Make a Joyful Noise

Almost Better than Being There

The long and the short of it…

First the short: Set List by The Frames is one of the best damn live albums ever released. Buy it today, enjoy it for a lifetime.

Now the long…

Offered as consumer product, live recordings can create a great deal of controversy among audiophiles. Outside of Live at Budokan, which established Cheap Trick as the preeminent purveyors of power-pop in the ‘70s, most rock enthusiasts decry the live document as extraneous, often poorly executed, stop-gap, or just redundant. I am on the opposite side of the divide, where if it says “in concert” somewhere on the packaging, it’s going through the scanner. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I can’t get out to shows like I used to, but I love me a live CD. I even bought that MTV Unplugged set by Dashboard Confessional, who I don’t really care for. On it, all you hear are teenagers screaming the lyrics to every song… and I still like it!

Don’t get me wrong, there are live records out there that are just dripping in suck. Usually poor mixing, suspect musicianship, and nakedly horrific vocals (Ashlee Simpson, are you reading this?) are at the root of bad live records. Other times, a band is so rehearsed that the recording just sounds like the studio tracks with some crowd noise added for flavor. Either way, these are not reason enough to deride concert recordings as an entire genre. Each album must be critiqued on its own merits, just as a studio recording might be.

Quickly, here is a disorganized list of live recordings that in ways, even surpass the studio stuff that accompanied them:

• Blue Rodeo :: Just Like a Vacation (2xCD!)
• Lyle Lovett :: Live in Texas
• Wilco :: Kicking Television
• Guster :: Guster on Ice
• AC/DC :: Live
• David Byrne :: Live at Union Chapel (DVD)
• Dave Brubeck :: Together Again for the First Time (I know –it’s jazz)
• Neil Finn :: 7 Worlds Collide
• Bruce Springsteen :: Live in New York
• Crowded House :: Live (bonus disc from Recurring Dream)
• Black Flag :: Who’s got the 10½?
• …and I am waiting impatiently for a live document of the late Joe Strummer and his Mescaleros

I’m leaving out a bunch, but each title in this list serves as a worthy example of how a live disc can build on an artist’s repertoire by showcasing unique interpretations of well-worn material. Live discs frequently also offer brilliant covers of other artist’s songs; inspired storytelling; electrifying solos; the zest of additional instrumentation; and, sometimes, the audience as a featured part of the performance. In short, the best live discs are anything but redundant.

Saving the best for last, I left one truly out of this world live record off the list. Released stateside in 2003, Set List by The Frames, is in a league all its own. Put to tape (hard disk?) during a series of intimate Dublin shows in November 2002, this CD so perfectly captures the energy and raw emotion of those late fall nights that the band may have a hard time surpassing it.

For the uninitiated, The Frames are a well-established Irish band that fall just behind U2 in their popularity at home. Led by Glen Hansard, who named the band after the bicycle skeletons that used to litter the yard of his boyhood home, the band has put out a respectable catalog over the last fifteen years. To describe their music, one might employ terms such as ‘Celtic’ or ‘Folky,’ but the truth is they are closer to a meat and potatoes alt-rock band. The majesty of their music lies in Hansard’s slightly ragged voice and the band’s loose but electric chemistry. The differentiation factor -a fiddle- adds a warmth to many of their songs that might otherwise make them less memorable.

The Frames’ studio output ranges from rustic to rockin’ and one or two CDs approach four-star territory, but the others are more hit-or-miss. Their well-polished studio releases are just lacking a certain vigor that has probably kept them from a larger U.S. audience. All this is why Set List is so revelatory. In the concert setting, The Frames open up and connect with their fans like few bands do (the previously mentioned Dashboard show comes to mind).

To describe Set List song by song would be a waste of words, even though each track stands on its own merits. The disc is more about the live experience (in aggregate) rather than specific moments. From the brushburned riffs of the opening track “Revelate,” through the rollercoaster ups and downs ("Lay Me Down"(download and enjoy), "What Happens When...," "Your Face") to album closer, "The Blood," Set List is an experience as close to live as comes in a jewel case. Taking every song and transforming it into an audience participation exercise, the band play loose and add unexpected turns to their more well-known material (during "Lay Me Down," the band veers into a Johnny Cash standard and back again without missing a beat).

The Frames transmit real emotion in their performance and demonstrate a tangible connection with the audience. From the contemplative "Star Star" to the explosive "Stars are Underground," the listener can feel the excitement rushing from the stage through the crowd. When I sat down to write this post, I had a pocket full of words to describe Set List, but as I sit here and listen to it again, they evade me. The set is just that powerful. Perhaps that is its most alluring quality.

I recommend it for anyone who likes music for more than just notes and execution. Its for those who seek the indescribable and the intangibly tangible.