Alive 1997 [Limited Edition, Live]

Daft Punk | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 6, 2001)
• Original Release Date: 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Limited Edition, Live
• Label: Virgin Records Us
• ASIN: B00005NVT1
• Also Available in: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,589 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best live albums EVER., February 29, 2004

By 

Christian Zimmerman - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alive 1997 (Audio CD)

Although I love electronic music, I have never put much stock in live electronica. By live electronica, I don't mean a DJ spinning at a club or party, but an artist playing his or her music in the context of a rock concert. All too often, the results are dissapointing, amounting to little more than an hour or so of extended versions of studio cuts, due to the sample-and-loop nature of the genre. On ALIVE 1997, however, Daft Punk prove themselves to be an exception, much to my delight.

Granted, the 45 minutes of ALIVE 1997 consist of extended versions of 3 songs ("Da Funk," "Rollin' and Scratchin'," and "Alive," all from HOMEWORK), but Daft Punk does much more than simply loop the hooks for longer periods of time. Instead, they twist and distort their songs until they're beyond recognition, as well as including extended periods of free improvisations. However, what makes this album truly amazing is that the artistic showmanship never overshadows the music's danceable quality. The sheer inventiveness this duo exhibits makes this album interesting even to a headphone-loving rock fan like me; in fact, Daft Punk is one of the few artists of ANY genre that can hold the casual listener's attention for longer than 15 minutes.

ALIVE 1997 isn't just the best live electronica album in history, it's one of the best live albums ever released, one of the few that even comes close to rivaling Kiss' ALIVE. It takes a lot of chutzpah to name a live album after that seminal 1975 album, but Daft Punk has more than enough talent to back it up.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great beginning and end... to bad the middle drones on...., July 23, 2003

By 

Jeff (Davis, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alive 1997 (Audio CD)

Daft Punk made themselves the kings of marathon mixing with this 45 minute "live" performance; the single track on the disc lasts for the whole duration of the performance (something I don't quite appreciate - more on that later).

The beginning of the performance is incredible with many fluid shifts in the tempo and underlying bass-beat give the music an 80s club/breakdancing feel. The woos and cheers from the crows are scattered throughout the 45 minutes and wholly reflect the quality of the music being played.

With 45 minutes of continuous mixing it's hard to believe that every minute will be packed with explosive and provocative music; unfortunately, Daft Punk didn't escape this belief. As early as 17 minutes the music starts to drone, nearly driving away the attarctiveness of the mix (if you like pure trance music though, you might be able to appreciate the middle section of the track). Either way, the crowd seems to reflect the attractiveness of the music in this section. This middle section only draws attention to the fact that the CD is only ONE TRACK, it would be have been nice to be able to skip through the section and continue to the highly attractive final 15 minutes where the music regains some of the qualities of the first third of the track. Overall a good listen!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Turns Homework's house beats into techno wonderland, July 4, 2002

By 

Stefanie A Cangiano (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alive 1997 (Audio CD)

Wow. I bought this and was blown away.

OK, if you're expecting Homework all over again, you can forget it. If there's one thing I learned from this it's that when Daft Punk performs, they rip their stuff to shreds.

It starts off cheesey, give it until they start the real stuff, Da Funk and the Rollin' & Scratchin' parts will get you moving. Personally, I think this is worth the money just for the last ~5 minutes of it, where Alive is performed. If you thought the album version was amazing, all I can say is brace yourself. There's also, a lot of improv. Nothing to be worried about, it's all well within the lines of Homework-quality house and techno beats.

Well, the cheers of the people during the performance say it all, each song they introduce gets whistles and cheers.