Nine Inch Nails Album: “And All That Could Have Been”

Ever since Trent Reznor and his band made a mud-drenched splash as Woodstock 1994, almost all music fans have known that Nine Inch Nails put on a fantastic live show. NIN's first live disc (which was recorded on the "Fragility: 2.0 Tour") proves that their live songs make their original, studio versions sound tame and controlled. "And All That Could Have Been" is about as intense and full of vitriol as industrial metal gets. And, from the opening wallop of "Terrible Lies" to the dark, introspective "Hurt," which closes out the album, every song is a hit.

The crowd is only rarely audible, and they know when to shut up (like during the ballads), so the audience noise never gets in the way of the music.

Tracks like "Terrible Lies," "Head Like A Whole" (both singles from NIN's 1989 debut, "Pretty Hate Machine") and "Starfers, Inc." pack a powerful, cathartic, adrenalized punch. Plus, these songs sound even louder and crisper, here, than in the studio. Elsewhere, electronic frenzied, techno-lite cuts like "Sin" and "March Of The Pigs" are heavy on new-wave keyboards, and "Piggy," "The Frail" (a piano interlude), and "The Great Below" are very slow and ambient. Songs like "Suck" and "Closer" bring the best of both worlds; these songs have a stomping rhythm section married with synths and other atmospheric instruments. And, lastly, the ballads ("The Day The World Went Away" and "Hurt") are very touching and beautiful.

So, this album *IS* all that it could have been, and more. It's no less than great, and it's as close to being perfect as live albums get nowadays.

4 1/2 stars

When it comes to live albums, you never know. I'm often let down. Live versions of songs usually sound thin in comparison to the studio recordings and are usually just something that the hard-core fans will want. Fortunately, this is not the case with Nine Inch Nails live album "And All that Could Have Been."

The main difference between a live NIN album and a studio recording is the presence of a backup band. On "And All that Could Have Been," Trent Reznor is joined with Robin Finck (guitar, keyboard), Danny Lohner (bass, guitar, keyboard), Jerome Dillon (drums) and Charlie Clouser (keyboards). These songs were recorded from various shows during the 2000 "Fragility" tour.

I actually prefer the live versions of the "Pretty Hate Machine" era songs to the originals. Although "Pretty Hate Machine" is a classic, a remastered version would be welcome. With a backup band and added guitar, "Terrible Lie," "Sin," and "Head like a Hole" sound stronger here then they do on the original release. While the live renditions of the other tracks (from "The Downward Spiral," "Broken," "The Fragile" and misc.) generally do not surpass the studio versions, they sound exciting none-the-less and should please most fans by giving them a different take on the songs. The rendition of "Hurt" sounds especially interesting. One might think that such a personal, intimate song would not translate well in the arena, but it never looses its intensity. Indeed, "Hurt" sounds just as powerful here as it does on "The Downward Spiral," only its power is magnified by the presence and empathy of a subdued yet energized audience.

The tracklist serves, more-or-less, as a NIN greatest hits. While one could argue for the inclusion of some songs, and the exclusion of others, it's essentially a good overview and sampling of NIN catalogue up to that point. The order of the songs is arranged in such a way that the album never looses momentum or is anti-climatic. While the songs were taken from different shows, the album sounds coherent and never hackneyed. Trent Reznor notes in the accompanying live DVD that "And All that Could Have Been." comes as close as you can to emulate the live NIN experience. NIN is definitely an exciting band to see live and this CD (and the DVD) do a great job of capturing the live experience.

"And All that Could Have Been." was originally released as a single album and also as a double album with a second disc titled "Still." This second disc contains stripped down renditions of various NIN songs. While this double CD edition is now out-of-print (although it can be bought used at Amazon) the "Still" CD is still available via NIN.com. For NIN fans it's defiantly worth checking out.

This live CD serves as an excelent review of NIN recording history. Also, as a lice CD it presents a powerful performance of one of the most innovative and tormented artist today.

Trent Reznor has made a mark in rock music by both the intensity of his music and the lyrics he uses to express his ideas. We must never forget that he is the mastermind behind all his sounds and that he recorded many of the original tunes by himself with the help of only a few (if any) additional musicians.

The challenge of any industrial/electronic artist is to perform live without loosing the intensity of the original recording. In this case, Reznor does not dissapoint as the versions presented in this live CD are raw and hungry. The live set did wonders for the songs as it presented them in a different perspective.

NIN nails recording career has been filled with EP, singles and full length CD son this set works like an organized resume of songs. The only complaint with this CD is that I regret that one tune in particular did not appear, The Perfect Drug is one of my favorite NIN songs and I have found it hard to find.

I'm not one who really likes live albums. I like the studio recordings a lot more, just as most people do. The only live albums or DVDs I'll listen to or watch (DVD) are those of Slipknot (they sound the same live as they do in the studio) and Nine Inch Nails. And All That Could Have Been is a collection of some of the greatest NIN songs made, and NIN does a great job playing them live. Sure, some of the songs on All That Could Have Been aren't as great as the recording, such as Closer, but most of them are just as good, or even better than the recording. This is a great live album, one of the best, if not the best I've ever heard before. Plus, you can get a DVD with it. The 2nd disk are recording-session songs, but they are so beautiful and emotional. Every single one is a masterpiece. I'll make it simple for you... buy it.

Disk One

1. Terrible Lie- 10/10

2. Sin- 10/10

3. March of the Pigs- 9.5/10

4. Piggy- 9.5/10

5. The Frail- 10/10

6. The Wretched- 10/10

7. Gave Up- 7/10

8. The Great Below- 10/10

9. The Mark Has Been Made- 10/10

10. Wish- 7/10

11. Suck- 8/10

12. Closer- 9/10

13. Head Like A Whole- 10/10

14. The Day the Whole World Went Away- 9/10

15. Star******* Inc.- 10/10

16. Hurt- 10/10

Disk 2

1. Something I Could Never Have- 10/10

2. Adrift and At Peace- 10/10

3. The Fragile- 9/10

4. The Becoming- 9.5/10

5. Gone Still- 10/10

6. The Day the World Went Away- 10/10

7. And All That Could Have Been- 10/10

8. The Persistence of Loss- 10/10

9. Leaving Hope- 10/10- Possibly The most beautifully orchestrated and most emotional song I've ever heard of (excluding a few classical masterpieces of coarse)

Coming off from the "Fragility 2.0" U.S.Tour, Trent Reznor decided to make a 16 track live album that would commemorate the memories of "The Fragile" era. However, what he did was create a complimentary of a "best hits" album that would satisfy any die hard NIN fan old or new.

This was the CD that started my love for Nine Inch Nails or Industrail as a whole. After hearing "Starf*ckers.Inc" on MTV, i liked it immediately. So being the stubborn idiot i was when i borrowed this from a friend, i kept "Starf*ckers" on repeat for 2 days. Then, on the third day i decided to give the other songs a chance, and soon enough, it changed my life.

"And All That Could Have Been" starts off explosively with the loud thundering beats of "Terrible Lie", and ends with the quiet emotional whisperings of "Hurt". Reznor's onstage energy is unmatched elsewhere because it is so raw and pure, the sound itself is original rather than a live version of his studio albums. Theres a wide range of variations in between the 16 songs from the powerful angst of "Head Like A Hole" to a soft moving ballad like "The Great Below". This is even excluding the mysterious instrumentals such as "The Mark Has Been Made" and "The Frail". Although the sounds of the audience are in the mix, they do not interfere with the recording at all. This is the great feature seperating this CD from the live albums of other bands. Reznor incorporates every detail distinctively including his famous ... replacements in between lyrics. Overall, this is a MUST buy for any old NIN fans, but also an outstanding introduction to new NIN fans like me.