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If you missed 1998's Family Values tour featuring Incubus, Orgy, Limp Bizkit, Ice Cube, Rammstein, and Korn, fear not: 15 tracks from the aforementioned bands, plus "interludes," add up to well over an hour of neo-metal-angst-rap that can be enjoyed without venturing into a mosh pit. The CD is a cool deal in that it contains the best songs from each lineup, including radio hits such as Orgy's cover of New Order's "Blue Monday," Limp Bizkit's breakthrough version of George Michael's "Faith," and Rammstein's incendiary Germanic ode "Du Hast." Korn's medley of older material and singles from Follow the Leader prove why they're the headliners. In fact, this CD--and the tour itself--was partly based on the accurate assumption that Korn have such a strong influence that any band they tour with must appear Korn-approved kool to the kids. Both Ice Cube and Rammstein seem out of place, though kudos to Korn for including them. Ultimately, Family Values '98 is a great sampler for a metal-rap neophyte. --Katherine Turman ... Read more

Reviews (106)

It's All Good Except For Ice Cube
I am a big fan of KoRn and Limp Bizkit, so I thought this cd would be good. First of all I didn't hear of Incubus until this cd. Their song "New Skin" is incredible, and its one of the best on the album. Then it goes to Orgy where they have 3 pretty good songs including the hit-single "Blue Monday". After that Limp Bizkit comes on with 3 awesome songs including one of the best songs of 1998 "Faith" and House Of Pain's song "Jump Around". Then here's the part I skip, Ice Cube I feel shouldn't belong on there. Next, you have 1 song by Rammstein, their single "Du Hast". Last KoRn comes on with their first song being a mix of songs including "Shoots and Ladders",then the 2nd is "Freak On A Leash",3rd is a mix of "Twist" and "Chi", and the last one to end the album is "Got The Life". This is a really good cd for anybody who went to the Family Values Tour or just likes any of these bands, it is a great mix of some of the best bands out there today.

Great Rap/Rock/Hardcore
'Family Values Tour 1998' is a great CD. I ranked the tracks:

1. ORGY - "Blue Monday". 9/10. Great chorus, great singing, a excellent song.

2. LIMP BIZKIT - "Faith". 9/10. Great verses, great singing, heaps of DJing.

3. INCUBUS - "New Skin". 8/10. Great guitar work, great chorus, great singing, great song.

4. LIMP BIZKIT - "Jump Around". 8/10. Great singing, great rap.

5. LIMP BIZKIT - "Cambodia". 7/10. Good song, good vocals, good rap, good song.

6. ORGY - "Dissention". 7/10. Great singing, great sound.

7. ORGY - "Gender". 7/10. Good sound, good singing.

8. ICE CUBE - "Check Yo Self". 5/10. Pretty pathetic, electronic sound.

9. ICE CUBE - "Natural Born Killaz". 4/10. Repetitive, stupid.

10. KORN - "Freak on a Leash". 3/10. KoRn's best, but still bad, 'chant' is stupid, vocals are bad.

11. ICE CUBE - "Straight out Compton/ F**k tha Police". 3/10. Rappy, stupid.

12. KORN - "Got the Life". 2/10. OK but pretty bad song.

13. KORN - "Shot Liver Meleody". 2/10. Hurts ears, bad sound, pathetic.

14. RAMMSTEIN - "Du Hast". 1/10. Bad singing, German, electronic, pathetic.

15. KORN - "Twist/ Chi". 0/10. No words, worst track, horrible.

I also ranked the bands:

1. LIMP BIZKIT - Great audience connection, great songs. 8.5/10.

2. INCUBUS - Should have played more, "New Skin" is great. 8/10.

3. ORGY - Great songs, great singing and a great band! 7.5/10.

4. ICE CUBE - Bad Rap, bad songs. 4/10.

5. KORN - Bad vocals, bad songs. 2/10.

6. RAMMSTEIN - Bad song, very, very bad band. 1/10.

Overall, this CD is great. The best bands were Limp Bizkit, Orgy and Incubus. Bands like Rammstein, Ice Cube and KoRn we could do with out. 'Family Values Tour 1998' is a fantastic CD if you like Rap/Rock/Metal.

Fred Durst, Wes Borland, Brandon Boyd, Mike Einzigner, Alex Katunich, Chris Kilmore, Jose' Pasillas, Sam Rivers, John Otter, D.J Leathel, Jay Gordan, Ryan Shuck, Paige Haley, Amir Derakh and Bobby Hewitt are really cool people.

Jonathan Davis, Fieldy, David Silveria, James Shaffer, Brian Welch, W.C, Crazy Toones, Til Linderman, Richard, Kruspe, Paul Landers, Oliver Reidel, Flake Lorenz and Christopher Schneider are not good musicians.

'Family Values Tour 1998' by KoRn, Limp Bizkit, Rammstein, Orgy, Incubus and Ice Cube is a fantastic album. Well produced by Josh Abraham. Five stars for a great album.

family Values tour '98
This CD Is The Best Of all The family values tour CD's
If you want to hear the best live performamnces of these bands you will need to buy this CD.

few minor problems
great cd. several minor problems- why the intros? take them out, and we could have more Rammstein and Incubus. alternatively, take out the Limp Bizkit song that ISN'T a cover; the other two are much than it. the Korn songs are great (since they are an excellent band you can't expect bad from them). considering I don't like live recordings, you know this one must be good for me to give it such a good rating.
here are 2 other good live "sampler" cds (I call them that because usually they have the hit songs from the artists):
Family Values 99 (various artists)
From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah (Nirvana)

A touch of rock
This cd includes everything I like, everything I have ever listened to! Limp Bizkit, KoRn, everybody. This is a cd you should get whenever you can. Go and buy it! ... Read more

Album Description

Full title - Q Are We Not Men? A We Are Devo/DEV-O Live.Import reissue of the new wave icon's 1981 live release(out-of-print in the U.S.) combined with their 1978 debut & three bonus tracks, 'Social Fools', 'Penetration In TheCenterfold' & 'Soo Bawlz'. 21 tracks. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

D.E.V.O.
Devo were pioneers in the 'New Wave' movement and the world is just that little bit better off for their existence.
This CD combining 'Q: Are We Not Me? A: We are Devo' and 'Devo Live' is fantastic. As a starting point and introduction to their music I would recommend greatest hits compilation instead, but this CD is most defiantly worth getting. Not only do you get two albums on one CD but you get two of their best albums.
'Q: Are We Not Men...' is fantastic, worth buying alone for just 'Mongoloid', 'Jocko Homo' and the best Rolling Stones cover ever 'Satisfaction' - I shudder when I hear it (the video is awesome but no one ever shows it anymore).
'Devo Live' is a testament to the musicianship and proves just how fantastic they were, and since I never got to see them live (being that I was to young and also living on a different continent) this recording is just enough compensation.

If you like post-punk, new wave, synth pop, college rock with hints of avant-garde then you probably have this already, if you don't why not?

A Breath Of Old Fresh Air
For those who's experience with Devo is limited to their three hit tunes will be in for a great surprise when they discover this 'punk rock' anthem. In addition, we do get extra tracks including as was previously mentioned the best live Devo ever. I agree. Although it is a major contrast from the Q./A. album in terms of attitude and timbre.
Growing up in NE Ohio [the land of futile tradition and complacency] around the time these guys were getting popular adds a little to the magic of this band for me. To think of these guys playing this stuff to those people at that time, well - it's amazing these guys didn't end up permanent residents of a hospital somewhere. At the time we all heard it we thought it was too unusual to be cool because NE Ohio wanted more and more and more derivative and stale metal rock, until one day we realized "we're all Devo!".
This premiere recording by Devo is guitar-driven psychotic angst at its finest. To me, it's the sound of past, present and future rolled into one loud lump: like 50's music played by aliens on 70's musical equipment. This album set the precedent for the yet-to-be-seen punk variety of new wave and in retrospect, it's amazing how prophetic the band was. Go back 25 years and hear the future of rock. I challenge you, spuds.

Three great bonus songs plus two free albums!
Not only do you get Devo's first real album with them singing "We Are Devo" in the song "Jocko Homo" and the only version of "Satisfaction" that tops the Rolling Stones, you also get three bonus songs tacked on the end. The extra tunes are very high-energy and are 3 of my favorite 5 Devo songs ("Wiggly World" and "I'm a Potato" are elsewhere). These same songs are on the two Hardcore Devo albums. Squeezed between this is the 1980 Freedom of Choice tour recording (which is available in long form from Rhino Handmade). Buy this CD and the other two double-album CD releases.

TWO Of the ultimate DEVO albums on ONE CD
This CD contains the first "hit" album from DEVO. Includes Satisfaction and Jocko Homo. DEVO LIVE is the BEST Concert Recording DEVO has released to date. Includes Whip It and Planet Earth. There are also two "BONUS" tracks on the end that are not availible anywhere else in the US. This is a MUST-HAVE!!! ... Read more

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For most musicians and groups, the live box set marks the culmination of a lengthy recording and concert career. Not so for Laurie Anderson, whose United States Live appeared in 1984, following her tenure in academic and bohemian circles and a small handful of releases on Warner Bros. and smaller labels. The release was an unusual event, though perhaps less so for a musician who seeks to upend musical traditions, most notably the distinctions between pop and classical, spoken and sung, live and Memorex. The lengthy set is a recording of a live performance composed of dozens of carefully defined experiments in form and technique, most of them fitting into one or two of these three categories: show pieces for items from her technological music arsenal (like her emblematic electric violin), witty narrative snippets (back when "spoken word" was called "performance art," prior to the rise of the poetry slam), and full-band performances, featuring, among others, Peter Gordon and David Van Tieghem. "O Superman" and "Big Science" are the familiar titles that appear amid the nearly 80 tracks. "Just a slow accumulation of details," her computer-enhanced voice intones moments before the intro to "Blue Lagoon" (later heard in a studio version on Mister Heartbreak). That makes a nice epigram for the collection as a whole, which is essential to understanding art music of the '80s in general and the New York scene in particular. --Marc Weidenbaum ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Professor Anderson's American History 101
One of the many qualities that separates Laurie Anderson from the sub-par pop world of the Backstreet Boys and Korn is her unerring intelligence, and it is on full display in the ambitious four CD box set entitled "United States Live". Taken from a series of shows at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Anderson attempts nothing less than a cultural, historical and psychiatric dissection of America. Though this was probably much more interesting to watch (as it included the use of multimedia which is obviously incompatible with audio formatting), the songs nevertheless work on a cerebral level, the likes of which have seldom, if ever, been duplicated. Utilizing her electric violin, Harmonizer and toy saxophone (among other instruments), Anderson has concocted a tour de force of sound and expression. Admittedly, each of the 78 tracks available here are exceedingly intellectual and demand the listener's full attention; consequently, one cannot listen to this box set in one, five or even ten sittings as though it were a simple collection of pop songs. The themes, multiple meanings and interior layers of each track unfold gradually with repeated listenings. It is also of note that a few of the songs included here can also be found on Anderson's first studio album, 1982"s "Big Science". Personal Favorites: the history of Tesla's relationship with Einstein that accompanies the song "Dance of Electricity", the philosophical musings on the nature of human motion found in "Walking and Falling", and the pseudo-Native American vocal rhythm of "Hey Ah". Representative Lyrics: "I can see the future and it's a place- about 70 miles east of here." ("Let X=X")

Professor Anderson's American History 101
One of the many qualities that separates Laurie Anderson from the sub-par pop world of the Backstreet Boys and Korn is her unerring intelligence, and it is on full display in the ambitious four CD box set entitled "United States Live". Taken from a series of shows at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Anderson attempts nothing less than a cultural, historical and psychiatric dissection of America. Though this was probably much more interesting to watch (as it included the use of multimedia which is obviously incompatible with audio formating), the songs nevertheless work on a cerebral level, the likes of which have seldom, if ever, been duplicated. Utilizing her electronic violin, Harmonizer and toy saxophone (among other instruments), Anderson has concocted a tour de force of sound and expression. Admittedly, each of the 78 tracks available here are exceedingly intellectual and demand the listener's full attention; consequently, one cannot listen to this box set in one, five, or even ten sittings as though it were a simple collection of pop songs. The themes, multiple meanings and interior layers of each track unfold gradually with repeated listenings. It is also of note that a few of the songs included here can also be found on Anderson's first studio album, 1982's "Big Science". Personal Favorites: the history of Tesla's relationship with Einstein that accompanies the song "Dance of Electricity"; the philosophical musings on the nature of human motion found in "Walking and Falling"; the pseudo-Native American vocal rhythm of "Hey Ah". Representative Lyrics: "I can see the future and it's a place- about 70 miles East of here." ("Let X=X")

Overdue for digital remastering
I remember seeing this performance series being advertised in The Village Voice & wanting desparately to go...but at 17, I didn't quite have the wherewithall to get the $ together to go & have always regretted this. But it was soon enough after that I had a summer job & the LPs were available. The sound was rather thin & scratches noticeable, so I bought the CD box soon after that. I always see this box set around (new & used), so I'm surprised that people say they haven't been able to find it. I always had half-wished that it had gone out of print, if only so that it finally gets the digital remastering (from the original tapes) that it deserves. The one thing that has bugged me about the set is that there is occassional popping/crackling noises that makes it sound as if the cd's were mastered from a pristine LP. The sound on the LP's was always very quiet & you had to turn up the volume, which made any surface noise extremely unpleasant. The CD's are louder, but the tape hiss is more obvious. Some cd's are already on their 3rd remastering.....so it seems that an upgrade is long overdue, SACD would be nice too.

Buy it, relive it or live it for the first time...
I had the good fortune of attending this two day performance in Brooklyn. It felt then like we were participating in something special. Looking back it was as I can't think of anything else from the 80's that was in anyway cultural or arresting. Maybe the Clash's first night at bond's before the fire dept showed up? Anyway during intermission the second night my current wife then girlfriend accidently kicked Grace Jones in the ankle while she was sipping champagne. We thought she was going to kick both of our asses. Luckilly Phillip Glass was walking by at that moment and struck up a conversation w/ her and save us from such humiliation. Plus it was so hard to get a cab to take you from the city to brooklyn back then.

Nights I Swim in the Blue Lagoon
Yeah, it's worth [money] for her 13:00 minute version of "Blue Lagoon" from MISTER HEARTBREAK. Professor Anderson says it all very well, below. I never fully appreciated Laurie until I saw her live recently on tour. I mean, I knew she was smart and inventive, but she finally got to me. She's paying attention to it all; she sees beneath the surfaces.

I suspect you do, too.

And she's coyly feminine and beguiling.

This is a great live set. ... Read more

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Guy Clark approaches songwriting the same way he approaches fishing--if what he comes up with is too meager, he throws it back; only the best specimens are considered "keepers." Fifteen of those specimens are featured on Keepers--A Live Recording (Sugar Hill), which was taped at a Nashville club in 1996 on Halloween weekend. Two strong songs are unveiled--"A Little of Both," a bouncy, witty song about avoiding choices, and "Out in the Parking Lot," a slow, poignant look at the action outside a nightclub. These two are joined by 13 old favorites, including those turned into hits by Ricky Skaggs ("Heartbroke"), Jerry Jeff Walker ("L.A. Freeway"), and Johnny Cash ("The Last Gunfighter Ballad"). They're all wonderful songs, but these aren't necessarily the best versions. Clark is a limited singer, but his voice cracks more than usual on several of these live renditions; this version of "She Ain't Goin' Nowhere" is practically unlistenable. Clark did put together a sharp little band for this recording, but if he was going to make a live album, why didn't he deliver some of his long, droll stories rather than these truncated introductions? --Geoffrey Himes ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Not a keeper
One of life's greatest joys is a Guy Clark performance. Though I left Nashville shortly before the one recorded here, I listened to Mr. Clark play every dive in town for 20 years, sometimes sick, sometimes overly fortified with alcohol, and he was always the consummate showman. As such, the idea of a live recording was very appealing to me. The result, however, is a little disappointing.

The songs are indeed mostly keepers, and the track listing is typical of a Guy Clark set list. It relies heavily on his first album, with half the tracks coming from Old No. 1, and then a song or two from subsequent albums of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Some, like "Heartbroke", are pleasant surprises I've never heard him perform live. I tend to be a little more sanguine about Mr. Clark's post-1975 oeuvre than he seems to be based on his shows and on this CD though - I think he's written a lot of other "keepers" that are conspicuously absent here, some from the "Old Friends", "Boats to Build", and "Dublin Blues" recordings that were released before the concert presented here, and that usually find their way into his sets.

It is the performances that disappoint in the end, though, not the choice of songs. The songs are mostly tried and true classics. Guy Clark may or may not tire of singing his first album for 30 years, but he has remarkable stage presence and can play "Desperadoes Waiting for a Train" a thousand times and make me misty every time. In general, though, the vocal performances are better on the original recordings. There is something to be said for re-recording many of these songs using the acoustic sound found on Clark's CDs from "Old Friends" onward, or perhaps in the simple guitar and bass form often used in his performances. The electric instrumentation used on some of his older albums has left some of his best material sounding dated. But here, with Mr. Clark not hitting some of the notes, sometimes off-key, most of the time I felt I'd be better off just pulling out Old No. 1. Or that he'd have been better off re-recording the "keepers" in the studio. There are some fine moments here. Texas Cookin', though recorded perfectly well in the studio, is a fine performance, and I can't help but smile at Mr. Clark, Jr. on bass doing the riff from Hendrix's "Third Stone From the Sun" near the song's end.

In short, the songs are keepers but the performances aren't. I have every Guy Clark CD ever made, and I listen to several of them fairly regularly. He is a personal hero in the world of music, and in his corner of this genre, I'll say something he'd disagree with - I think his work far eclipses that of Townes Van Zandt. But this CD has been in my CD player only twice over the years, once when I first bought it and was disappointed, and once today when I was disappointed again. The only good reasons to have this CD are to have a complete Guy Clark collection or to remember this particular concert if you were there.

Texas Without Being There
Guy Clark is the unofficial music ambassador for the great state of Texas. His songs are simple and straightforward tackling the always tough relationship department and lightweight subjects like eggs, tomatoes, chili, trains and his home state. ( "Texas 1947", "Texas Cookin" & "South Coast Of Texas" ) He's also intelligent when it comes to a live recording, putting together a great band which includes brilliant sideman - Verlon Thompson. Guy is definitely ON this night balencing songs, stories and laughter. The album literally brings Texas to my home until I can make the next visit. The purists seem to like his first two LP's found on "Essential", the critics pick is "Boats To Build", but the real Guy Clark is "Live" and this one is for the "Keepers".

Great atmosphere
The best thing about this record has to be the way it's recorded. Anyone with a half decent hi-fi system will love it just for that.

The small band Guy has gathered for this recording are as tight as can be and even Guy himself stays in control of his fingers...

Great versions of Heartbreak, Texas Cookin' and Home Grown Tomatoes. He's at his best when you can hear the smile on his face. She Ain't Goin' Nowhere is a classic Guy Clark song too. I'm less enthusiastic about some of the slower "moody" songs like Desperadoes (I can never understand the popularity of this one) and he misses out songs from Boats to Build - my favourite album. All in all though, a fine effort.

Texas Pure......
You yankees want to know what Texas is about? Hear it in his voice, words, and music. If you don't live here...listen to this cd and you'll want to get here as fast as you can.

Texas country-folk's main attraction delivers live
Imagine John Wayne with a guitar ... conveying toughness, pride, humor, and above all, integrity without having to raise his voice and rarely changing the pace of his words. That is the kind of talent and charisma Guy Clark possesses. His guitar playing is wonderfully intricate and his lyrics rank with anyone else's best. Slices of life like "Texas 1947" and "Desperados Waiting For A Train" perfectly convey the feel of those little Texas towns a few miles south or north of any main highway. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Very Energetic Performance
The disc buzzes with raw energy and makes me wish I had a chance to see them live at the point this was recorded. This version of "The Man with X-Ray Eyes" is wonderful and the herein contained version of "Bela" is the definitive version. It is worth it for those 2 songs alone. I only give it 4 stars due to imperfect sound quality. Not the best place for newcomers to start - better for fans.

Live
Buy this album for the re-worked, and highly enhanced version of The Man with X-Ray Eyes, as it is the root and pith of this amazing live recording. The album is worth buying for that song alone.

Richard C Williams

Great Live Rock n Roll from a Great Rock N Roll Band
If you want a perfect slice of goth rock, get this album just for the live reworking of "The Man With X-Ray Eyes", it's worth it alone. The whole album proves how Bauhaus shouldn't be confined to just a "goth" status -- they're a great rock n roll band in the vein of Bowie, VU, Stooges, T.Rex. A hip-swinging, finger-snapping, blood-sucking good time.

Great band, Great songs, Poor recordings
I love Bauhaus don't get me wrong, but the live recordings though energetic, are of lackluster quality. If you're just getting into Bauhaus I'd wait to buy this album til you're accustomed to them & know what they're suppost to sound like. If I were you I'd start by purchesing: Mask, or The Skys Gone Out. Press Eject & Give Me the Tape almost lead me to leave Bauhaus behind.

A masterpiece of Goth Rock
Bauhaus, Push the Eject and Give Me the Tape

For a brief period of time during the early to mid 1980's, the ultimate in pale white kid music was a new offshoot of post-punk that the critics were just then beginning to call "Goth Rock." At it's prime, Goth Rock was (much like its listeners) dark, depressing, and yet frighteningly attractive. However, that prime didn't last long beyond the style's infancy. As a music, Goth Rock soon began to spiral downwards into pits of self-indulgence. It's once meaningful lyrics started to become inundated with "poetic" discussions about mysticism and the like, which were at times boring and at others just downright laughable. The stage performances began to turn the way of Kissesque garish costumed melodrama. Possibly even more detrimental to Goth's reputation, was how as a culture, it began to become associated with that creepy kid you saw walking down the hallway with the fishnets and the big gaudy cross hanging across his chest (ironically, that kid probably listened to Ozzy Osbourne, but that's another story...). Basically, as soon as it all started taking itself too seriously, it became a joke.

Looking at all this, it is easy to see why so many people began quickly forgot Goth Rock's startlingly impressive origins. In their 1979-1983 prime, bands like Joy Division, Sioux and the Banshees, and The Cure were able to construct sorrowful soundscapes that were addictive at the same time as they were powerful, with lyrics that were introspective, intensely personal, and suprisingly intelligent coming from boys who wore eye makeup. Arguably the quintessential Goth Rock band from this "golden age" was Bauhaus, an English based band, who many have called the founding fathers of Goth.

In 1979, Bauhaus released their first single, "Bela Lugosi's Dead," which is, for all intensive purposes, the first Goth Rock song. Two years later, they had released two albums (neither of them masterpieces, but both good), and were rapidly increasing in popularity. Then, in 1982, they released Push the Eject and Give Me the Tape, a live album. It documented a series of shows across Europe and perfectly captured Bauhaus where it seems clear that they shone brightest: on stage.

Push kicks off with "In the Flat Fields," the title song off their first album. It rushes in with gut wrenching guitar noise, synthetic drums, and howling screams. It is angry and dark, exploring territory that beforehand had never really been touched in rock. Lead singer Peter Murphy openly sing/speaks of things like decay and fear. On tracks like "Hollow Hills," he discusses topics like the occult in a way that may now seem cliche, but then was completely revolutionary.

However, being revolutionary is only enough to make an album a point of fascination. It doesn't necessarily make it good, or even listenable. But what keeps Bauhaus' music from being dated is two things. The first is its humor, which is very rare in Goth music. The band constantly had a sense of the cult that was so quickly forming in their wake, and they always made a point to look at themselves, their posturing, and (even more appropriately) their fans, and have a nice long creepy cackling laugh. Even as their songs get ridiculously depressing, there is this sense of "Hey, we understand that we're singing about the dead guy who used to play Dracula (Bela Lugosi), and we find it just as hysterical as we do morbid." For me, listening to a Bauhaus song is like watching Terry Gilliam's Brazil or reading the posts at godhatesfags.com, it makes you laugh while it tears at your soul.

The other strong point is a big one: Bauhaus' songs are amazingly well written. Chord-based chilly guitar work and globs of feedback attack you at first, but after a song or so you forget it, as it has already seeped into the gloomy atmosphere that surrounds what are in essence the core of Bauhaus' catalog: some amazingly well written, albeit wholly unusual, pop songs. The standout is a nine and a half minute version of their signature song, "Bela Lugosi's Dead." Starting with some insanely perfunctory minimalist drum work, Bela run almost a minute before a guitar enters. But once that down-the-scale baseline starts mumbling, there's no way out. By the time the two lead guitars and Murphy's echoing vocals step in, the trance like state you will be in will be shattered to pieces and slowly gathered and forced into climax by the end scream of "Who's dead? He's DEAD! I'm dead...I'm dead, I'm DEAD, I'M DEAD!" It's surreal, it's sublime, and shows why this band hasn't receded into the annals of music history, why this song along kick started a music revolution, and why it was so hard for any of Bauhaus' followers to ever match them.

Final Rating: 9.6/10 A masterpiece of Goth Rock that has escaped the ravages of cliche and time through its excellent songwriting and intelligent, darkly humorous philosophies. Bauhaus is the ultimate example of what Goth Rock was at its height, and what it could have been had the rest of the bands followed suit. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential recording

More Miles Than Money: Live 1994-96 is the most compelling solo release yet from this Austin roots rock legend, an alumnus of Rank & File, True Believers, and Buick MacKane. On these live recordings, Alejandro Escovedo broods--usually quietly--in front of solemn picking and a weary cello or violin, as is the case during a beautiful version of his best song, "Pissed Off 2 A.M."A couple of times, though, he shows he can still rock out (a wicked "I Wanna Be Your Dog"), and when the electric guitar springs in to steal the show, during the Stones' "Sway," the sudden contrast takes your breath away.--David Cantwell ... Read more

Reviews (6)

the next best thing
this album is only a shadow of what alejandro escovedo is like live. his music is moving...he has a gift that enables him to really touch your soul when you here him. overall, a very good album. if you are lucky enough to have him visit your town, please give him a listen...it will be entirely worthwhile.

too bad about the money, al
really nice disk from austin-based alt.country rocker alejandro escovedo. actually, the alt.country label may be both overly confining and misleading: escovedo started out as a punk (the nuns) and subsequently moved through a variety of bands including punk-country (rank&file) new romantic (the troobs) revivalist (buick mckane). his bands often feature strings (as in violin and cello). so what we've got is a middle-aged singer-songwriter with a punk background and string players in his band. uh-huh.

one could argue with some of the song selections (where's "put you down"?) but the covers are interesting (the stones "sway", lou reed's "street hassle" and a violin/cello driven version of the stooges' "i wanna be your dog." yeah, you read that last part right. he turns the string players loose on that one and they make like the second coming of john cale.

A really good record
This is my favorite solo Escovedo record -- it catches his world-weary sound much better than his studio recordings. The live versions of his own songs, particularly _Pissed Off_, and _Broken Bottle_ are riveting, and his choice of covers nothing short of inspired. And, it's great to hear his punk rock roots showing on _I Wanna Be Your Dog_ and _Street Hassle_.

Put this one on late at night, with a smoke in one hand and a double-scotch in the other. Trust me, you'll feel better.

One of the few American musicians who really matter.
Although often lumped into the "alt-country" grab bag of styles, Escovedo's music defies simple categorization. He deftly navigates the disparate influences of folk, rock, punk, country, and many other styles. The whole, however, stands far greater than the sum of it's parts.

mesmerizing
The arrangements are masterful and the storytelling is mesmerizing. If this is what his live shows are about I can't wait to catch one. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Comprehensiveness isn't always a virtue, as this three-CD set proves. It gathers together everything David Bowie recorded for the BBC between the years referenced in its title, plus a third disc taken from a June 2000 London concert for the famed British radio broadcasting company. Head first to disc two, which focuses on Bowie's in-studio recreations of material from Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust, and marvel at the glam-rockabilly heat generated by Bowie's Spiders from Mars band. By comparison, the other two discs are a disappointment. The first reveals a musical chameleon uncomfortably changing his spots, from music-hall entertainer to free-festival folkie to sub-Dylan sage. The third and final disc betrays a different problem. By 2000, Bowie had calcified into a very slick entertainer. His performances here, particularly of later material such as "I'm Afraid of Americans" and "This Is Not America," are technically fine but a little bloodless--disappointingly human instead of wonderfully alien. --Keith Moerer ... Read more

Reviews (38)

David Bowie's live boxed set
Ever since David Bowie's two live albums (1975's David Live and 1978's Stage) ceased to be manufactured due to low sales and inadequate sound quality, his more dedicated fans have been forced to hunt down expensive imports and bootlegs for documentation of Mr. Bowie onstage. In 2000, however, the performer attempted to compensate for the lack of official live recordings with Bowie at the Beeb, a two-CD collection of performances from the BBC radio shows on which he guested during his formative years, augmented by a third, bonus disc, recorded at a small fan club gig in June of 2000.

The first two discs feature material from 1968 to 1972, during which a young Mr. Bowie shifted from gleeful mod to heady folk-wizard to glamrock superstar. No matter what form he takes, the singer and his band hit every note of his excellent compositions almost perfectly. A little too perfectly, in fact. On these particular performances, the ensemble sound almost robotic, expunging every moment of the arrangement right on key with the album version, sacrificing the looseness, energy and adventurism listeners expect from live recordings. During an interview segment on the first disc, a host asks Mr. Bowie why he would not be performing his hit, "Space Oddity," that day. "We'd need about five orchestras to get the right sound," he replied. A bolder performer would have coped. This attitude is much different from his approach to amphitheater performances during the time, as the aforementioned bootlegs (many of them featuring a heart stopping twenty-two minute version of Mr. Bowie's mystical-sexual epic, "Width of a Circle") can attest. Perhaps Mr. Bowie felt it best to keep the songs concise, cleanly cut and professional for the somewhat stuffy BBC programs. Regardless, Bowie at the Beeb sounds less like a live album than a series of alternative takes from regular recording sessions. If not for the generous offering of noteworthy rare songs (including such early gems as "Silly Boy Blue" and "Let Me Sleep Beside You" and a stunning cover of Jacque Brel's "Amsterdam"), the first two CDs would be almost useless to any fan who already owns Mr. Bowie's studio albums from this era.

The third disc, featuring Mr. Bowie and his backing band on an actual stage exchanging energy with an actual crowd of fans, fares significantly better. The musicians and back-up vocalists muster a spirit of enthusiasm and playfulness that streams through a set of grade A songs spanning Mr. Bowie's entire career. They perform a soaring "Survive," an enthralling "I'm Afraid of Americans," a triumphant "Absolute Beginners" and a lushly gorgeous "Always Crashing the Same Car." The disc's best track, however, is the performance of Mr. Bowie's 1983 mega-hit, "Let's Dance." The song begins as a slow, dreamy twinkling before fervently bursting into an onslaught of the anticipated clunking drumbeats and swinging guitar riffs. If the young Mr. Bowie had shown this vigor, charisma and confidence in the BBC studios thirty years ago, Bowie at the Beeb would be an absolute stunner. Unfortunately such is not so. This package may prove that Mr. Bowie can still arouse an audience, but for recordings that display his utmost power as a live performer in his younger days, fans are going to have to continue chasing bootlegs.

Highly recommended
Fine set of "historical" Bowie, with the added bonus of the live CD from 6/2000. Some people complain about this latter disc because it sounds "polished", but I was simply stunned by the quality of the mix and the flow of the music. Two of the songs here (Survive and Seven) sound better to me live than they do on Hours... - more fluid and rich. And a nice broad range of old and new in this live mix. (Odd guitar line on "Americans", though...)

As for the two BBC discs - yes, they're primarily for fans (of which there are a lot out there). But they are terrific renditions of familiar songs that are fun to turn to, especially if you've heard the originals countless times already. There's a rawness to them that breathes new life into them. I'm not as much of a fan of the earliest Bowie work, but it's still interesting to hear.

If you're a Bowie fan, I recommend this highly, and furthermore suggest you grab it while you can still get the "bonus" third disc. This is what grabbed me first in the set, so it hardly has the feel of an offhand bonus and is worthwhile in itself. At least in my humble opinion.

A sprawling triple CD effort
I rarely listen to this although having said that I have been listening to it a lot more recently. The fact is is that this is a hard thing to recommend. You might not have some of the songs that are on here and for that you might want to top up. I bought it as an overview of Bowie's earlyish career ( I'm not going anywhere near The Laughing Gnome ). Which in hindsight was probably a bit of a mistake but I wouldn't buy this album if it didn't have the extra CD - call me banal if you will but that's what happens when you have collector tendancies in you!

Bowie's early stuff ( pre-Ziggy ) sounds anodyne and twee. The conversations you hear on the CD make Bowie seem genuinely nervous but pleasantly friendly. Of course he might not do one song " because to do it would be possibly over everyone's budget." You could take that as nerves if you will but this is the BBC we're talking about. Their budgets at the time were not astronomical.

I've said this before that when you see " Live At The BBC " it doesn't really mean it's really *live* if you've ever heard BBC radio presenters like John " that was quite tasty " Peel or any others you'll know that they say " and we have [musician's name] here live in the studio." It's in a studio and it will never give you a live feel for the songs. It's just BBC engineers working on Bowie's songs and in return you could I suppose think of them as session outtakes from his album. But one thing should be made clear - if you haven't got Bowie's version of Jacques Brel's Amsterdam, this is where you can get it. It's passion almost matches Le Grand Jacques in it's intensity

As the second CD moves and the classics come in you begin to think " this is more like it " and Bowie seems more at ease with everything. Notice his covers of White Light/White Heat ( " make me sound like Lou Reed ")

Now the third CD becomes even more sprawling since it tries to fill in all the places that the first two CDs left out. And it's not always a winner. Little Wonder and I'm Afraid of Americans are terrible songs but actually sound better than what they sounded like on their original album. Still doesn't make it good but at least you can probably tolerate it this time. But overall it didn't capture the gig very well since I saw this on TV when I was 15 and I thought the gig was fantastic. Bowie really had them going ( but then that was to be expected right? ), the CD just doesn't capture the songs well and though I like nearly all of the songs, it lacks the cohesion that the show actually had. Still, for the money I paid for this it's not too bad. But then, there's always a nagging feeling that it could be improved but whatever about that, the sheer amount of material you have here you can be somewhat happy if you want to buy this.....of course that is if you are a diehard fan. If you're not - try figuring out which compilation you want to get of Bowie. There's a lot of them around!

CD 2 still the best, but CD3 doesn't disappoint/Bowie Rocks!
I did track down this version that has the fine recently recorded third CD, HOWEVER, I would have been happy to have just heard the original two CD collection. On Disc 3, I was impressed with some of the old songs that were chosen such as "Man Who Sold The World" and some classics I have never heard done live like "Ashes To Ashes" and "Stay." The biggest and best surprise is the closer: "Let's Dance." Sweet!

This is certainly an interesting collection of songs! I can't say I love DISC 1 in general, but there are some nice surprises. "Kooks" is a lovely little song! The band playing with Bowie is quite good in "The Width Of A Circle" and "Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed." I heavily prefer Disc 2 because I have loved the "Ziggy Stardust" material for many years. The familiar songs sound different but as enjoyable as the released versions. Bowie was great at reworking good songs into even better songs, which is quite apparent on "I'm Waiting For The Man" and "White Light/White Heat." I can't say enough positive things about Disc 2 other than "Freak out, in a Moonage Daydream! Oh yeah!"

3rd CD is the charm
The third CD's modern small-club concert is the reason I bought this set. Actually, I found the third disc used somewhere, but I was grateful because I had not wanted the goofy early-BBC material anyway. Seems many reviewers here agree that the 3rd disc is the wonderful part of the set.

On the 3rd disc Bowie plays an interesting selection of tunes, avoiding most of the hits that quite honestly, maybe you don't want to hear again (and perhaps neither does he). Instead, there's a good mix of other material, some with new arrangements that really work well. The overall impression is of a "pleasant", small show; he's among friends, and has nothing to prove (except perhaps that he can still sing and even handle the high notes with a certain style, if not frequency).

One unfortunate aspect of the 3rd disc (that I took one star away from the rating for) is that they fade out between songs - an asset if you tend to put your music on shuffle play, but otherwise unwelcome - and it appears that a piano introduction mentioned favorably in the liner notes is omitted. Be sure to read the liner notes, too - it explains how this small club gig came to be.

With Bowie now free of his label, and intending to self-release from now on, I hope he will consider releasing more of these intimate gigs on disc; I'm sure there have been a few others. Untl then, honor this rare opportunity to get an officially sanctioned live disc. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

July 8, 2003
Will be now and forever the absolute best concert I will ever go too. Mansfield was as good, but no doubt NYC CD be a clasic CD in years to come.

Not to good...
This was a pretty shotty CD, the quality was bad. Singing some times out of key. I love Pearl Jam but this was their worst live album I've heard. They didn't play some of their hits as well.

Still not bad, only cost me 12 bucks new.

Both shows are great
Great shows. More than 50 different songs, including gems like Crown of Thorns and Breath; along with classics like Do the evolution, Alive, etc.I prefer the first show, but both of them are great performances by the band. Get them both.

Buy the pack, you get a great deal!!!!!!!!
Asome shows, specially the second show.

Touring band 2K3
A great band at the height of thier powers. Returning to New York City the first time after 9/11. Pearl Jam shows the power of a band with something to prove....

A must for even a casual fan. ... Read more

Reviews (39)

Great as far as live CD's go
The problem with live CD's is that you can't make everyone happy because everyone has their favorite songs and if those aren't on there people get disappointed. So then the formula for a successful live album is to change up the songs a bit by throwing in new elements and adding in rare stuff. By this 311 succeeds brilliantly. They mix up the songs like a whole new verse in Misdirected Hostility, and a whole minute of build-up guitar before Hydroponic. Also Nix Hex and Light Years sound very different than their studio counterparts. Also in the mix is the great song Tribute from the Enlarged To Show Detail video EP which only hard-core fans have and a great cover of Who's Got the Herb? which is a great concert song. So as far as live albums go this one is really good.

One of the best live albums.
If you're not familiar with 311 or you're new, this album is a must for all fans alike. There are no fillers in this one and it's sure to keep you pleased.

A fine note: We're tributed to a drum solo by Chad Sexton on Applied Science. Chad is an awesome drummer and you shouldn't look him over. There are also solos from P-Nut and Tim Mahoney. The quality isn't bad, and I prefer some of these songs live rather then the studio versions. Some great examples are Omaha Stylee, Hydroponic, Who's Got the Herb, Beautiful Disaster, and Nix Hex.

Put it in, press play, and enjoy.

311 and Sublime are the greatest of all time
This cd to start is great. It has a lot of 311's best songs. I like down and whos got the herb, a lot it is a great live cd that has a lot of great drumb and guitar solos. If you are true to the game and love 311 then you gotta get this cd it is one of the best ever.

if you have never seen these boys live...do it now
to show their appreciation for their fans' support, the group decided to compile a live album, including tracks from all of their albums up to that date and more. stand-out tracks (although they're all pretty amazing) include "applied science" with chad sexton's 3-minute drum solo, "homebrew," and "down." the band also decided to add in a live version of "tribute," a song previously unreleased and now only available on the bonus CD that comes with their home video titled "enlarged to show detail." if you want to get the "live show feel" you get when you see three eleven on the road, get this album. it's great.

Good, but nowhere near the live experience
First off, this review is coming from a big 311 fan. Having seen them in concert, I can attest to the fact that they have one of the most energetic shows out there today. I have never been as dehydrated as I was when I saw them in concert - even during the slower songs, the energy never waned.

That said, I picked up this album expecting it to blow me away like live albums from other explosive groups. At times it does. "Nix Hex" improves on the studio version with its extended coda leaving ample room for Tim Mahoney to flex his musical muscles; "Applied Science" features a phenominal drum solo by Chad Sexton - funky, fast and jaw-dropping, it's enough to make people who hate drum solos take notice; "Feels So Good" grooves along better and stronger than the studio version and P-Nut improves on his original bass break. Plus, there's also the rare cut "Tribute" originally only on the "Enlarged to Show Detail" EP and the remake "Who's Got The Herb" that has been a crowd favorite for years but has never been featured on one of their albums.

However, the rest of the album is a mixed bag. The other tracks are almost note-for-note replicas of the studio versions and some - "Freak Out" and "Light Years" - actually sound weaker.

Any big 311 fan should pick this up - "Herb" and "Applied Science" are worth the list price alone - but don't expect it to come anywhere near the experience of a live show. Any tepid fan should probably stick with the studio albums. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Laurie Anderson scored an improbable hit in the early ‘80s with the atmospheric "O Superman," a song that appears near the end of this exhaustive two-disc live set. Despite a new arrangement, the track sounds just as entrancing as it did 20 years ago, if only because the 90 minutes leading up to it features some of the most complex, dreamlike, and unnerving music ever produced. But given that these concerts were recorded just days after the September 11 attacks in New York, the effect is all the more chilling--just try to hold back the goose bumps when Anderson sings, "Here come the planes / They're American planes / Made in America." The air of intensity is palpable throughout Live at Town Hall, as Anderson pulls out vintage pieces like "Let X=X" and "Strange Angels," each one taking new shape and meaning in the process. It is a harrowing listen. --Aidin Vaziri ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Brave New World
Laurie Anderson recently applied for and was hired as kitchen worker at McDonald's hamburger joint near her studio in Manhattan. Huh???...yes it's true, and she recounts her McDonalds experience in her new performance piece, "Happiness". Laurie Anderson can find beauty in strange places. At Town Hall, eight short days after the collapse of the Trade Towers, Laurie found beauty in a terrifying place. She performed "Love Amoung the Sailors", from her Bright Red album and the lyric..."There is no pure land now, no safe place...If this is the work of an angry God, I want to look in his angry face..." ; becomes a prophetic statement of iron willed resolve. "Let X=X" takes on a new meaning as we, the listeners, are placed in an aisle seat of a burning plane. George Bush talked about "wanted dead or alive" and "hunting down terrorists like dogs" and Laurie Anderson talked about the phenomena of flaming birds in the sky after the American planes became guided missles from hell. Now, one year later as Sadam becomes the ghost of Osama, I look to Laurie Anderson's concert at Town Hall as a defining moment in a Brave, New World. Laurie Anderson (not Rudy Guliani) is New York's first citizen and the heart and soul of this planet, Earth.

She's amazing....
Well, the first time I got to see Laurie live last
year (2001) in a small theater in New Hamsphire
she doesn't sing a word really, it turned out to
be a talk. Sure, I wanted to experience Laurie
Anderson with a band but I'm glad in a way that I
didn't get to hear her perform considering all that had
happened this past year it has made her new/older music so much more
compelling to experience live. I've listened to this many times now
and I find this to be a classic set of songs for troubled times
and I'm just glad there are caring artists around that have
something to say about this or have written songs that still
mean something. I'm more perplexed that musicians as a group
haven't had a whole lot to say about 9/11?? since the fundraisers. It doesn't say to much
to me about the music community of this country? Music in general seems so hard to be all about being young and unstopable but we all learned real quick whats important! many musicians are still caught up in the get rich
quick trip, thanks to Laurie for this gift of music. I also
enjoy the song "Silver Lining" the David Grey song that Bonnie

Raitt covers on her new Cd, she really shines on this, and she
to has something important to say, as well.

Love
A maximum of 1,000 words is not enough to do justice to one of the most glorious artists of our time.

Attending the event
Playing this CD makes the listener feel they are attending the event itself. The music itself is amazing right through, as are the spken word pieces. There is an intimacy, some intensity, some discomfort but some delight too, for example when the anecdote ('Beginning French') about French 'traffic testers' gives way discreetly to the intro of 'O Superman.' But the intensity is felt most when Laurie refers to 9/11 and her reactions, playing that evening, the sense of an entirley changed world. Her songs fit. My favourites here are O Superman, which I knew from the 8os and Strange Angels, which I didn't know before.
The discomfort comes in when you've listened all the way through and get to O Superman on Disc 2, when the references to 'Amercian planes, made in America' are heard.
This is a good place to go for a live compilation of Laurie Anderson songs.

The Best Concert I've Ever Seen
Firstly, I have yet to hear this album, but I did see her show In Toronto on September 13th, 2001, and I have to say that it was aesthetically and artistically the most incredible concert that I've ever attended. The quality of her performance (and band!) was superb, and the themes that she's been weaving for all of these years really came together. For me, peak of the show was the transition from O Superman to Pieces and Parts: very emotional, new layers of resonance to say the least. She was visibly shaken at the "American Planes" line, almost as though she had just realized what she was singing. The show ran from the quiet and delicate (White Lily) to surprisingly (and successfully) noisy, loud and aggressive (My Compensation), to arty and humourous (distributing pencils and papers for the audience to draw with and pass back after the show). She's consistently been the most interesting American artist for the past 20 years. Content-wise, she has all the bases covered: musicality, intelligence, technique, experimentation, insight, wit, and grace.
Inspired. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Simply Amazing
Ween has always been a great live band, and they've shown that since their first official live CD release "Paintin' The Town Brown". Since then there has been a steady supply of live Ween; including the 3 disc set "Live at Stubbs," "Live in Toronto" touring for their country album, and now "Live in Chicago" with a DVD. This DVD is spectacular. Mastered in 5.1 surround and great picture quality. They change the songs so much, refusing to recreate the studio album version of the song. This makes the concert so much fun and instresting to watch. They change instruments, lyrics, add/change sound effects; it's fantastic. And Dean must be one of the greatest guitarists in music today; some of those solos were just sick, such as "I'll be your Johnny on the spot" or "Voodoo lady"; just tearing up every song with some killer lead guitar. Also, a great cover of Led Zeppelin's "All of my love". This is a must own for Ween lovers, and for anyone who appreciates good music and a great live performance.

I think you NEED this....
If you are a Ween fan, you are going to buy this. If you are new to Ween, you NEED to buy this. This is Weens first DVD release and what a release it is. The quality of the recording on both the DVD and the CD is incredible. Not to mention that the setlist on both is top notch. It covers the hits spanning Ween's illustrious career thus far. The DVD also has a cover of Led Zeppelins All of My love which they rock out to the fullest. I think the boys in Lep Zep would agree with me on that. So enough of my rambling and enough of you reading. This is a must have. So buy it. ... Read more

Album Description

Incredible live album taken from May, 1984 shows in London &Oxford. 10 tracks, including 'The Walk', 'Killing An Arab', 'One Hundred Years', 'The Hanging Garden', 'Primary', 'Charlotte Sometimes', 'A Forest', '10:15 Saturday Night' and more. 1984 Fiction release. Produced by Dave Allen and The Cure. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Original Vinyl Release Has Run-Off Groove Phrases
This is definitely one of their better live recordings. The sound is crisp and the treatment of each song is simple but careful. One note of interest: in this version of "10:15 Saturday Night," an odd pause in the first line suggests that something might have caught Mr. Smith's attention...I guess you'll just have to purchase it and listen to see what I mean! The only version of Concert - The Cure Live I currently have is one of the 1984 UK 12" vinyl pressings (fixh10). The track listing is the same as the Swedish version advertised on this site, at least in regards to titles and track order. One of the great things about the format/version I have is that the record has phrases in the run-off grooves. Side One says, "PLAY ME LOUD," and Side Two says, "EAT ME TOO." (A lot of earlier Cure and special Smith project vinyl pressings have simialr quirky run-off groove phrases.) All in all, this is a great live recording, and I would recommend any version or format of this album...and there are quite a few of them out there...you just have to look for them. When you get it, PLAY IT LOUD.

Great live
This is probably my favorite live album by The Cure.Some of the songs on this album are even better live than the studio versions.If you want a good taste of The Cure live this is the best.My favorite on here has alway been "The Forest".It has so much more depth and atmosphere live than the studio version.I actually prefere it to the other.

Better on Import Cassette
For some reason unbeknownst to mortal men, The Cure has always added more goodies on tape then with CDs. With 'Concert' on the imported version, you get the AWESOME treat of The Cure's 'Anomalies'. These are the best of The Cure's unreleased and demo versions of their older songs. Kinda like the outtakes in Staring at the Sky.

A MUST HAVE
i bought cd back in the mid-eighties at a record store when CD's had just come out, it's still the most treasured cure cd i have. the versions of primary and a forest are fantastic. if you like the cure, don't leave without this one, you won't be sorry.

A must have
The live versions of FOREST, Charlotte Sometimes, Primary, 10:15 & Arab are far better than the album versions! Consider the Sisters of Mercy remake of 'Gimme Shelter' versus the original Stones version! A fan from 'Faith' to 'Head on the door'; for me, this album has always been the source for the definitive versions of the above songs. Buy this CD. If you hav'nt heard them, the experience will be like a new release from the old band!! 'Cool music'(remember that term?) at it's peak!! The only thing missing will be the fog machine! ... Read more

Amazon.com

The Cure is bombarding us with disposable product: There's Show,the soundtrack from the film of its Detroit stop on the '92 Wish tour; SideShow, an EP of five live tunes not included on Show, and Paris, adifferent live set recorded in Europe. Considering that much of its reputationrests on Tim Pope's visionary videos, Show (the movie) is a dreadfulbore, concentrating exclusively on the band performing, much like Pink Floyd'sLive At Pompeii. The soundtrack is just as tedious, skimping on thecatchy hits ("Friday I'm in Love" is here, but not "The LoveCats") and dwelling on droning mood pieces such as "From the Edge ofthe Deep Green Sea." Show is for the devoted only, while the otherdiscs are for those devotees who actually go out in public dressed like Fat Bob.--Jim DeRogatis ... Read more

Reviews (17)

mostly superior to the recorded versions
without knowing much about the cure, i would say that this cd alone is enough to make me a real fan. having heard their "greatest hits" album, i would say that with the exception of "just like heaven", the real electrifying experience comes from hearing them live. "lullaby" was done absolutely perfectly--you can literally feel the song, its macabre rhythms, robert smith's genuinely eerie vocals, the sound effects of the "spiderman"...the concert was simply great art. the darkness of their music is chiefly what appeals to me, but the musicianship is so flawlessly done that even a naive listener like myself is amazed. buy this show.

Motown Aside, Detroit has Never Sounded Better
Recorded live at the Auburn Palace outside of Detroit during the Cure's Wish tour, this album has the perfect blend of greatest hits and thicker, harsher, guitar-driven rock. I purchased this album while still "learning" to love the Cure and repeatedly listened to songs such as "Just Like Heaven," "Inbetween Days" and "Friday I'm in Love." Over the years I've grown to appreciate the rest of its majestic and atmospheric music--songs like "Open" and "From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea" are given brilliant treatment by the band. The album dishes out many of the songs from the Wish album and a few of their other best works, but what sets this album apart from live albums by other bands is the phenomenal energy and sound quality--most live albums are either "too stale" so that you can't even tell that there was an audience roaring in appreciation, or the sound is distorted to the extent that it sounds like a poor bootleg. Show (available on VHS with encores not on any CD) is highly recommended. It also comes with a maxi-single, Sideshow, which features songs that were omitted from the band's main set list, but you can also purchase the UK version that includes all of those songs on 2 CDs. If you like this album, consider "Paris," a live CD from the same tour, but with a very different song list.

the cure does it again
i own 6 of the cure's albums, ranging from 1981 to 2000, so i've gotten to really know their sound and heard their sound evolve over the years. but i must say that their lives albums are what make them the most incredible band. this cd along with "concert" from '84 are both amazing. on "show", the performances are as good as the studio versions, with the best being "pictures of you" (first song i ever heard of theirs.. still my favorite), "just like heaven" (my other favorite), "a night like this", and "doing the unstuck". also notable are "trust" and "inbetween days". truly a great album, everyone should buy it, whether you're a current cure fan or not.

Show Side Show Paris
...

FOR FANS OF THE CURE OR CUSTOMERS OF AMAZON.COM HERE ARE TRUE THOUGHTS ON THE CURE LIVE CD'S "SHOW", "SIDE SHOW", AND "PARIS". FIRST OFF IT IS FAIR TO SAY THE SOUND QUALITY OF THESE DISCS IS POOR CONSIDERING THE TECHNOLOGY THAT IS OUT THERE, BUT IF IT IS THE CURE YOU LIKE THEN THESE ARE GOOD DISCS.

"SHOW" IS A SET BUILT MORE AROUND HITS AND SONGS FROM THE "WISH" CD. "SIDE SHOW" IS A NICE COMPANION TO "SHOW" AND HAS GOOD TRACKS OF ITS OWN. "PARIS" IS DARKER AND MORE IN TUNE WITH WHAT DIE HARD CURE FANS WOULD WANT TO HEAR... AND I THINK THAT IT IS NICE FOR A BAND TO TRY TO COVER THE BASES... MAINSTREAM FANS WHO WANT TO HEAR "FRIDAY, I'M IN LOVE" ALL DAY LONG AND THE HARDCORE FANS WHO WOULD RATHER LISTEN TO "100 YEARS"... EITHER WAY THE CURE HAS DISCS FOR EVERYONE... IF ANYONE DRESSES LIKE FAT BOB OR NOT REALLY HAS NO IMPACT ON MUSIC DOES IT???

THE CURE CD SINGLE OF "PICTURES OF YOU" ALSO HAS SOME GREAT LIVE CUTS... WITH A MUCH BETTER SOUND TO IT... CHECK IT OUT IF YOU NEED MORE LIVE CURE.

Buy It Now!!! Great!!!
the cure has done it again... a great live show with the gothic-rock sound they have..buy it and buy it now!!! ... Read more

Album Details

Punk Attitude and Drive Comes Through on their First Live Album featuring Some of their Biggest Hits from 'insomnia'. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

buy insomniac
this cd has all of the same songs as in insomniac but insomniac has alot more tracks the only song on here thats not on insomniac is knowledge. (check out the new superhits album before you buy it, i have most of the songs on it and i only have five greenday cds) a four because of the lack tracks and because it has the same songs. but its greenday so its got to be great

Green Day kicks even more @$$ live!
"Bowling Bowling Bowling Parking Parking" is Green Day's first live EP, and they sound even better playing live than they do on their regular albums. Their punk attitude shows through more when they play live than on any other album, even "Dookie." The tracks are few here, only 7 songs, but it is still an incredible record. Personally, I think "Brain Stew" is the best track on this album, but every song is great. I highly suggest this to any Green Day fan. Don't let the high price drive you away, it is well worth the money!

AWESOME GREEN DAY CD
Despite the shortage of tracks, this CD has the live versions of most of Green Day's best songs- which sound BETTER than the Album versions. I think that Brain Stew is the best song on this CD. A must-buy for Green Day fans!

GREEN DAY RULES!
I Bought this CD because I Wanted to own all the green day CD's. The only bad thing about this live cd is there is only seven songs! Where are the rest! [Only] 7 songs? Its worth it if you like green day as much as i do.

Live Green Day Is Good Green Day
'Bowling Bowling Bowling Parking Parking' is the first of the two live Green Day records released officially by Reprise Records, and the only thing it lacks is length. There are only 7 songs blasted out quickly by the punk-rock kings, but a worthwhile purchase nonetheless. 'Knowledge', the fourth song on the record, is especially good and a fun song to listen to live. With the live experience of Green Day in their existence, this album is certainly very good, and easier to get too than the large amount of Green Day bootleg cds there are. Teamed up with the second official live recording, 'Foot In Mouth', 'Bowling... Parking...' results in a very enjoyable record that gives you the brilliant experience of Green Day LIVE! ... Read more

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This is a live record to cherish. Getting Away with It is a valedictory wave of the flower-petal handkerchief from James founder and singer Tim Booth, who announced his decision to leave the band late in 2001. Recorded at a celebratory hometown show (in Manchester) on the band's farewell tour, the crowd--clapping louder than hailstones hitting a corrugated roof--egg the group on all the way to the checkered flag. They honestly incorporate the odd technical glitch (a bit of feedback from the dobro) and profane slip of the tongue (Booth apologizes to his mum in the audience for a four-letter outburst), and there's no questioning the grandiose melodic momentum ("Laid," "Sometimes," "Sit Down") evident in the hit-laden set list. Despite accusations of conceited arena-rock posturing and winsome folk-thrumming, James wrote some fine songs. Many of them are here. One suspects we haven't heard the last of them (or of Booth) yet. --Kevin Maidment ... Read more

Reviews (10)

A Farewell Concert to Remember
Yeah, I've heard of James. They did that album "Laid," but I don't know much else. PICK UP THIS ALBUM. If you love/like Brit pop-rock, this is a must for any collector. The fact that it's probably the last time lead singer Tim Booth will perform with the band makes it that much more memorable. For a band that has always thrived on chaos, they come without their armor and have one freakin' good time.

Recorded in Manchester in December of 2001, with nothing to prove, the band puts out for 16,000 fans. The songs are sung as gifts to an audience that came to say "thanks" rather than coming with owed expectations. The loose feel of the concert is captured throughout, from the easy stage banter and peaking with the singalong of the audience with Booth on the band's greatest U.S. hit "Laid."

All 22 songs on this album have never sounded better. Each one is on target, switching from smooth guitars and harmonies to swirling arena anthems belted by Booth with backing vocals by the band. James executes both crunching rock and heartfelt acoustic ballads. "Getting Away with It," mixes dizzying guitar work from Saul Davies with Booth's smooth chimes. "Ring the Bells" opens with blasts from drummer Dave Baynton-Power and goes from zero to sixty by song's end. Radio friendly "I Know What I'm Here For," made me realize that I would have listened to more radio in the 90's if they played songs like this.

Knowing that this is the last recorded concert by James makes this album more precious. After listening, you'll hope it's not the last.

4 1/2 stars really.