The lost nostalgia of the live album

Cover of Arena

Growing up, the only thing I wanted to do was go see my musical heroes live in concert. Living in a town of 50,000 odd meant that really wasn't going to happen for most of the bands I liked. The next best thing was the hope that they'd release a "live album".

Now, with the gift of hindsight, I realise the live album is one of those contractual fillers, much like a "best of", that band's put out so they can leave their record label, or at the very least renegotiate for a better deal.

In my youth, however, the live album was a glimpse into how a band was able to translate their material for the stage, taking album cuts I had committed to memory and shaking them up. There was also the far away mystique of listening to song recorded at venues with amazing names that spawned many an imaginary travelogue. Names like "Hammersmith Odeon", "The Town and Country Club," "Brixton Academy," "The Budokan" and "Le Zenith."

The album I've been listening to recently that jolted my reminiscing of live albums is "In The City of Lights", the 1987 live album by Simple Minds, recorded at Paris' Le Zenith in the summer of '86. When I first bought the album on double cassette, it was the only version of a lot of the songs that I had and I learned them in that format, including the covers medley.

Other live albums of note, that actually stood as discographical entries in a band's repertoire (and not merely cheaply cobbled together wallet-emptiers for diehard fans) for me included Duran Duran's "Arena" (which took 20 years to finally be reissued with perennial set closer Rio attached), Depeche Mode's "101" and the Bowie duo of 70's live albums "David Live" and "Stage".

In recent years, the idea of the live album has been diluted to an amazing degree in an obvious forward step. A number of artists now offer a live CD from their show available shortly after the end of the encore. Instead of a band releasing one live album as a snap shot of their repertoire in time, you can now collect a band's entire tour, warts and all. It's sort of a sanctioned bootlegging service. Not only does this render a live album's discographical inclusion obsolete, it also ensures a die hard fan will end up being very very poor.

Don't get me wrong, though. Apart from the mystique of the live album the other thing I really wanted as a kid was a live album recorded at the show I was at. To a certain degree, I've been able to get that with this new service. I am the proud owner of Moby "Live at Brixton Academy" from his 2005 hotel tour, released about 10 minutes after he came off stage! (I swear I can hear myself yelling at him!)

However, it's not just the band's feeding their fans frenzy for a copy of the show you were just at that's diluted the mystique of the live album, it's been the release of live albums that just don't feel right. While the aforementioned Depeche Mode released one of the greatest live albums of the 80s with "101," they then went on to release one of the most un-needed live albums of the 90s with "Songs of Faith and Devotion Live". This literally captured the "Songs of Faith and Devotion" album live - same songs, same sequence.

I guess the wisdom of age means I will never view the release of a live album again as the event I used to see them as. To a certain degree they simply aren't. Duran Duran's "Arena," for instance, was a multimedia experience before the advent of multimedia experiences. They released an album, a video, a making of video and even a board game - all for a live album! Then there was the over the top video with the William S. Burroughs theme. Sheesh!

Try cramming all that into a post-concert bootleg!

Gouge away

With the crumbling economy around us and the music industry reduced to suing anyone that resembles a fan, it's a good question how bands are prepared to survive.

If you're hooked in like Nine Inch Nails, you go full guns ablazing into that good internet night, doing it right - giving albums away, but having various flavours of physical medium ready for the diehards.

If you're more traditional, you forgo the freebie release and jump straight into the massive bloody wallet-emptying boxset, released in limited quantities. This seems to be the route most acts are going down. Depeche Mode had their £60 "Sounds of the Universe" boxset with CDs, DVDs and booklets, Pet Shop Boys had "Yes" released on 11 separate 12" records in a batch of 300 copies (for £300).

Now, Pixies are releasing "Minotaur," a retrospective of their main output from the 80s and 90s. As is the democratic way, there are two formats for the discerning fan - a deluxe edition for $175 and a limited edition for just under $500. Both formats include the album in a number of formats - vinyl, CD and blu-ray - as well as other extras.

In an interview with Wired, lead singer Black Francis described the forthcoming release as a price-justified "objet d'art". He went on to joking state that if you're not that big a Pixies fan, download it for free off the net.

It seems to be a good time to be a music fan with deep pockets.

Depeche album title

Hot on the heels of their world tour press conference two weeks ago, Depeche Mode decided to use the US independence day holiday as perfect fodder to announce the name of the album they'll be touring.

"Playing The Angel" is set for a 17 October release on Mute. It will feature among its tracklisting the following songs: "Precious", "Sinner in Me", "Suffer Well", "John the Revelator", "Macrovision" (with Martin Gore on lead), "A Pain That I'm Used To", "I Want It All". Three of the album cuts will be written by frontman Dave Gahan.

The album is set to be preceeded by the single Precious in early October. This will be the band's first real single release (not counting Enjoy The Silence 04) since the EP-length Goodnight Lovers in 2001.

Depeche Mode reissues ago-go!

Rumours are abounding that Mute Records are going to go back to the well again for their favourite sons and major cash cow Depeche Mode.

According to online zine Side Line, there are plans afoot to reissue the band's entire back catalogue. Chances are quite good the collection will be remastered and issued on SACD.

The label recently reissued a load of Can albums on hybrid SACD/CD and Depeche Mode's "101" live album was re-issued last year on multi-channel hybrid SACD/CD.

As everyone knows Martin Gore isn't the most prolific songwriter, so the chance of a 2CD set for any of the albums is quite slim, especially as Mute have recently issued boxsets for the singles, a remix collection and download for some of the more obscure remixes that featured on white label promos and the like. To continue an analogy, this repeated trip to the well is drying it up somewhat.

Chances are the reissues could co-incide with the release of the band's new album, which they're currently in the studio working on with producer Ben Hillier.

Not to be greedy, but if this trend continues, I've got my fingers crossed for some Recoil SACD reissues...

Link: Amazon.co.uk

Depeche Mode new album

For a few days, the official Depeche Mode website was taunting fans with an announcement, saying "it suffices to say that fans will be happy with this impending announcement".

Message boards and Usenet lit up with rumours - Alan Wilder coming back? Another "please forgive us" from Mute over cocking up yet something else? Appeasement from the band in the way of free rare remixes as MP3s?

No.

The band are getting back together in January to record a new album. That's the news.

Great.

They also announced their latest victim... or "producer" as they call him. Ben Hillier will be responsible for piecing together the dregs of Martin and Dave's writing in an attempt to form some semblance of a coherent album package. If Mark "LFO" Bell's attempt behind the mixing desk is anything to go by, Hillier's better off running for the hills, the monumental unthanking task he has in front of him.

With all the repackaged material that Mute's putting out - remix packages and DVDs and such - you kinda get the idea that the new album is the band's last kick at the can.

Now if only Recoil would release another album, Alan Wilder remains the band's musical genius.

More Depeche goodness

It's been in the planning stages for yonks, but now it looks like details are firmly cemented for the forthcoming Depeche Mode live DVD 'Devotional'.

Recorded during their SOFAD (Songs Of Faith and Devotion) Tour circa 1993, it captures Dave Gahan in pure heroin/grunge mode and the band in a quandry over their musical direction - all keyboards and guitars.

According to Side-Line Magazine, the double disc will contain key elements making it a better buy than it's VHS sibling. Of note: two extra live cuts, "Halo" and "Policy Of Truth", left off the original release; 5.1 remixed audio; live projections for 8 live tracks; promo videos for SOFAD releases; and an MTV rockumentary.

For fans of the rockier era Depeche, this should be a nobrainer. Having said that, any type of fan of the band will already have the video collections, so including the SOFAD ones here again makes the mind boggle.

I, for one, found SOFAD to be a decent album, but only in hindsight with tracks like Walking In My Shoes and In Your Room standing out amongst the band's best output.

I just wish the pinnacle of the band's success, the World Violation Tour, would find its way onto the shelves.