And All That Could Have Been | Nine Inch Nails | Described in a word? Perfect

And All That Could Have Been | Nine Inch Nails | It is as good as they say.

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And All That Could...

	And All That Could Have Been Nine Inch Nails Nothing, 2002 average customer review:based on 70 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The biggest difference between a kick-ass studio album and a kick-ass live album? Intensity. Live: And All That Could Have Been, recorded on Nine Inch Nails' 2000 "Fragility 2.0" U.S. tour, provides that trait in abundance. It helps that Trent Reznor has a band, instead of just a battery of keyboards, to help him work through 16 tracks of the raging yet surprisingly listenable musical vitriol that made him a star. The live musicians, who allow him some freedom to play with tempo, help kick "Closer" up a notch and lend some atmospheric weight to a slow version of "The Frail." The band rips into older material with gusto; Reznor sounds just as pissed off performing "Head Like a Hole" as he did in 1989. The CD closes with "Hurt," which might seem like an odd choice, but somehow, after everything that's come before, it's like the denouement of a tragedy. While a CD can only capture a piece of NIN's onstage energy, their first live album is an intense, sometimes overwhelming recording, further vindication of NIN's continuing popularity and influence. --Genevieve Williams

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Described in a word? Perfect

Ever since Trent Reznor and his band made a mud-drenched splash as Woodstock 1994, almost all music fans have known that Nine Inch Nails put on a fantastic live show. NIN's first live disc (which was recorded on the "Fragility: 2.0 Tour") proves that their live songs make their original, studio versions sound tame and controlled. "And All That Could Have Been" is about as intense and full of vitriol as industrial metal gets. And, from the opening wallop of "Terrible Lies" to the dark, introspective "Hurt," which closes out the album, every song is a hit.

The crowd is only rarely audible, and they know when to shut up (like during the ballads), so the audience noise never gets in the way of the music.

Tracks like "Terrible Lies," "Head Like A Whole" (both singles from NIN's 1989 debut, "Pretty Hate Machine") and "Starfers, Inc." pack a powerful, cathartic, adrenalized punch. Plus, these songs sound even louder and crisper, here, than in the studio. Elsewhere, electronic frenzied, techno-lite cuts like "Sin" and "March Of The Pigs" are heavy on new-wave keyboards, and "Piggy," "The Frail" (a piano interlude), and "The Great Below" are very slow and ambient. Songs like "Suck" and "Closer" bring the best of both worlds; these songs have a stomping rhythm section married with synths and other atmospheric instruments. And, lastly, the ballads ("The Day The World Went Away" and "Hurt") are very touching and beautiful.

So, this album *IS* all that it could have been, and more. It's no less than great, and it's as close to being perfect as live albums get nowadays.

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It is as good as they say.

From the first song, this album explodes. I'm not a live album fan either, but this one is an exception. As an old time fan I also like the very nice blend of both old and new songs , both fast and slow songs. It is very well done. Too bad every album cannot be as good.

Awesome!!!

Being just about the biggest NIN fan in the area that I live in, I own both the DVD AND the CD version of And All That Could've Been. As I said in my review for the DVD, Trent's songs are a lot better performed lie. Terrible Lie has a lot more energy live than it did on Pretty Hate Machine (don't get me wrong, the original is great, but the live version is even better), as do Sin and Head Like A Hole. There's just something about how raw and powerful Trent's voice is that makes NIN's concert's spectacular. The audience doesn't drown out the music, which is always good to know; and they know when to keep quiet during softer and more melodic songs like The Great Below, The Mark Has Been Made, The Frail, The Day The World Went Away, and Hurt. Trent also extends a few of the songs, like Sin, March of the Pigs, Starf***ers Inc, and more. He also adds a few extra words in songs, like in The Wretched where Trent chants "there is a place... in the back of my mind... where I used to try... try" during the interlude with the jumpy keyboard.

While this isn't the entire concert, the live album has a song that wasn't included on the DVD. I.E. The Day The World Went Away (which, in my opinion, isn't one of the better tracks off The Fragile). The DVD has La Mer, Complication, and Just Like You Imagined. My reccomendation is that you buy both, just so you can listen to the record in your car or on your ipod when your walking home from school (that's what I did) and buy the DVD so you can hear the extra songs and watch Trent's antics on stage.

Highly reccomended from a big NIN fan!

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As Close to Being there as You can Get

This album, by far, is the best live recording that I have ever listened to. The sound quality is excellent, and if you listen to it on a stereo with the volume up high, it's as close to being there as you can get. I've seen NIN twice in my life time, the first time in 96 on the Downward Spiral tour, and then again after the Fragile was released, and this album really incompases their live performances. Listen to the raw intensity on classics like Wish or Terrible Lie, and then imagine being tossed around in a pit and getting bruised and banged up. Listen to the crowd chanting the choruses of Head Like a Hole or Closer, and imagine seeing the sweat dripping off of the band clad in black and tossing water bottles at each other. See the lights in your mind as the crowd breaks out their lighters to ballads like The Great
Below and Hurt. I'm telling you, for live perfomances, this album has outdone itself.

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Now you know, this is what it feels like...

_And All That Could Have Been_ is a live album that initially sounds like a studio recording - clear, precise, and nearly flawless. Now mix in the raw energy and power of a live performance and you get this intense masterpiece that will please NIN fans worldwide.

So, what's on this CD? About half of the songs are reworks from _The Fragile_, and include "The Frail," "The Wreteched," "The Great Below," and "The Mark Has Been Made." _The Fragile_ not being one of my favorite NIN albums, I was a little skeptical about this CD... until I listened to it. In my opinion, these live and reworked versions tend to be BETTER than the originals (especially "The Wretched"). Live versions of songs from other albums are also included, with hits like "Closer," "Sin," "Head Like a Hole," and others completing the almost 74 minutes of music on this CD. Buyers will definitely get their money's worth.

Note: _And All That Could Have Been_ was originally sold as two CDs. The second CD is not contained in this package, and had numerous "softer" and near-acoustic versions of various songs on it. That CD is currently being sold as the album _Still_.

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