Album Review by EDF
Live albums are not what they used to be. Anyone other than the group’s fans will be the only people to purchase the product. The same goes for this Linkin Park CD. The only bonus to this release is that you can buy this with an accompanying 17 track DVD, making this more value for money than some of the other live albums.
The opening track SOMEWHERE I BELONG proves why Linkin Park is as big as they are. The next two tracks LYING FROM YOU and PAPERCUT suffer from erratic mixing as the vocals are, at times, drowned out by the music. Anyway, POINTS OF AUTHORITY, RUNAWAY and FAINT bring us back on track, successfully transferring the songs’ energy out through the speakers.
Things slow down slightly with the great angst tracks FROM THE INSIDE and P5HNG ME AW*Y but they also suffer from the soft, loud, soft structure that most of these groups seem to produce. Things pick up with NUMB, followed by the crowd aided CRAWLING and IN THE END. The final track, ONE STEP CLOSER, is pure Linkin Park, with the crowd singing away in the background, adding to the excitement of the closing track.
As I said at the start, this is a release for fans only. If you like this sort of music then it is worth investigating.
