Reviews

{^Live in Texas} features material recorded during {$Linkin Park}'s Summer Sanitarium jaunt in 2003. It draws equally from the band's two studio albums, including past hits from {^Hybrid Theory} and some soon-to-be's from the 2003 follow-up, {^Meteora}. This makes it essential for any LP completist, but the casual listener might do well to steer toward the studio material. Vocalist {$Chester Bennington} and MC {$Mike Shinoda} play off of each other well enough, and their supporting players deftly recreate the layered, processed sound that has come to define {$Linkin Park}. But this also works against the band, because their cool professionalism makes {^Live in Texas} sound somewhat sterile. Sure, there's the usual stage chatter like "I wanna see your hands!" and "Alright, let's do this people!" -- there's even an encouraging pep talk before {&"Pushing Me Away,"} dedicating the track to "all the musicians in the house." But besides some impressive harmonies on that cut, as well as the undeniable closing trio of {&"Crawling"} (in lean and mean, stripped-down form), {&"In the End,"} and {&"One Step Closer,"} {$Linkin Park} doesn't generate very much energy on {^Live}. {$Bennington} seems to struggle with the melody to {&"Somewhere I Belong,"} and at times the band seems lost inside its own sound. The buzzing, processed guitars separate from the percussion while the samples and vague turntablist scratches seem like a studio loop on reset. This kind of nitpicking shouldn't matter to LP fanatics; {^Live in Texas} will likely serve as a their memento of the tour. But it's clear that top shelf production and mixing plays a significant role in making {$Linkin Park}'s albums so powerful. As a final comment on the record's sanitized feel, a random F-word from {$Shinoda} is edited out of the final, fading cheers. [Limited versions of the album came with a bonus CD featuring additional music and video footage.] ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide