Almost as good as actually being at a Train concert

I got a little baffled when I read other reviews in which the reviewers complained about hearing too much of the audience on this cd. Hello - it's a LIVE album. Plus, if you've ever been to a Train concert you should know that the fans tend to really get into Train's performances.



And who can blame them? As you can hear on this cd, Train really knows how to entertain an audience. Pat Monahan is such a good front man for this band. Besides being a great singer, he really knows how to get an audience excited.



I've got nothing bad to say about any of the performances on this cd. In fact, there are some songs (specifically Landmine and All American Girl) that I think sound better here than they do in their original studio versions. Plus, I love the sing-alongs on songs like Calling All Angels and Meet Virginia.



My personal favorite on here is Save The Day. It's so much fun - the beginning of it is absolutely fantastic. Plus, there's a part towards the end where Pat gets a little silly with the audience. Then the song starts rocking again!



If you've ever seen Train live and enjoyed it, you'll want to get this cd. It's a perfect representation of how great and fun the band are live.

great album

This is my first Train cd , so why not start with a live album . It's a great cd I wish I was at that concert . Buy it

Train shines as a live act

I like Train. I like their brand of good-vibes rock, with catchy vocals backed by solid instrumentation. I don't consider them just another radio pop band, although if all you've heard is "Drops of Jupiter" and "Meet Virginia", you might logically think they are. But I think there's a little more depth to them that hails to the days of old-school classic rock and jam bands.



That having been said, I was very impressed with "Alive At Last." I've been listening to it a lot and it really is worth the purchase. When you hear their studio albums there's alot of layering and production, which makes you wonder if they can truly recreate that sound as a live act. Fortunately, they not only recreate the sound, they expand on it. Overall, the band sounds excellent. Pat Monahan is a talented vocalist and he changes things up quite a bit during the show. There are also extended sections where the band grooves and makes a little space for the keyboardist and guitarist to show off. There are tons of spots where they have fun with the crowd, too.



Of course, no live album is going to sound as clean and produced as a studio album. However, I enjoy the human aspect of it; any strained notes in the vocals are more than made up for when Monahan free-styles and embellishes. It's true, the production is a little heavy on the crowd mic, but I enjoy the energy of the crowd and their responses. It gives you a little of that bootleg feel, but with much higher quality production on the band. I think the production is very good, for the sound they are trying to accheive.



So if you like a good live album, and you like Train's sound, go out and buy it. It'll be money well spent.