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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Better than I thought possible...but still., December 12, 2003
I hated the last BT live release, and, really, I wasn't too fond of the one before that, but I'm in love with live videos and I really like this band's studio work, so I figured that maybe watching it would make it more enjoyable than listening to it.To my great surprise and delight, I was proven right and then some - almost all of the complaints I'd had with the previous releases are not at all present here, and the video is excellently shot and edited. The set list at this show is better than the other two releases, which helps. The mix of the instruments is much more open and less cacophonous than What You And I Have Been Through, which lets it actually sound like music, even the songs that are played exactly the same way. And, now that the new bassist and keyboardist have had time to integrate with the band, they've almost totally taken over - the keyboards fill most of the holes left by removing the multiple tracks in the studio, making many of the songs I previously thought shallow into masterpieces. Also, Chan seems to have improved at playing lead guitar - the jams here were much, much tighter and more energetic than before. There are only two remaining problems. One, actually, is the material from Bridge - somehow, all of these songs just completely fail live. They sound shallow, uninspired, and empty. It's an excellent album, one of my favorites, but it just doesn't work live at ALL. The other is Chan's inability to play rhythm guitar - almost always, when he isn't soloing, it sounds like there's no guitar at all. He might as well not be there, and it's a little distracting. The band is reduced to a bassline and a piano part plus vocals; they desperately need a rhythm guitarist. Thankfully, though, the new bassist and keyboardist are almost always up to the task, and this is, while not perfect, an excellent DVD and a worthwhile purchase.
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