Review Summary: An entertaining, if not occasionally redundant live album proves both Tyler's technical ability, as well as his substantial ability as a captivating on-stage presence.
Tyler, The Creator isn't exactly the most subtle of musicians, and even amongst his braggadocios contemporaries, he is easily one of the most shocking, abrasive and controversial figures in modern hip-hop. That being said, much of his shock value has come from the perceptions of, in the past, his unorthodox public persona, his controversial Twitter posts and the de-contextualisation of his lyrics, rather than his music as a holistic product. Don't get me wrong - I do think he makes pretty decent music, but Tyler's fame seems to mostly be due to his status as a controversial figure in music, rather than his technical ability as a rapper and producer, or his on-stage personality and energy, which I firmly believe he has in spades.
Sonically, 'Live At Splash!' is a fairly standard live album as live albums go - Tyler performs a bunch of songs from his records to an enthusiastic crowd, and as with many hip-hop shows, the song is often played behind him with Tyler rapping along to his own voice much of the time. It's not a huge problem, but considering that fact that Tyler doesn't seem to miss a single cue or line throughout the entire hour-long performance, I personally think it would have been more interesting to simply have the instrumentals play, and have just Tyler's live vocals as the main vox track. All this being said, Tyler is joined by Odd Future members Jasper Dolphin and Taco, on backup vocals and DJing respectively. Jasper, though not as prominent a member of Odd Future as, say, Earl Sweatshirt or Hodgy Beats is still a worthwhile addition to the album, mainly providing double vocals at certain points during Tyler's raps, or being a foil for Tyler to bounce off during verses to keep well-known tracks such as 'French' interesting and variable instead of simple repeats of a studio version. Taco also seems to be doing his job pretty well (although a technical mishap causes Tyler to incite the crowd to boo him), although there aren't really any changes to any songs from an instrumental perspective, save for the occasional speed fade here and there during a chorus to accentuate Tyler and Jasper's dual vocals, or the cutting of the instrumental early to have Tyler and/or Jasper finish off a verse to no backing. It's pretty elementary in terms of hip-hop performances, but it works pretty well as far as I can hear.
The most obvious change to the music when performed live, at least on this album, is Tyler's cadence and vocal delivery throughout the performance here. Instead of being his usual, reserved self, Tyler goes all out in practically screaming, shouting and yelling his songs here, making every track sound more aggressive and forceful than the studio versions, as well as actually enhancing the impact of many of Tyler's lyrics. The live version of 'IFHY', 'Domo23' or 'Cowboy' are more emotional and intense as a result of this novel delivery, almost in a similar way to how MC Ride delivers his lines throughout the Death Grips discography. Furthermore, almost every song performed here is only half or even a quarter of its original studio length - whether this is a choice by Tyler or simply due to time constraints is unknown, but the results are actually very captivating. For example, the sudden, if not humorous transition between 'Fish' and 'Blow' is effective ('Hold up, I'm switching songs'), and stops either song from wearing out their welcome too quickly. It also keeps the live set varied, as there are songs here from 'Goblin', 'Wolf', 'Bastard' as well as the earlier Odd Future releases that are all welcome additions to Tyler's energetic, wild performance. There are a myriad of so-called 'interludes' between many of the songs, that feature Tyler and Jasper's playful, profanity ridden banter between themselves and the audience, that mainly consist of insults and juvenile humour. Not that it's anything offensive or mood-breaking, but the longest track on this live-album is one of these interludes, where Tyler tells the audience how to act during 'Tamale', which sort of points at the main problem I had with this album - it often feels like there is a lot of filler injected in between songs, rather than actual songs.
I'm sure that (as in most cases) actually being at the concert would have been a completely different experience than listening to a live recording of it, but this recording is almost half-made up of interludes, and there seems to have been no attempt or effort to cut any dead air down, or tighten up the gaps between songs. To me, at least, it speaks to a lack of quality in producing this album - it's almost as if they pulled a soundboard recording of the Splash show, put it through a Pro Tools macro and threw it up online. It feels lazy in some spots, even though the actual songs here are performed with lots of heart and energy, and in many cases, I prefer the live versions here to their respective studio versions ('French' really stands out with Tyler's maniacal vocals) - I just would have enjoyed it more if I didn't have to sit through one or two minutes in between every song where Tyler banters with the audience. I do understand that after shouting an entire song, you need a short break to get a drink or just a breather, but these meaningless sections of rambling and waffling could have been shortened, or cut entirely without affecting the quality of the album.
Regardless, despite the great deal of filler here, there is a lot of great content here from Tyler, Jasper and Taco, with a great setlist and loud, angry renditions of lots of Tyler's best songs. In addition, being able to hear the frenzied shouts and screams of the crowd as Tyler screams out stories about raping, killing and getting money really creates a crazy, but wildly entertaining atmosphere. It's not a perfect album, but it's still great, and fans of Tyler will really enjoy this live record, especially with the intense energy and vocal delivery that breathes new life into many well-known and loved tracks by both Odd Future and Tyler himself.
