And All That Could Have Been
The biggest difference between a kick-ass studio album and a kick-ass live album? Intensity.Live: And All That Could Have Been, recorded on Nine Inch Nails' 2000 "Fragility 2.0" U.S. tour, provides that trait in abundance. It helps that Trent Reznor has a band, instead of just a battery of keyboards, to help him work through 16 tracks of the raging yet surprisingly listenable musical vitriol that made him a star. The live musicians, who allow him some freedom to play with tempo, help kick "Closer" up a notch and lend some atmospheric weight to a slow version of "The Frail." The band rips into older material with gusto; Reznor sounds just as pissed off performing "Head Like a Hole" as he did in 1989. The CD closes with "Hurt," which might seem like an odd choice, but somehow, after everything that's come before, it's like the denouement of a tragedy. While a CD can only capture a piece of NIN's onstage energy, their first live album is an intense, sometimes overwhelming recording, further vindication of NIN's continuing popularity and influence.--Genevieve Williams