[face of glass]

Good observation about "pushing the live album limit", time for a poll obviously.

http://www.submal.com/?p=16

By David Furst | April 4, 2008

Fans of Lindsey Buckingham need to own this. Sure, it contains the Buckingham basics he’s played countless times in concert–”Go You Own Way,” “Big Love,” “Go Insane,” “Never Going Back Again” and “I’m So Afraid.” And yes, he’s pushing the live album limit–with Fleetwood Mac’s Live in Boston (2004), the Soundstage Presents Lindsey Buckingham DVD (2005) and now this. But Live at the Bass Performance Hall is simply the best place to hear the artist’s most recent solo material.

It may be the least live sounding live album in existence, but for Lindsey Buckingham–king of quirky studio invention and polish–Live at the Bass is downright earthy. I can’t say for sure, but it certainly seems as though a healthy amount of overdubbing has gone on. Audience applause appears to be manipulated in a few places. The percussion sounds a bit too crisp, the vocals too perfect, and hardly anything betrays an ambient “room” sound. Perhaps that’s all due to meticulous close-miking. Perhaps the band is playing to a click track with some programmed drums in the mix. Maybe they’re just freakishly good. Either way, I find this recording more enjoyable than Under The Skin.

For me, Buckingham’s 2006 solo effort Under The Skin is a fatiguing listen. It boasts some top shelf Buckingham material and individually many of the songs are impressive, and some are flat-out amazing. But it all feels as if he’s painted himself into a corner in the studio. The sound is claustrophobic. Liberated from some of the studio wizardry, the material from Under The Skin can breathe a bit more. And there are a whopping six cuts from UTS on the new live disc. Taken with the three new songs Buckingham previewed on the Soundstage DVD, that brings the total to nine out of 11 UTS songs that have officially been released in live versions. Compile them at once, sit back and enjoy. Nothing sounds radically different, but the material crackles with a passion that is not present in the studio.

What about the other songs on Live at the Bass? Oh yeah, they’re good too. Bonus points for a cool solo version of “Trouble,” a fun romp through “Holiday Road” and a fantastic performance of Tusk’s “I Know I’m Not Wrong.”