The live vocals find Clutch in the clutch and found wanting.
Written: Aug 02 '03 (Updated Aug 02 '03)
Product Rating:
Pros: The musical duplication is quite impressive.
Cons: The vocal replication is quite below average.
The Bottom Line: While the album does dance through many of CLutch's classic repetoire, the live vocals deminish the quality of the original, leaving the listener yearning for the studio recording.
jimmiespipe's Full Review: Live at the Googolplex by Clutch
Nothing is sadder than seeing a post-rock group disgrace themselves. Unfortunately Live At The Googolplex, does nothing other than that.
While compiling the best of Clutch, the CD also exposes the band’s ultimate weakness. While Clutch has arguably been the best post-stoner band with the only obvious exception being QOTSA, a band which can be considered to be a multi-genre band depending upon the lead singer and (if you’ve been fortunate enough to experience them live) the mood and line up they happen to have that particular night.
While Live At The Googolplex does cover many great songs, the ultimate downfall is Neil Fallon’s inability to pull off his vocal style live. On classics like “Careful With That Mic”, Fallon’s voice falls way short of the studio recording, sounding more like a disgruntled neighbor than a groundbreaking lead singer.
However, Clutch’s rhythm section, including Tim Sult, Dan Maines, and Jean Paul Gaster, holds the reigns tightly. The band plugs away on each and every track, almost as if they were ripped and played “live” over the speakers.
All in all the concert experience would most likely be worth the price of admission, however the audio reproduction displays the vocal shortcomings of the band. Although the live disk itself is no Grammy nominee, this should not deter a listener from other inserts in Clutch’s catalogue.
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