds. The listable songs on here are the short ones . The reason Grace was good is becasue it was well produced and his voice was more polish. It surprised me that this thing averages 5 stars on amazon. If he did not die young this cd would not even seen the light of day. I am so glad i did not buy this i found it at the libary. This show's you how awful this cd is this thing retails for 30.00 yet i found it at a libary.



4. I got this 2-disc set for Christmas. Having been only a mediocre fan of Jeff Buckley before, I was unsure what to expect, but even before the first CD had ended, I was in pure awe.
   
   Jeff Buckley weilds his guitar with a loving ferocity that most guitarists can only dream of. His unique and tantalizing voice flows through the music he plays. It says in his book that Jeff's renditions of cover songs (and indeed, some of his original creations as well) were never the same, and that each performance was vastly different from all the others.
   
   But the renditions he does in this recording are virtually flawless and even turned me on to artists I hadn't previously given a chance. Even Buckley's cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" on his "Grace" release pales in comparison to the live recording of it on this set.
   
   Many reviewers are labeling this a great "historical document," but I must protest. This is not an historical document that captures an intimate performance of a short-live, underrated artist. This is an indescribable record evidencing the beauty and unsurpassed talent of a man who died before his time, but certainly not before he came into his own as a guitarist, singer, performer, and even songwriter.
   
   Beautiful in every way!



5. I could write something similar to this about any Jeff Buckley album, but instead of going through them all and repeating myself, I'll just say a lot here.
   
   Jeff Buckley, for me, has always been one of those draw-a-line-in-the-sand artists. A sort of test, like; love Buckley (and we can be friends) or hate him (and you will be buried in the back garden with the others).
   
   I first saw him when I was 15, at Glastonbury festival. At the time, all I can remember thinking was "wow, he can sing high". Since then, of course, JB has gone on to be one of the biggest and most sorely missed 'cult' artists of our time.
   
   I was faintly worried about this whole 'Legacy Edition' thing, it seemed at first another way of wringing some more $$$ out of the tiny body of Buckley's work.
   
   Do I really need another SLIGHTLY different version of Hallelujah? I asked myself.
   
   The answer is, of course, yes, yes, yes, buy it, for God's sake. There are 21 tracks here, as well as between-song chatter (although these are called 'monologues' on the CD track listing- one 'monologue' entitled Good Night Bill goes like this-
   
   JB- "Good night, Bill"
   ... and then the next song starts.)
   
   However, most of them are often really funny- a sufi interpretation of Smells Like Teen Spirit, and a one man impression of Miles Davis'[...]Brew being particular highlights.
   
   And, of course, THAT voice, THAT electric guitar, THOSE songs.
   This is the man on his own, browsing through his own tunes and covers he loves, twisting, bending and whipping them into a frenzy. Strange Fruit as hard, stabbing blues. Just Like A Woman becomes a whispered lament over soft slide guitar. Calling You, from the film Baghdad Cafe, is as powerful and otherworldly as what has almost become his signature piece, Hallelujah (also featured here; a majestic, rage-against-the-dying-of-the-light version).
   
   SO! The point is, there are SO FEW truly original, talented and affecting artists available in the mainstream... and Jeff Buckley is one of them. You owe it to yourself. You owe it to your children, and your children's children's children to have something like this in the house. Buy his album. Buy all his albums.
   
   ...Actually, I'm definitely not sure whether to get the Grace Legacy Edition. But thats more because I already own Forget Her- The Song Jeff Didn't Want You To Hear....

5 comments about And All That Could Have Been.

1. _And All That Could Have Been_ is a live album that initially sounds like a studio recording - clear, precise, and nearly flawless. Now mix in the raw energy and power of a live performance and you get this intense masterpiece that will please NIN fans worldwide.
   
   So, what's on this CD? About half of the songs are reworks from _The Fragile_, and include "The Frail," "The Wreteched," "The Great Below," and "The Mark Has Been Made." _The Fragile_ not being one of my favorite NIN albums, I was a little skeptical about this CD... until I listened to it. In my opinion, these live and reworked versions tend to be BETTER than the originals (especially "The Wretched"). Live versions of songs from other albums are also included, with hits like "Closer," "Sin," "Head Like a Hole," and others completing the almost 74 minutes of music on this CD. Buyers will definitely get their money's worth.
   
   Note: _And All That Could Have Been_ was originally sold as two CDs. The second CD is not contained in this package, and had numerous "softer" and near-acoustic versions of various songs on it. That CD is currently being sold as the album _Still_.



2. From the first song, this album explodes. I'm not a live album fan either, but this one is an exception. As an old time fan I also like the very nice blend of both old and new songs , both fast and slow songs. It is very well done. Too bad every album cannot be as good.



3. Being just about the biggest NIN fan in the area that I live in, I own both the DVD AND the CD version of And All That Could've Been. As I said in my review for the DVD, Trent's songs are a lot better performed lie. Terrible Lie has a lot more energy live than it did on Pretty Hate Machine (don't get me wrong, the original is great, but the live version is even better), as do Sin and Head Like A Hole. There's just something about how raw and powerful Trent's voice is that makes NIN's concert's spectacular. The audience doesn't drown out the music, which is always good to know; and they know when to keep quiet during softer and more melodic songs like The Great Below, The Mark Has Been Made, The Frail, The Day The World Went Away, and Hurt. Trent also extends a few of the songs, like Sin, March of the Pigs, Starf***ers Inc, and more. He also adds a few extra words in songs, like in The Wretched where Trent chants "there is a place... in the back of my mind... where I used to try... try" during the interlude with the jumpy keyboard.
   
   While this isn't the entire concert, the live album has a song that wasn't included on the DVD. I.E. The Day The World Went Away (which, in my opinion, isn't one of the better tracks off The Fragile). The DVD has La Mer, Complication, and Just Like You Imagined. My reccomendation is that you buy both, just so you can listen to the record in your car or on your ipod when your walking home from school (that's what I did) and buy the DVD so you can hear the extra songs and watch Trent's antics on stage.
   
   Highly reccomended from a big NIN fan!



4. Ever since Trent Reznor and his band made a mud-drenched splash as Woodstock 1994, almost all music fans have known that Nine Inch Nails put on a fantastic live show. NIN's first live disc (which was recorded on the "Fragility: 2.0 Tour") proves that their live songs make their original, studio versions sound tame and controlled. "And All That Could Have Been" is about as intense and full of vitriol as industrial metal gets. And, from the opening wallop of "Terrible Lies" to the dark, introspective "Hurt," which closes out the album, every song is a hit.
   
   The crowd is only rarely audible, and they know when to shut up (like during the ballads), so the audience noise never gets in the way of the music.
   
   Tracks like "Terrible Lies," "Head Like A Whole" (both singles from NIN's 1989 debut, "Pretty Hate Machine") and "Starfers, Inc." pack a powerful, cathartic, adrenalized punch. Plus, these songs sound even louder and crisper, here, than in the studio. Elsewhere, electronic frenzied, techno-lite cuts like "Sin" and "March Of The Pigs" are heavy on new-wave keyboards, and "Piggy," "The Frail" (a piano interlude), and "The Great Below" are very slow and ambient. Songs like "Suck" and "Closer" bring the best of both worlds; these songs have a stomping rhythm section married with synths and other atmospheric instruments. And, lastly, the ballads ("The Day The World Went Away" and "Hurt") are very touching and beautiful.
   
   So, this album *IS* all that it could have been, and more. It's no less than great, and it's as close to being perfect as live albums get nowadays.



5. This album, by far, is the best live recording that I have ever listened to. The sound quality is excellent, and if you listen to it on a stereo with the volume up high, it's as close to being there as you can get. I've seen NIN twice in my life time, the first time in 96 on the Downward Spiral tour, and then again after the Fragile was released, and this album really incompases their live performances. Listen to the raw intensity on classics like Wish or Terrible Lie, and then imagine being tossed around in a pit and getting bruised and banged up. Listen to the crowd chanting the choruses of Head Like a Hole or Closer, and imagine seeing the sweat dripping off of the band clad in black and tossing water bottles at each other. See the lights in your mind as the crowd breaks out their lighters to ballads like The Great
   Below and Hurt. I'm telling you, for live perfomances, this album has outdone itself.

5 comments about Live at the Whisky a Go-Go.

1. Why?
   Because it rocks.
   Start to finish, it's rocking and shows X in top form.
   If you're ever sitting there, wondering "hmm, what to play right now?", this is one that will ALWAYS sound great.
   If you do not own this record, you need to buy it NOW.



2. What hasn't been said here already? Just giving my 2 cents of praise for this monster rockabilly explosion! Hardcore from start to finish. John Doe's and Exene's vocals are a match made in heaven and hell all at once.



3. Okay, I am forever in love with my friend who introduced me to X, because oh my god I don't know how I lived without them. I had the incredible fortune to see them two months ago in S.F., and it was definitely one of the best shows I'd ever been to. Despite the decline in quality that occured in their albums in the nineties with the loss of Billy Zoom, now that they're all back together performing they have this incredible power reminiscent of "the good old days". While their stage prescence can't be entirely recorded into audio, this album comes really damn close.
   So... I recommend: Get this album (assuming of course you already have Los Angeles and Wild Gift... those are the prerequisites), and as soon as you get a chance GO SEE THEM! and send my love.



4. 'Live At...' was recorded while the band was out on tour in 1988,with additional guitarist Tony Gilkyson.So,now X was a five piece.No complaint here.Total of 21 songs performed in 72 minutes of up-beat all American home grown old-school punk.Very good choice.Recently,I got to see all four original members reunite for a decent length tour.Which was:Exene Cervenka-vocals,D.J.Bonebrake-drums,John Doe-bass and Billy Zoom-guitar.These 'new wave' era punksters STILL put on a great live performance.They did many of the tracks on this live CD,like "Los Angeles","Burning House Of Love","My Goodness","Devil Doll","Hungry Wolf","Riding With Mary"(my favorite X song),"White Girl" and "Johnny Hit".A nice find.



5. Take this one....Please! If you like rock and roll, punk, alt... any or all of these etc....this is the one I'd take out of my whole collection. If you want the concert experience while sorting laundry, mopping the floor, or breaking up with your lover-BUY THIS ONE!~Thanks to all the members of X for being the greatest!