PEARL JAM |
| If ever there
was a band that should be experienced live it is PEARL JAMand
they have finally decided to let the rest of the world that is not at
war with Ticketmaster in on their live show. What is particularly nice about this recording is that the songs are pretty far from the studio original without being completely unrecognizable. They stretch "Daughter" out just long enough to make it special without taking it to boring lengths. "Go" stands far above the original in both energy and delivery, which is saying something because the original is pretty damned good the way it is. Much to their credit PEARL JAM chose not to make this a simple greatest hits live type of thing and that is the true value of this recording. Other than the studio overdubs this record flows well form one song to the next which is not the case on most live albums that jump from hit to hit. They do include a by the numbers version of "Even Flow" that fits quite nicely between "Red Mosquito" and ""Off He Goes." So nicely in fact that you can hardly tell that they edited it in. For as good as this recording is there are a couple of things that I feel compelled to bitch about. I don't know exactly how this was recorded but it doesn't sound as "live" as it could. Some things are just far too crisp to have been actually done in concert. In other words, the studio fix is obviously in. The other complaint is that the only way a live record should be issued is if it is on two discs or at least a representation of the whole show. This tracks in at 71 minutes, which is longer than the average CD but not as long as a real and true concert. After you get past these two relatively minor things this is a great collection of PEARL JAM's best tunes done live and then some. Released by Epic Records. Review by David Lee |