Its always nice when some bands put out a live album for their fans, so the anticipation of an actual album isnt so painful. In this case Chevelle has put out "Live From The Road." Before releasing This Type Of Thinking (Could Do Us In) And after the release of the platinum album Wonder Whats Next. Unlike many live albums these days, this one has very good sound quality. The vocals are clear, and same goes with the bass/guitars/and drums.
Background history for those of you not familiar with Chevelle:
Chevelle is a hardrock band from Grayslake, IL. They Formed in 1994, and broke out in 2002 with their album Wonder Whats Next and their hit "The Red." Chevelle's members are; brothers Sam and Pete. Sam on the drums, Pete doing vocals and guitars, and Joe Loeffler on the bass. Chevelle started out playing parties and clubs in Chicago, when Joe Loeffler being the youngest brother was only 14 in 1999. Sadly but true, Joe played the bass in this live album but now he was relieved of his duties as bassist on July 10, 2005. Due to "irreconcilable differences" as stated on the band's website. And currently Dean Bernadini is playing bass for Chevelle. Dean is the brother-in-law to the Loeffler brothers.
This live concert starts out with track #1 Family System. And at the beginning of this disc all you hear at first is the crowd screaming, then Pete playing his guitar in a somewhat mysterious way. This part of the cd is probably the only part that the crowds screaming over takes the musics sound, but dont worry it doesnt last long. As the song Family System breaks out into some harder riffs and the crowds cheers are no longer there. This is great way to start this live album. Like I stated earlier, the sound quality on this is pleasing. And can just about be mistaken for the actual CD. If it wasnt for the small dose of distorted sound and the audiences cheers at the beginning and end of each song.
Following shortly after on track #3 would have to be the song "Point #1" the titled track from their debut album Point #1. This song is played like a roller coaster. With Pete jamming on his guitar and Sam killing it on the drums for the first two minutes of the song and finally Pete silences his guitar a bit and sings in a low pitch. But that doesnt last long until they start jamming out again. Pete states at the beginning of the song that it is his favorite to play live, and he makes it noticable. Dont get me wrong, all these songs arent off of their earlier albums, the next song "Until You're Reformed." Comes off of the DareDevil soundtrack. And unfortunately this is their weakest song on this album. The music just seems boring and can probably be considered repetitive. And shows how Pete's singing isnt always that great. He lets out a scream at just about the end of the song that sounds like he stepped on a nail. Their hit "Send The Pain Below" follows shortly after and then the song "SMA" which is a song that some may be a bit unfamiliar with if there not the average Chevelle listener. Which in my eyes is a good thing because I was afraid that this whole CD would be nothing but a bunch of Chevelle singles. And if you exclude that track this would be a CD with nothing but hits. But those hit songs are played very well and with ton of energy. The song that catches most of my attention out of those would have to be "MIA." The song starts with Pete showing off his talent on the guitar, making it mistable for an acoustic. "MIA" is played well, and has that feel-good, make peace not war feeling to it. And also Pete's vocals are at their best on "MIA."
For the closing track they play "The Red." Pete askes the crowd if they feel like singing along, and asks somebody out of the crowd to jump up on stage and play vocals with him. Which can be a huge let down to anybody buying this cd just to hear "The Red." Because if you listen close enough you can hear the crowd member(s) singing along. And not doing a very good job of it. I dont know if its one, two, or three people up there singing into the mic, it just sounds horrible and kills the whole song. But its really cool for them to give a couple people the opportunity to do something like that. You know that that had to of made somebody's day.
Recap:
This album only has ten tracks on it, and if they in fact did only play ten tracks at the concert I may be a bit angry if I paid just to see Chevelle. The tracks on here are played very well live, and the sound quality is great. But alot of the tracks, are tracks that ive been tired of hearing ever since the local radio station played most of them out. Pete's vocals are great and so is his guitar work. Although there are no solo's, and nothing highly technical done, he played well and on key. Same goes with the bass and drumming. If you dont think that Chevelle can give off pure energy at a live show, this CD may change your mind.
I dont recommend this CD to anybody wanting to try to get into Chevelle, but I do recommend it to any hardcore Chevelle listeners.
