Live Trax Vol. 66

When this was first released, I described it as a mixed bag. On the one hand, Spring 2002 was a great era for the band, and that generally comes through in the release. The setlist is very strong, although certainly not upper echelon for the tour. Dave’s voice is excellent, with the notable exception of the first verse of SPACE BETWEEN, for which he’s horribly pitchy. The mix is fantastic, again with a notable exception of Boyd being painfully hot in the mix (left ear), and Dave being quite low in it, during the SEEK UP outro jam. On the other hand, none of the performances really stand out. To be sure, there are some really good ones (GRACE, LOVER, STONE, ANTS, and WHERE ARE YOU come to mind, the latter in spite of Dave nearly losing the plot), but none that would cause me to come back to the release just to hear it. There are also quite a few flubs: lyrics, guitar, even sax. In summary, I’m happy to have an official release from Spring 2002 but wish they’d picked a different show. After completing a second re-listen, while I agree it’s a mixed bag, the highs undoubtably outweigh the lows, and I find myself re-listening often, even if I’m still bewildered by the absence of some of the best songs of Spring 2002, including YOU NEVER KNOW, BARTENDER, and RHYME. What holds it back from being rated even higher? Well, I don’t think any of the overlapping songs (GREY ST., ONE SWEET, IF I HAD IT, RAVEN, WHERE ARE YOU, SO RIGHT, ANTS) are better on this release than they are on the Warehouse SPAC release from just a few months later. I really like this release, I just don’t think it’s "excellent top to bottom."