lambchops's Full Review: And All That Could Have Been [PA] by Nine Inch Nai...
Trent Reznor is a master and continuing innovator of industrial and rock music. His mouthpiece, nine inch nails, continues to shock and amaze listeners.
Beginning in 1989 with the superbly entertaining TVT debut Pretty Hate Machine, Cleveland based NIN has been marked as something over and above all similar acts. Reznor’s music is darkly impressive and novel and as time wears on has become increasingly engaging. Over the years, NIN has spawned very few full-length albums, but a whole host of EP’s and singles. In fact, only major fanatics could possibly own every disc. I myself own about ten.
And All That Could Have Been is the most recent offering from NIN. Reznor and company assembled sixteen songs from throughout the years into this live compilation recorded in April and June 2000 while touring in support of The Fragile. The album is both loud and soft, acoustic and electronic and one of the best examples of live music done right I’ve ever heard. Live music tends to be acoustically assaulting and troublesome. And All That Could Have Been is a wonderful representation of great live music and acts at times as a NIN greatest hits album of sorts with tracks from each of the major albums and EP’s. Without a doubt, it’s a must own album.
Beginning with Pretty Hate Machine classic Terrible Lie and wrapping up with emotionally painful Hurt from The Downward Spiral, this disc remarkable and gorgeous. And All That Could Have Been at times suffers the problems common with live recordings (difficult sound, noise, etc…) but usually comes out sounding nearly as crystal clear as a studio release. And with so many classic tracks all in the same place, the album is one of my absolute favorite from NIN.
How could the sheer entertainment value of Terrible Lie be denied? I mean Reznor sounds perfect and the up tempo version is refreshing and inspired to say the least. The grinding guitars and drums mixed cleanly with electronic elements makes the Pretty Hate Machine track sound rounder and more appealing than it did upon it’s initial release or even when compared the multiple versions on the Head Like A Whole maxi single.
Sin and March of the Pigs continue along the same musically excellent path. Sin is certainly excited and driving with shining vocals and production thanks in totality to Reznor. He growls and shrieks in angst along to a beat that is in times reminiscent to new wave, but is overall something invented by the industrial innovator. March of the Pigs has impressive percussion provided by Jerome Dylan. It’s this aspect that makes the live album important. Generally, Reznor does everything by himself. To tour, he recruits other talent. These songs have at times more layers and more dimension as a result.
Refreshingly slow and plodding, Piggy is one of the most notable songs from The Downward Spiral. In this setting, the song takes on new life building to a crescendo of sorts as the song wraps up. Even the more recent song The Frail is more anxiously performed yet surprisingly slow. It’s a spooky, atmospheric selection featuring little more than a piano. The song, in fact, is hardly recognizable as industrial until it breaks into The Wretched. Angry yet melodic, the song reflects on many of the same themes of hate and pain that the majority of Reznor’s songs contain.
Originally appearing on the sister albums Fixed and Broken, Gave Up is one of the less impressive offerings on the track. In fact, I find that the album sags a bit in the middle as a whole with other tracks like The Mark Has Been Made and The Great Below also making not-quite-notable appearances.
And All That Could Have Been makes an upswing with Wish, a track that made and appearance with the aforementioned 1992 sister albums. Grinding and intense guitars and on and off again noise entices the song into a frenzy not uncommon among NIN tracks. The album again slips a bit with the cover of Pigface song Suck. The intensity apparent on the initial recording of the song (available hidden on Broken) is all but lost on this too structured live version.
And then there’s Closer. Since the release of The Downward Spiral I’ve found myself enthralled by the thumping of the song and the use of noise. This version is certainly no exception and is as good as most of the versions on the single Closer to God. It loses none of its momentum when translated live. The only problem at all with the track is that I am a sucker for the bass of the original. This one is tinny in comparison.
Exploding next is the song that put NIN on the map. Head Like A Whole sounds much more like a rock song than it originally did with live drums and electric guitars both contributing positively to the overall feel and anger associated with the track. Of the sixteen tracks here, Head Like A Whole is certainly one of my favorites. Considering that this offering is culled from Reznor’s first album, it’s an amazing track.
The Day The World Went Away is a more recent track from 1999’s The Fragile. Considering I’m not a fan really of the studio recording, this one doesn’t really appeal to me. In contrast, I do enjoy Star*uckers, Inc. The track embodies all that is right about NIN. It’s dark, brooding, excited, and energetic with an air of mystery. But, in the setting of a live album the track doesn’t quite live up to the same standard. But, it does manage to put me on the edge of my metaphysical seat.
Wrapping up this outstanding (although not perfect) album is Hurt. Reznor manages to sound exactly, yes exactly, as he did on The Downward Spiral. Hurt’s building emotion and anxiety translate very well live with his near-whisper and pain sounding very real and nearly perfect. There really couldn’t be a better way to wrap up this on the whole very, very good live album.
As a whole, I find that And All That Could Have Been to be a nearly complete vision. There are some obvious omissions including my favorite NIN song of all time Something I Can Never Have and a few other, lesser known, fan favorites. But, the fortunate thing is that if you can get your paws on the limited version of this album that includes a bonus disc you’ll get an extra nine tracks and some added musical variety.
Overall, this is an album for fans…not necessarily for newbies to NIN. For those new to NIN check out the major releases like Pretty Hate Machine, The Downward Spiral and The Fragile. Also feel free to investigate Broken, Fixed and the absolutely amazing maxi single for Head Like A Whole. Each of these six discs has something different and something special to offer.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Track Listing:
1. Terrible Lie
2. Sin
3. March Of The Pigs
4. Piggy
5. Frail, The
6. Wretched, The
7. Gave Up
8. Great Below, The
9. Mark Has Been Made, The
10. Wish
11. Suck
12. Closer
13. Head Like A Hole
14. Day The World Went Away, The
15. Star*uckers, Inc.
16. Hurt
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