Live Here Now Review – Shoreline, April 27

Here’s our review of the first installment of the much talked about “Recording The Angel” series from Mute specialist label Live Here Now.

Live Here Now – Review

April 27, 2006
Shoreline Amphitheatre
Mountain View, CA

“Good Evening San Francisco!” Considering this Live Here Now series is one of the most highly anticipated releases that Depeche Mode fans have been wanting, I can tell you that they do not disappoint! I had not heard any of the previous Live Here Now recordings that other bands have done, but I was really impressed with the quality. I wasn’t really sure what to expect other then compare it to other soundboards that I have heard in the past, but this sounds as good as a proper live album to me. Ok, I’m sure there will be some sound experts out there that will have some complaints about something, but when don’t they? To the average fan, these are amazing!

There are a lot of things that impressed me with this recording. The over all mix of the band’s performance is fantastic. Considering these recordings are made fairly quickly, I was really impressed with the quality. Not that I thought it would be bad, but I thought they might be more like a standard soundboard recording. This recording doesn’t seem rushed at all and I am very pleased with it. The vocals and music are mixed perfectly and you can hear the audience really clear in the mix as well. It’s not like a standard soundboard when you can only hear the audience through what gets picked up on the microphones. On those recordings, the crowd level is really low. Soundboards are great, but having the audience mixed in perfectly really gives the recording some atmosphere and you almost feel like your there again.

Now the version I have does not have the finished artwork and packaging, but that can only add to how special these recordings are. I’m really thrilled to tell you that these will be worth the money and ones you will cherish especially if you attended the show. I was at this show and this brings it all back to me. There is something about listening to a song you love and hearing the whole crowd sing-a-long as well. It really puts you back in the moment, well it does for me anyway. When I hear a certain song, I can remember where I was at that moment of the show and it just makes it so special. I think that is what I love most about the idea of having these recordings.

I’m sure there will be people who will have they’re complaints and that’s fine. I really don’t see what there could be to complain about myself, this thing sounds amazing! The whole concert sound experience is captured, so that is all I need and think most of you will feel like me. To anyone who is that critical, let it go and enjoy the show. I’m just grateful the band are doing this and making them available to the fans and you all should be as well.

Review: Element