Customer Reviews

Before the Amplifiers-Live Acoustic

5 star:		(15)
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You know, I own every single Sister Hazel CD, and my favorites are still the first couple. I like the newer CDs, and I like many of the newer songs, but as a whole, I think the first couple of albums were stronger. I also love acoustic treatments of rock songs. I've heard many of these songs in what you would call "acoustic" formats before at live shows, but usually it was limited to Ken Block and a guitar...more of a solo breakout song while the band regroups backstage before the encore than an actual "acoustic" band set.

This CD takes songs that I've become extremely familiar with and changed them in subtle ways that show a maturity in the playing and singing of the band members that's never really existed before. Ken often throws his voice all over the place and turns a single syllable into 4 or 5 by changing notes a lot at the end of a phrase. On this set, he's singing it more "straight" than I've ever heard.

On this version of their stage staple "Happy," for example, the chorus that usually goes "Happy, I'm happy, but that ain't good enough for you" turns into "happyyyyyyy, that ain't good enough for you."

OK, so when you type it, it doesn't look like a big change, but after hearing it the same way hundreds of times at shows and on CD, to have it suddenly change to something that I honestly feel is much, much better is a revelation. That little part of the song had always annoyed me just a bit, but I overlooked it because it's such a great song in general. To hear it simplified and "fixed" all of the sudden after all this time is great.

There are many such moments on this disc. It is worth 9 dollars. Actually, i'd say it is worth 50 dollars. So buy the CD and buy a couple tickets to a show. Hopefully some of the changes they made for this set have been carried over into the live performance. It will be worth it to find out.

Enjoy!

Bought this for my husband who is a huge Sister Hazel fan. We have all of the albums, but this has such a great mix from all of them. Love the acoustic versions of some of the songs. We have given this to other friends of our that weren't as big of fans of Sister Hazel as we were, but they loved this as well!

Bought this as a Bday gift for my brother, who is a Hazelnut. Naturaly I listen as well. This is a collection of tunes from other albums, but all stripped down and given an acoustic treatment. While not exactly pure acoustic the effect is wonderful. I love alternate interpretations of songs I'm familiar with.
The harmonies are wonderful, as you might expect from Sister Hazel. No big surprises here, solid songs with deep lyrics sung well.
Its fun to sing along to the slower versions, and easier to hear the the harmony parts. This would be a great addition to anyone who enjoys mellow rock, and its not just for old Hazel fans. Hope this helps. Enjoy.

Sister Hazel is a great band and has put out many great albums. This acoustic live set brings a different sound to some of their classics songs. The cd brings you to the intimate environment in which they were recorded. Great compilation of songs. It is great to have Hold On and Starfish on a Live album.

There is a reason Performing Songwriter Magazine noted the band as One of the 100 most influential songwriters in the past 15 years. Just listen to this CD and you will clearly understand.

Full of their greatest hits and fan favorites! Even better, the new arrangements with many songs showcase the talent of the collaboration of the fab five. Not only that, but it lends such beautiful focus to the lyrical talents. Just Remember and Happy are so increadibly poignant and memorable.

This shows the fun side as well. Just listen to Starfish-a favorite of most fans-rearranged in a bluegrass style just makes me want to stop my car while driving and get out and dance in the middle of the street.

Must-have for anyone who loves acoustic and any one who appreciates songwriting at it's finest!!!!!!!

Songfacts.com did an interview with Ken Block, lead singer, and he highlighted the stories behind the songs on several. Go check this interview out.

If you like acoustic music that centers around the acoustic guitar, you will really like this album. If you like Sister Hazel's music, you will really like this album. If you like Sister Hazel AND you like acoustic music, you will really LOVE this album. I have some of their other albums which I like, and I also play acoustic guitar. I got this album a month or so ago, and it has lived in my car stereo - I drive about 35 minutes each way to work and back, so this gets listened to a lot, and I am not sick of it yet! I like the way they varied the vocal performance and arrangement of these songs to make them sound "fresh" from their other albums, rather than being acoustical versions that are sung and performed in almost the same way. Highly recommended, music that lifts the soul!

This is one of the best live acoustic albums I've heard. The audience is rarely heard, just the occasional clapping between songs and the occasional singing along when queued to do so (unlike Dashboard Confessional's unplugged, where all you hear is the audience singing, no make that shouting, every lyric).

The songs are somewhat reinvented for the acoustic version, without going over-the-top to change them completely. A lot of my favorites that I've listened to over and over across the years have been refreshed to where I can still listen to them.

Plus, Amazon currently has the MP3 album for under $4, so you really can't be that!

Loved the originals, but love the acoustic versions even more. And at $3.99 for the entire album, it's too good not to get.

Let me start by saying I was a casual Sister Hazel fan. I had two albums and I thought they were pretty good. But I stumbled across this live acoustic album and I was blown away. This is an amazing performance. Not only is it some of the best acoustic vocals and music I've heard performed, they took some of their hits and made them completely different by changing the pace and/or melody (I'm not a music major). I really gained an appreciation for their song writing as well. Songs that I had just hummed along to without really thinking about started to have a lot more depth and meaning when performed acoustically. Hands down, this is the best music purchase I've made in years. It's in my top 5 albums of all time.

I absolutely love this CD. The acoustic versions of the songs are amazing and it is a great mix of older and newer songs. You won't be disappointed with this CD.