Customer Reviews

Alive 1997

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

Forty-five minutes of live Daft Punk action recorded in Birmingham, England, in November, 1997. This isn't exactly a "live" CD - there isn't any "Hello Cleveland" or extended drum solos (alas, no spinning drum kit) - more a "live mix" CD.

Having seen them live on the same tour (Cambridge, UK), i was blown away by what i heard/saw, but part of me was also wondering, "Is it real/Memorex/sequencer?"

Then IT hit me - who cares!?! THIS IS GREAT!

Okay sound quality (little to no crowd noise) and the disc i got (from the UK) came with free stickers! Such a deal, and it cost less than the ticket to get into the gig...

Why only 4 *'s? It could have been longer, it could have been a DVD (the extra bit of the "D.A.F.T." DVD wasn't enough!), and c'mon folks, it's not like it's "Pet Sounds" or "Revolver" (or even the wonderful "Homework")

This is a live recording from 1997, when HOMEWORK was released, this was a concert to promote it. First thing you should know, there is no tracklisting to this cd, it is just one track of all the songs on HOMEWORK remixed together. It runs for approx. 45 minutes. You might be thinking that 45 minutes is long to listen to, but it's never quite boring. Fans of Daft Punk will love it, hearing the originals is one thing, but when you listen to this CD you get a sense of being there in the crowd, as there is a lot of audience participation. At times it seems to slow down but it's always building up to a crescendo of funk that will make you want to dance and go crazy. Overall its a nice CD for hardcore Daft Punk fans, but not necessarily essential to own for casual listeners or fans.

I got this CD after owning Homework - and I loved it SO MUCH! Well, I thought - Live CD, from 1997 (same year Homework was released) Must be great! - well, it's pretty good I guess. I don't regret my purchase at all, let's just say it doesn't stay in any of my CD players as often as Homework does or Discovery will (ordered it; haven't got it yet; heard most of it). But it's pretty cool, still. It's kind of like a megamix of some Homework tracks and some original stuff just for this concert, plus the fans screaming and it's 45 minutes of entertainment. My only nitpick is that they didn't do Around the World - must have done this concert before they made that track - cause it's the best song in the world, it really is. =) Oh well, at least we hear Da Funk (the second best song in the world)!

If you aren't sure whether to buy or not, compromise and get it used for half the price - but it's worth getting new just for the neat lil stickers!! =)

Like the other reviewers, I will bring up this point first and foremost: this CD has one 45 minute track. In my opinion its fine, I tend to listen to the CD on repeat 3-4 times while driving to my sister's or somewhere.

Anyway, The CD starts off with some snares that encapsulate your senses straight away. The beats continue to mutate and change through-out the CD, and the crowd participation is great. At one point the beat starts to die down and the crowd jumps in with a beat of their own. They stomp their feet and clap their hands in unison, and one smart guy whistles his own melody in tune for about 2 minutes. Then the snares and bass start up again and carry you on into the next phase of the CD.

In short, this CD is great. Bare bones, yes, with only a few stickers and a CD, but still great. It will set the bar for live electronica in the future, and I doubt it will ever be topped. Long live DP!

5/5!

This is one of the very few albums I've ever heard where people around me wonder what on earth is going on in my headphones whilst I'm listening. I can't tell you much detailed information about tracks etc, but I can tell you that it's impossible not to smile, nod your head, tap your feet and very difficult not to put your arms in the air.

It's blinding.

Live dance music at it's absolute best.

I thoroughly enjoyed Daft Punk's "Discovery", so when I heard that a live album was coming out, I just had to have a copy. Turns out that all the stuff on "Alive 1997" is from "Homework", Daft Punk's debut release. I hadn't heard many tracks from "Homework", but if it's as good as this live performance, I'm ready to make my purchase.

The first thing you should know is that "Alive 1997" is a one-track, 45-minute long performace. Track listings and song structures are nowhere to be found. But, the surprising thing is that the album never seems to get too boring, dull or repetitive. The songs change so often and the beats never get tiresome. Another interesting thing about "Alive 1997" is the heavy amount of audience participation. Listen about two-thirds in to hear audience members whistling to the beat, as if providing their own sample. It's a really fun experience.

True, you're not going to hear anything like "Discovery" or its hit song "One More Time". So, you might want to borrow a copy if all you have is "Discovery". If you liked "Homework", though, this album's probably meant for you. Plus, you get free stickers! :)

I enjoy electronica music and had reviewed a Deadmau5 CD. Another Amazon reviewer, P. Harper, suggested: "Gary! Gotta go with Daft Punk!!" Well, Daft Punk had appeared on my recommended list several times so I gave them a try. I bought a double CD pack that featured two live Daft Punk concerts. I played them both one after the other with "Alive 2007" first and followed by "Alive 1997." In retrospect, I don't think that was the best procedure. The "Alive 2007" disc is one of the best live concerts I've ever heard, no matter what the genre. Anything that followed it would have been a letdown. Well, the "Alive 1997" followed it and was, you got it, a letdown. The "2007" disc was a clearly superior disc in every way and I found the "1997" disc a disappointment.

Well, later, I went back to the "1997" disc and I've changed my mind somewhat. It's quite a good disc. Very enjoyable. It just doesn't hold up to "2007" in a direct comparison, so I didn't listen to it in that way. Well, there's a decade difference between them and it shows. The "1997" disc sounds antiquated, but it's probably pretty futuristic for the time. The heavy beats and song composition and repetitions all strike me as interesting, but somewhat old fashioned. The sound is good, but nowhere nearly as good as that of the "2007" disc. What gives? I had originally thought of the recording equipment, and that may be the case, but after listening again and again, the difference just might be the auditorium acoustics.

In any case, both of these albums are excellent. My advice might be, if you only want one, then go with the "2007" CD. If you like to have everything from such a fine group as Daft Punk, the "1997" CD is quite worthwhile. Some people might even prefer it. Who knows? I'd further suggest that if you want the "1997" disc, buy it in the double album pack. You'll save a lot.

Gary Peterson