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Old 06-08-2011, 11:05 AM
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The Voice of Reason
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Join Date: 29 Jul 2002
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Age: 51
Gender: male
Posts: 4,066
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I picked this up on the way to work today (along with Depeche Mode's Remix 2 '81-'11) and I'm just now sitting down to give it a proper listen. It's good to hear their first live album open up with the original long intro to Rock Rock if rather abruptly as it is literally the first thing you hear... no fade-in to audience first. The grand orchestral-like opening sets up the suspense perfectly before rapid fire pounding giving away to that rip and tear guitar riff with Joe screaming "Hold on to your hat, hold on to your heart! Ready get to tear this place apart!" It made you forgive the dreadful chorus because everything else going on in it just made it awesome. It makes it worth having on this album.

The last time I saw them live they opened with Rocket (and I was late... and ashamedly bored.) They also did it on Live At Abbey Road. The great thing about Abbey Road and the live version here is it's the Lunar Mix intro with the rest of the original studio mix, complete with the back up vocal "Ooohs" and "Aaahs" that they completely skipped doing. Honestly, I have to check some of my bootlegs, but I don't think they actually started doing those until the last tour or so. They always skipped them in the 90's (and I don't think it was ever played live until the Adrenalize tour.) Great to have it on an official live album now.

I'm happy with the sound through the equivalent of headphones. I'll have to give it a listen during the day when I can turn the speakers and sub on to get the full effect. It's a bit of a challenge to sit through if only because I have to be in the right mood to hear all of the same songs again. It's the fresher bits that get me going, such as Sav's bass solo intro leading in to Rock On.

Mind you, going forward, I'm going to compare this album to "Live In the Round In Your Face" video shot in Denver in 1988. Short of the free live mp3s available from the official site in the late 90's, that video was the only official live album they had up until now. In fact their motto had been "if you want a live album in, put the the video in and close your eyes." I recorded the VHS to cassette upon it's release back then and have owned the Laser Disc and the DVD. It's been part of my digital library since I started one in the late 90's. The performances on their first bona fide live release will have to stand up to those performances from 1988 by either improving upon or making some distinction.

Bringing On the Heartbreak is acoustic here, just as it was in 1988. The distinction here is that the audience takes over and goes solo for the chorus (in '88 they just cheered) and that it leads into Switch 625. That makes it worth having. However, I was a bit underwhelmed by Joe's vocal performance compared to Denver.

I'll have to come back around when I'm in the mood to hear the standards.
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