Live Trax Vol. 60

I was on the fence with rating this show a 2 or a 3. Then I thought about how often I repeat listen. Surely that’s a sign that whatever shortcomings here and there should be overlooked. If you had told me PROUDEST would make for a great opener, I’d have laughed at you, but hot damn! This is an all-timer. I like the early-set placement of SATELLITE, and it’s a solid performance. Dave’s intro to DRIVE: “This is a song…” And then they just hit it. So much energy. Carter goes absolutely nuts during Boyd’s NANCIES solo, although WAREHOUSE is a bit more of a standard performance. RECENTLY is a strong performance, and I like the extended WATER INTO WINE. SAY BYE is good, but not a favorite. TRUE is solid and bouncy and I love how Carter has to save Boyd on the lyrics. RHYME is great; David Ryan Harris is a great addition, but it pails in comparison to JIMI, which is one of my all-time favorite performances of the song. #41 is so different from what the song became; the lyrics are hauntingly beautiful and Boyd absolutely goes off during his solo. An awesome moment, and one of the highlights of the show. TWO STEP is a tad clunky if you ask me, but it’s saved by an incredible ANTS. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Summer 1995 is the peak for the song (although it stayed at that level for many years). LITTLE THING and RAVEN are amazing and the highlight of the show for me. How does this pop up completely out of nowhere and then disappear for another 5 years? Crazy. TYPICAL is wonderful; despite it being one of the full band’s great songs, I’ve always had an affinity for Dave solo performances. Finally, HALLOWEEN is an awesome ending and the only Summer 1995 performance of it. It’s crazy to think that this show is separated from Red Rocks by only 5 days, because you get so much experimentation here (or at least an unusual level for Summer 1995) and in many ways the sonic profile is quite different. At barely 2 hours, it’s a great quick fix. Among the 1995 Live Trax releases reviewed so far, I rank this first: LT60, LT12, LT21, LT33, LT5.