This is a review of And All That Could Have Been limited edition packaging. It contains the live CD, and the bonus CD Still. The two CDs can also be purchased separately. Unfortunately, the limited CD has already been cut out, so if you plan to buy it, do it soon!

Still is something entirely different from the live album, and I reviewed it separately...scroll down...

I also plan to review the DVD in this set of releases, so I’ll only be discussing audio here, which makes sense, because it is a CD. I’ll just try to save my visual insights for the DVD review.


And All That Could Have Been…

When Trent first announced that he would be releasing a set of live Nine Inch Nails material from the Fragility Tour, I wasn’t sure what to think. And All That Could Have Been was to be a DVD, a VHS, a live CD, a CD of unreleased tracks, and a limited edition CD package including both. So all I really thought about was how much it was going to cost me, especially since I’m not one to get very excited about live albums.

I decided on the DVD and the limited edition CD.

The first thing I noticed about the CD, was the packaging. That sounds obvious, but Trent tends to get a little overzealous with CD packaging, and this was no exception. The 2 CD set is encased in a grey canvas box. The actual packaging slides out from inside, and is a 3 fold cardboard case, with jewel case backing to hold the CDs. The booklet fits into a small pocket, which has the track listing printed on it. The booklet itself is grey, and mostly blank space. It includes track listings and all due credits and thanks.

An attractive addition to any collection.

By the way, all of the And All That Could Have Been releases are considered Halo Seventeen. I was relieved to see that, since I’d otherwise be missing a halo or two.

*To anyone unfamiliar, Trent assigns a halo number to each release…

Although Trent has had videos, radio singles and countless magazine spots, I still don’t consider Nine Inch Nails to be a particularly commercial band. I feel that Nine Inch Nails is a band that has a definite established fan base, and that it won’t grow as it once did. I think it would be harder to become a fan at this point. This may account for the disappointing sale of Trent’s last studio album The Fragile. It’s unfortunate. To me, The Fragile is a 2 CD masterpiece, but the years between Trent’s super-success The Downward Spiral and The Fragile left time for casual fans to depart.

I rarely listen to any live Nine Inch Nails material, but clearly I needed to have And All That Could Have Been, regardless. The CD is meant as a companion to the DVD. A couple of songs were shaved off for the sake of how much room was available. I highly recommend buying the Video/DVD in addition to the CD. I make the assumption that if you’re considering buying this, that you’re already a fan. Why? If you’re looking to get into NIN, I’d really recommend acquainting yourself with the full-length studio releases. Otherwise, I don’t know if you’d have the same positive experience with the live material as I did. There are some instances in which I was turned on to a band by seeing a live performance, but I find that if it’s going to happen, the energy and emotion on the Nine Inch Nails albums will be more than enough to recruit you.

So, if you’re not at all familiar with Nine Inch Nails, I suppose I should briefly describe the music for you. As you know, I hate to categorize, but the prominent genre here is industrial. Though, Trent combines everything from classical to hip-hop, to bring us a beautiful, angry, emotional, reflective, deep, painful, heavy, pensive, original creation. His music tends to be very intricate and complicated. There are so many layers, that it’s hard to lose interest. Sometimes I play with the equalizer just to hear hidden background vocals and various noises. What you should expect is a culmination of heavy, guitar and synth driven music, interlaced with Trent’s gentle, poetic piano solos, with a bit of everything added in.

Of course each studio album is different, but beautiful in their own ways. Pretty Hate Machine was released in 1989, so it’s no surprise that some of the tracks ended up being played in dance clubs. Next came Broken, Trent’s “I’m not a p*ssy” EP, which at times is like listening to pure, unadulterated anger. With 1994’s The Downward Spiral came more of a theme-based kind of album, with recurring riffs and passages, though it also contained a more diverse and advanced group of songs. I also wish to add that The Downward Spiral is probably my favorite album of all time. That may sound like a stretch, but I’ll get into it in a future review. Finally, we were given The Fragile, which followed more along the lines of The Downward Spiral, but with a more ‘sophisticated’ approach. That’s not to say that The Downward Spiral was juvenile in any way, but Trent was older, and more mature during the process…and I have to stop myself there, otherwise I’ll never get to the CD I’m supposed to be reviewing. I could write a novel, but you know…I must move on.


And All That Could Have Been…
Disc One

And all that is…

I was definitely excited about it when I picked it up, but still a little unsure about loving a live album. I checked out the track listing:

And All That Could Have Been

1. Terrible Lie - from Pretty Hate Machine 1989
2. Sin - from Pretty Hate Machine 1989
3. March of the Pigs - from The Downward Spiral 1994
4. Piggy - from The Downward Spiral 1994
5. The Frail - from The Fragile 1999
6. The Wretched - from The Fragile 1999
7. Gave Up - from The Fragile 1999
8. The Great Below - from The Fragile 1999
9. The Mark Has Been Made - from The Fragile 1999
10. Wish - from Broken 1992
11. Suck - from Broken 1992
12. Closer - from The Downward Spiral 1994
13. Head Like a Hole - from Pretty Hate Machine 1989
14. The Day the Whole World Went Away
15. Starf*ckers, Inc - from The Fragile 1999
16. Hurt - from The Downward Spiral 1994

This, though scaled down from the full set, does a fine job in representing the span of Trent’s releases. Though not all of the tracks would have been my choice cuts, I see why they may have been considered necessary.

Listen...

Wow, this live version of Terrible Lie was a great choice to kick off the set. It sort of just starts suddenly, and it hits pretty hard. Plus, it’s a song that I (and a great many fans) tend to love in general. In this track, as with many others, Trent shoves f*cking and motherf*cking before various lyrics, which adds a little spice to tracks I know inside out and backwards.

Hey God!

It’s great to hear the whole band singing (screaming) backup, as it’s not something that necessarily comes on studio recordings. That is, that Trent tends to sing lead vocals, as well as backup when he’s in the studio. Clearly, that’s not possible live, unless you use a pre-recording. It adds a lot more energy when the whole band comes together.

Here’s the band…

I’ve only listed what they do on this live album. Most of them are much busier during hardcore recording time.

Trent Reznor – vocals, keyboards, guitars
Danny Lohner – guitars, bass, keyboards, vocals
Jerome Dillon - drums
Robin Finck – guitars, vocals, keyboards
Charlie Clouser – keyboards, vocals, theremin! (I had to change my pants after seeing this on the DVD)

The audience is clearly audible during breaks, and when they’re not cheering, they’re singing along. This embellishes on Trent’s vocals, adding depth and productive filler for any noise voids. Another live show plus is the energy. Not that it doesn’t shine through on studio recordings, but live shows allow Trent and the band to let loose, and just do some screaming and thrashing. Trent has been known to break equipment, not to mention band mates, during live shows.

You give me the reason, you give me control
I gave you my purity, and my purity you stole…

Another oldie, Sin comes in second. The beat is infective (borderline dance), and the tone is dark. The boys add some surge to this as well. So far I’m completely enthralled by all of this.

You f*cking pigs………MARCH!

Another of my beloved favorites, March of the Pigs. It would be hard for this song not to be loud, energetic, and juxtaposed with it’s softly sung interjected line: “But doesn’t it make you feel better?” accompanied only by a piano. The audience is loving this one, and they go crazy for that line. Pay attention for a different ending, and don’t lose sight of those pigs. Piggy is appropriately right behind. I’m still basking in the song lineup. There hasn’t been one track that I would have replaced at this point. Piggy sounds more or less like the album version, but Trent’s vocals are harsher, and he loses his mic to the audience near the end of the song. That’s fine however, because it leaves him free to return to the stage to finish up the song on piano.

Nothing can stop me now…

And while he’s at the piano, he proceeds with a brief interlude, and then into The Frail, a piano solo instrumental. It’s a nice break after such a beginning, and it only lasts a minute and a half before becoming The Wretched.

After everything I’ve done, I hate myself for what I’ve become…

I’m always happy to see or hear Trent perform cuts from Broken. I don’t know why, but I always feel like he won’t...but he always does. Gave Up is one of those songs that I could get insanely angry and go crazy to. I heard some Cure-esque guitaring going on during this track. The maddening pace lightens up a little, going into The Great Below.There isn’t a whole lot of power coming out of this song, at least not anything more than the album version. I wouldn’t necessarily skip to the next track, though. We have to cover all of the bases. The end of this track actually leaves times for the audience to applaud. Only briefly, though. The Mark Has Been Made is mostly instrumental, with various screams throughout. Don’t look to be able to sing along.

Wish there was something real in this world full of you…

You won’t have to wait too long, however, before Trent breaks into Wish, another one of those powerful Broken tracks I crave so badly. But that will only be topped by Suck, which is a popular hidden Broken track. Trent does the full version of this; complete with the loud “suck, suck, suck” and the “I am so dirty…on the inside…” I would have absolutely loved to hear Physical, but I can’t have everything.

Bow down before the one you serve…you’re going to get what you deserve…

Next is Closer, which is easily the most recognized Nine Inch Nails song, and one that I do like, but it just isn’t doing anything for me live. So, I’ll be moving along, and back to Pretty Hate Machine with Head Like a Hole. This isn’t necessarily one of my favorites, but it works well live because of the chorus. When the whole band is screaming, “Head like a hole, black as your soul, I’d rather die, than give you control!” it bumps the song up from not bad to definitely worth it. The breakdown makes it especially worthwhile. It just comes off sounding really damn good.

Ah, the longest cut of the set…The Day the Whole World Went Away. It’s another refreshingly mellow number. Trent’s vocals take this one over, then turns it over to slow drums and some mellowly distorted guitars. When the “Na na naaa” part comes in, the band sings along, but it’s clearly not as large of a group of “naas” as is heard on the album. This is where the audience does it’s part. This marks the end of the show, until…

Well, until the encore. Aaand once again, back up to the fast pace with Starf*ckers, Inc.. This one doesn’t sound so great to me, either. I don’t know if I would have chosen it as an encore, but as I said, I see why it may have been necessary, seeing as it was a popular ‘single’ from The Fragile. What I liked, however, is how everyone chanted “don’t you” along with Trent, only for him to break in with a nice “F*ck you.” But it aint over, yet…

No encore is complete without Free Bird. Or at least it’s equivalent, Hurt. A somber, emotional song that has been known to bring a tear or two to Trent, and countless audience members. Everyone seems to feel some kind of pain during this one. Not that this version is any less emotional, but it ends quickly with a “Thank you” from Trent, and a noise-in fadeout from the disc.

All in all a pretty damn rockin’ show, and that was without the tracks that were cut. If you do choose to buy this, I highly suggest that you play this in a system that will pump out some killer bass, and get those decibels up there. You should really blast this one.


Still
Disc Two

"…persuasive proof, if any is even needed at this point, of the musicality that underlies Reznor's most ear-shattering work, and of his ability to disturb even at his moments of greatest beauty."

- Anthony DeCurtis, Rolling Stone


Still is the bonus CD included with the And All That Could Have Been limited edition CD (as I mentioned in part one, this limited edition has already been cut out, so I highly recommend getting it immediately…if you plan to do so). Some of the tracks are familiar songs, played in new settings. Still includes four “deconstructed” versions of recognizable tracks, and five new tracks, four of which are instrumentals.

1. Something I Can Never Have – from Pretty Hate Machine 1989
2. Adrift And At Peace
3. The Fragile – from The Fragile 1999
4. The Becoming - from The Downward Spiral 1994
5. Gone, Still
6. The Day The Whole World Went Away – from The Fragile 1999
7. And All That Could Have Been
8. The Persistence of Loss
9. Leaving Hope

I’m down to just one thing…and I’m starting to scare myself…

If you’re at all a fan, you’ll recognize the first song by it’s first 2 notes. Something I Can Never Have has always been a beautiful favorite, and another song that has the tendency to bring forth a tear or two. This version may be the most beautiful I’ve ever heard. The song has been stripped down to piano, guitar, and of course, vocals. This sounds like it could have been recorded in my bedroom with my computer microphone. And I’m pretty sure it wasn’t anything much fancier than that. Trent at the piano, and Jerome Dillon on a guitar, sitting peacefully in a room with a mic…

I understand now what Trent means when he says “deconstructive fashion.” The losing of layers and layers of tracks puts full emphasis on his vocals and piano playing. Now, for those of you who don’t know, Trent is a classically trained pianist, and a brilliant musician. His playing truly shines, especially when there’s little extraneous material, and nothing to detract from it. Something I Can Never Have is relatively instrumentally simple to begin with, but it’s like hearing the song for the first time.

I won’t let you fall apart…

The Fragile is even more deconstructed, since the album version is drastically different and much more involved. The song begins with only Trent and piano. There are audible noises in the background of people moving around. It’s very personal to hear these songs in this fashion. It’s like Trent is sitting on the piano bench next to me, just doing what he does. I suppose this is what The Fragile would sound like if I were to remove the drums and distortion. There are still some synth chords that come in eventually, and the drums quietly sneak their way into the soundscape, following just behind the bass. The drums then virtually take over the song, even pushing Trent’s screams into the background.

It won’t give up, it wants me dead, and goddamn this noise inside my head…

If I didn’t look at the track name first, I would be hearing The Becoming, and I don’t’ know if I’d be able to put my finger on what it was. This is one of the songs from The Downward Spiral that I’d put down as a favorite. However, it’s hard for me not to find favorites on that album. It was definitely weird hearing the intro to The Becoming played on the piano, instead of the synth beats I’d be expecting. The vocals here have the same fidelity as Something I Can Never Have, and therefore, the same personal ‘in your living room’ type of feel. It’s mainly piano and drums, with a quiet little synth beat going throughout. As hard as it might be to live up to my expectations, Trent doesn’t fail me here. I love this version. As I said, it’s like hearing it for the first time…like a completely new song.

All of the instrumental tracks are mellow guitar and piano pieces. There are warm synth pads laced throughout, and they all have a similar tone. Adrift And At Peace relies heavily on a dull piano voice, with some underlying saw synths. Gone, Still is more bass heavy.

The sweetest price he’ll have to pay…

…the day the whole world went away. I’ve actually heard this version before. I downloaded it, knowing only that it said Nine Inch Nails and live. Well, it’s live in the sense that the other tracks are live. The way this version is recorded, more weight is put on what would be the backing piano. There aren’t very many vocals, so it’s mostly Trent on piano, over some gently droning drums, guitars and synth hums.


please take this

and run far away
far away from me

i am tainted

the two of us were never meant to be

all these pieces

and promises, and left behinds
if only I could see

in my nothing

you were everything

everything to me


This is what I wanted to get to; the only new vocal track: And All That Could Have Been. The riff from The Day The Whole World Went Away sounds like it recurs randomly, and subtly through this track, so the two seem to fade together. I’ve listened to this numerous times, but I’m not 100% familiar with it yet. It takes me some time. The song starts off and continues with a slow beat, soft vocals and various other muted noises. The lyrics, for the most part, were hard for me to decipher. For most of the song, Trent is singing almost in a whisper, and his voice blends and fades with the surrounding harmonies.



please take this

and run far away
far as you can see

i am tainted

and happiness, and peace of mind
were never meant for me

all these pieces

and promises, and left behinds
if only I could see

in my nothing

you were everything

everything to me


There is, however, what I’d call something of a chorus, for which I’ve included (what I heard as) the lyrics. Musically, this song is gentle, somber, and includes several areas with a heavier, crunchier, more drum and bass oriented sound…yet still remaining disturbingly calm. A beautiful addition to a flawless collection.

What fallows are two more instrumental tracks, The Persistence of Loss and Leaving Hope. At some point, Trent’s recent instrumental tracks all sort of melt into one for me. Many use that dull piano, with the warm synth pads flowing for the duration. These two fall into that category. Though, Leaving Hope incorporates a little more of the square lead synth, with some trancey sounds. Neither is particularly melodic to me…nothing that would get stuck in your head, and nothing you could ever really hum along to. They’re more relaxing than anything else, like mood music. Think A Warm Place without any defined melody. Any instrumental on The Fragile is comparable to the ones here on Still.

So, as a whole, Still is quite a deal. The redone tracks are all beautiful, and the new cut is interesting…in a good way. The instrumentals provide balance, and transition. I’d clearly recommend Still to any Nine Inch Nails fan. If you’re not as familiar with the band, again, I’d suggest you familiarize yourself with some more studio material before checking out the remake versions. Though, it would be interesting to hear someone’s take on Still who hasn’t heard the original version. It would be an entirely different experience, yet just as amazing in it’s own right. I’d even recommend this to classical music fans…


Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Driving