Alive 2007

Infobox Album
Name = Alive 2007
Type = Live album
Artist = Daft Punk


Released = November 19, 2007 December 4, 2007 (North America) February 25, 2008 (United Kingdom)
Recorded = June 14, 2007
Genre = House
Length = 74:04
84:03 (with encore)
Label = Virgin
Producer = Daft Punk
Reviews =
*Allmusic rating|4|5 [http://wc02.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=&sql=10:dxfixz9hldje link]
*Entertainment Weekly (A-) [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20160383,00.html link]
*IGN (9.2/10) [http://uk.music.ign.com/articles/846/846304p1.html link]
*NME (7/10) (11/17/2007, p.51)
*Pitchfork Media (8.5/10) [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/47184-alive-2007 link]
*Rolling Stone rating|3.5|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/17122090/review/17140188/alive_2007 link]
*The Star rating|3.5|4 [http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/Music/article/282186 link]
*Review-Christgau|A-|cgurl=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cg2008-03.php
*Trax Magazine rating|4|5
Last album = "Musique Vol. 1 1993-2005"
(2006)
This album = "Alive 2007"
(2007)
Next album = Singles
Name = Alive 2007
Type = live
single 1 = Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Alive 2007)

"Alive 2007" is a live album by Daft Punk, first released on November 19, 2007. [http://www.youtube.com/daftpunkalive Daft Punk's YouTube channel] youtube.com. Retrieved on September 16, 2007.] It is the second album recorded live by the duo, following "Alive 1997". "Alive 2007" features their performance at Bercy in Paris from June 14, 2007. [http://www.spin.com/features/news/2007/08/070824_daftpunk_brighteyes/ Exclusive: Daft Punk Unveil Live Album Details] Spin.com. Retrieved on September 16, 2007.] [http://www.daft-musique.com/alive/ Alive 2007 teaser] daft-musique.com. Retrieved on September 16, 2007.]

The physical release in North America was delayed to December 4 due to production issues, [http://www.emi-artistes.com/daftpunk/push/071030/images/part5.jpgDaft Punk's Newsletter] EMI. Retrieved on November 2, 2007.] but the album became available as a digital download on November 20, 2007. A special edition of the album was released that includes the encore from the "Alive 2007" tour on a second disc. It also includes a 50-page book containing photographs from the tour taken by DJ Falcon. [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003625611 Live Album To Chronicle Daft Punk Tour] Billboard.com. Retrieved on August 17, 2007.] The first single from the album, "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Alive 2007)" was released digitally on October 15, 2007.

tructure

The "Alive 2007" set used Ableton Live software on "custom made super-computers" for the show. Daft Punk accessed the hardware remotely with Behringer BCR2000 MIDI controllers and JazzMutant Lemur touchscreen pads within the central pyramid. Minimoog Voyager RME units were also implemented for the live performances. The four Voyager units and two Behringer mixers allowed Daft Punk to "mix, shuffle, trigger loops, filter, distort samples, EQ in and out, transpose or destroy and deconstruct synth lines." The majority of the equipment was stored away during the live sets within offstage towers. [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/44892-daft-punks-magical-pyramidspaceship-infiltrated Daft Punk's Magical Pyramid/Spaceship: Infiltrated!] pitchfork.com. Retrieved on December 10, 2007]

The recording of "Alive 2007" was derived from Daft Punk's live performance at their Bercy show on June 14, 2007. Reviews of the set noted how Daft Punk manipulated and reworked their established material. One report spotted vocal elements from the song "Too Long" mixed with newly-generated accompaniment. [http://www.thedaftclub.com/news.php?item.29.7 Bercy Review] thedaftclub.com. Retrieved on September 13, 2007.] The overlapped mixtures of "Television Rules the Nation" with "Crescendolls", "Around the World" with "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" and "Superheroes" with "Human After All" were reported to be well received by the audience. [ [http://www.lejdd.fr/cmc/culture/200724/daft-punk-embrase-bercy_29323.html Daft Punk Embrase Bercy] fr icon lejdd.fr. Retrieved on September 13, 2007.] The set itself was considered a collection of Daft Punk's most popular recordings. [ [http://www.mycow.eu/article.php?id=622&PHPSESSID=681d93ba383388979581817da484bdf4 French Touch Is Back in Its Homeland] mycow.eu. Retrieved on September 13, 2007.]

The visuals of the 2006 and "Alive 2007" tour were set up by XL Video. [http://www.apple.com/pro/profiles/xl_video/ XL Video's profile on Apple] Apple. Retrieved on November 9, 2007.] The company provided eight-core Mac Pro units running Catalyst v4 and Final Cut Pro. Daft Punk approached the company with their visual concept for the shows. “They came to us with a pretty fixed idea of what they wanted,” said head of XL Video, Richard Burford. “They wanted to mix live video with effects. Using the eight-core Mac Pros, we were able to take in eight digital sources and treat them as video streams. Then they could use Catalyst to coordinate the video with lighting effects and add their own effects in on the fly. The final digital video streams ran to LED screens.”

The performances for the "Alive 2007" tour were an expansion of Daft Punk's 2006 live sets. Noted additions include elements of the tracks "Burnin'" and "Phœnix" as well as an encore. Bangalter explained that the 2006 sets were initially designed for performances within larger festivals, but later refined to accommodate Daft Punk-specific shows. "The goal was to try and bring a complete global experience to the audience." [http://www.laweekly.com/music/music/buy-it-use-it-break-it-fix-it/17562/ Buy It Use It Break It Fix It] "LA Weekly". Retrieved on November 6, 2007.] The introduction for the live show featured the five-note sequence used in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". [http://www.nme.com/news/daft-punk/29861 Daft Punk thrill massive LA crowd] NME. Retrieved on November 14, 2007.]

The album includes elements of the Busta Rhymes song "Touch It", the original version of which was produced by Swizz Beatz featuring a sample of "Technologic". Also featured are elements of Gabrielle's "Forget About the World", the original version of which was remixed by Daft Punk for her single. The encore of the "Alive 2007" set features Bangalter's side projects: Stardust's "Music Sounds Better with You" and "Together" by Bangalter and DJ Falcon.

Reception

"Alive 2007" was generally met with praise upon release. Pitchfork regarded the recording as "the Ultimate Daft Punk Mixtape", specifically noting how songs from the album "Human After All" had been "constantly improved and born anew" for the live set. [ [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/47184-alive-2007 "Alive 2007" review] Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on September 3 2008.] The sentiment was also shared by Allmusic, stating that "It has the feel of a greatest-hits-live concert, but energized by Daft Punk's talents at weaving songs in and out of each other." [http://wc02.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=&sql=10:dxfixz9hldje "Alive 2007" overview] Allmusic. Retrieved on September 3 2008.] The publication ultimately considered "Alive 1997" the stronger of their two live albums, however. A review by "The Star" noted that the release and Daft Punk's concurrent tours cumulatively restored the duo's reputation following the mixed reception of their two earlier studio albums. [ [http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/Music/article/282186 Daft Punk redemption] "The Star". Retrieved on September 3 2008.]

Sputnikmusic stated that the "Alive 2007" performance was closer to a theatrical production than a traditional concert, and that the album "could just as easily be a studio concoction". [ [http://www.sputnikmusic.com/album.php?albumid=22725 "Alive 2007" review] sputnikmusic. Retrieved on September 3 2008.] "Entertainment Weekly" however felt that the live crowd enhanced the positive mood of the performance. [ [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20160383,00.html "Alive 2007" music review] "Entertainment Weekly". Retrieved on September 3 2008.] "Rolling Stone" expressed that "Alive 2007" "loses some of the essential experience" of attending the live Daft Punk events. [ [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/17122090/review/17140188/alive_2007 "Alive 2007 review"] Retrieved on September 3 2008.] "The Phoenix" also felt that the album package would have benefited from more video content, expressing that a key factor of the live show was its implementation of visual elements. [ [http://thephoenix.com//Boston/Music/52600-DAFT-PUNK-ALIVE-2007/ "Alive 2007" review] "The Phoenix". Retrieved on September 3 2008.] Robert Christgau believed that a full video representation was avoided because "too much scale, flesh and bodily effluvia would be lost." [ [http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cg2008-03.php Consumer Guide: March 2008] . Robert Christgau. Retrieved on September 3 2008.]

Track listing

#"Robot Rock" / "Oh Yeah" - 6:28
#"Touch It" / "Technologic" - 5:30
#"Television Rules the Nation" / "Crescendolls" - 4:51
#"Too Long" / "Steam Machine" - 7:02
#"Around the World" / "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" - 5:43
#"Burnin'" / "Too Long" - 7:12
#"Face to Face" / "Short Circuit" - 4:55
#"One More Time" / "Aerodynamic" - 6:11
#"Aerodynamic Beats" / "Forget About the World" - 3:32
#"The Prime Time of Your Life" / "The Brainwasher" / "Rollin' & Scratchin'" / "Alive" - 10:22
#"Da Funk" / "Daftendirekt" - 6:37
#"Superheroes" / "Human After All" / "Rock'n Roll" - 5:41

Bonus disc

#Encore: "Human After All" / "Together" / "One More Time (reprise)" / "Music Sounds Better with You" - 9:59
#Music video: "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Alive 2007)"

Chart positions

The album has received Gold status in Australia as of February 2008.

References

External links

* [http://www.daftalive.com/ Official "Alive 2007" website]
*Discogs|id=1141123