801. Queensrÿche / Live Evolution. 2001. 4.5/5

After forcing their way through a series of highs and lows over the previous few years, which included having well-performing albums despite those albums being critically panned and spurned by the fans, and having to dip into their own pockets to conclude a tour after their record company went broke, Queensrÿche return here with a double live album that brings out all of the positives and negatives of their music history in one package.

To this point in the band's career, their music seems to have slipped into their own eras, based on the success or similarities of releases. This live retrospective was recorded over two nights, and then manoeuvred into 'suites' that correspond with the evolution of the band, thus the title of the album. As a result, there is a great coverage of the band's work, all set in a live setting which gives them all a different perspective from their original recordings. It also shows on one release how the story of Queensrÿche has surged and dipped through the style of songs as we move through the album.
The first half of the first disc is for songs from Queensrÿche, The Warning and Rage for Order. And not only is it great to hear these songs done live, but performed live brilliantly! "NM 156" into the brilliant "Walk in the Shadows" sounds sensational, and is brought to life live. So too are the versions of "Roads to Madness", "The Lady Wore Black" and "Screaming in Digital". Each of them are enhanced here, the strengths of each song shining through. And while "Queen of the Reich" may not live up to everything it could be, there has never been any doubt that to reproduce anything like the studio version in a live setting would be a monumental task. Don't get me wrong, it still sounds great, but with necessary compromises.
The second half of the first disc comprises a selection of songs from Operation: Mindcrime, and as will always occur when it comes to this album, it is the songs that are left out that are debated rather than the songs that are chosen to be performed. It simply doesn't matter which ones you choose to play, there will always be songs that everyone will be disappointed will be left out. For me, it would be "Speak" and "The Needle Lies". They should always be played! Anyway, by now the band is smooth and professional on all of these songs, so often must they have performed them. Pamela Moore again appears as Mary. Everything sounds extraordinary.
Disc Two covers the 1990's, the highlight of which is the selection of songs from the extraordinary Empire album. The four songs performed here - "Empire", "Silent Lucidity", "Another Rainy Night (Without You)" and "Jet City Woman" are not only terrific songs, but they sound absolutely amazing here. The music is so strong, and Tate's vocals here don't miss a beat. I know that YOU know that I don't like ballads, but there are exceptions, and "Silent Lucidity" has always been one of them. I love the version on Empire, but here it just soars. The musicianship is of the highest calibre, and proves that a song can be powerful with having to be excessive.
The remainder of the second disc contains songs from Promised Land, Hear in the Now Frontier and Q2K, albums that I have a difficult time listening to. To be fair, most of these tracks all sound better being played live than they did on the studio albums, but there is still not a lot of joy from them. This is where you can correspond the differences and changes that have occurred in Queensrÿche over the years. Sure, people will argue that a song such as "The Lady Wore Black" can be compared to a song such as "Liquid Sky". But it is here you hear the differences. Listen to Tate's vocals in "The Lady Wore Black", emoting as that song allows, and the power behind the guitars and drums in pushing that emotion through the song. Awesome. Then listen to the dullery that comes through on "Liquid Sky". It is unmistakable. And you can't use time as a factor. They may have been written 15 years apart and thus recorded as such on their respective albums, but these songs were recorded for this album on the same day. The change in the song writing is as plain and stark as what you hear on this album.

The first disc, with everything from the 1980's, I would probably rate as 4.5 or 5. All of the songs are great and they also sound magnificent in this live setting. The second disc I would probably go somewhere with a 3.5 or a 4. So in trying to rate the release as a whole I have had to compromise and take a factor somewhere in the middle of those two ratings. As a live release it is an excellent anthology of the band's progress to this point of their career, even if some of it is better off forgetting.

Rating:  Blind, you search for the truth.  4.5/5