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Album: Evanescence: Anywhere But Home (Audio CD)
Street Date: November 23, 2004
Length: 61:48
Rating: 
Reviewed by: Renda
Track by track.
1. Haunted - The CD starts with the signature screeching and screaming of fans as the synthesizer wobbles in the background, and out of nowhere the guitar jars you into the first song of the show. As the end of the first verse ends, you can hear the crowd screaming the lyrics along. The song has a well placed guitar solo in between chorus' and Amy's baleful moaning.
2. Going Under - The hard guitar rift from the beginning of the song alerts the screaming fan base as to what song is playing, and at points during the song you can hear the audience even more than Amy herself. This is the first song that I noticed the fact that Amy's voice is a little more throaty than it has been in the past, and you can hear it on the 2nd verse clearly. Although she is still showing her range through out the song. Another one of my favorite parts of this song is the guitar and drums come through so clearly. At the end, Amy screams out something in French about Paris, and thanks them for having them back.
3. Taking Over Me - With a slow introduction, but followed by a strong presentation Taking Over Me rocks in concert, but you can tell on Anywhere But Home it isn't as much of a favorite of the fans. This song sounds lot like a cookie cutter version of the Fallen version, and doesn't really offer anything new or spectacular in a live CD.
4. Everybody's Fool - Amy introduces this song as "our new single", and that can be annoying on a CD that you plan on listening to for years to come. To me it seems out of place on a CD that you will have in your collection. Once again, it feels like a duplicate of the version on Fallen with less production.
5. Thoughtless - Evanescence has always had at least one cover at a show, whether it be Zero, Self-Esteem, Enter Sandman, or Heart Shaped Box. This tour they have covered Thoughtless by Korn. Personally, I am not a huge fan of Korn or the song Thoughtless, but with the slow piano introduction and the fast paced guitar and piano through out the song this is a beautiful cover. They take a raunchy rock song, and continue to rock it with more a of an Evanescence feel - a lot like they did with My Tourniquet.
6. My Last Breath - As one of the best songs lyrically and musically on Fallen this song live is even more moving, and feels a lot more hardcore than on the CD. Although as I previously mentioned you can feel the tiredness in Amy's voice. This is another song that you can tell the audience is not participating in as much as the radio hits, as the crowd is subdued.
7. Farther Away - There is a lot more intensity in this song live than you would expect after hearing the song on the Bring Me To Life single. Hearing it live makes you wonder why you hadn't paid more attention to it before. This is one of my favorite songs highlighting Rocky, John, Will, and Terry. The song ends with hardcore drums and guitar that make you want to get up and jump around.
8. Breathe No More - Amy starts this segment of the concert off by announcing that they are taking it "down" for a couple songs. This piano starts and there is some random screeching from the fans that recognize the song. This song is not on Fallen so only those fans that have gone to the effort to get their older songs know of it. This is one of my favorite tracks on the CD. The piano and guitar just works so well together, and it is a beautiful song. With this CD, it will be the first time for many people to hear it.
9. My Immortal - As the piano for My Immortal starts it gets the most fan reaction of the entire CD. Amy stops singing the first chorus to let the fans sing it, and they are almost louder than she is. In the evolution of the song, My Immortal was made for the live show, as this is where they first started adding the amazing full band at the end of the song. Unlike some of the other songs - Amy's voice shines on this track.
10. Bring Me To Life - How do you trick an entire audience into what your next song is when everyone on the planet has heard it at least once? Start the track with a new piano intro. Wistful vocals, and a little unrecognizable piano starts this track - and the crowd is amazingly silent as they wait to see what song it is. A hint for those of you who see them live though - when they get out the microphone for John LeCompt you know it's time for Bring me to Life. With John on male vocals for this song - he does an amazing job, and I think he is much better than Paul McCoy (who we are used to from Fallen). This track gives me new respect for BMTL, and makes me realize why I loved this song the first time I heard it - before it became overplayed and I wanted to die every time I heard it.
11. Tourniquet - Without missing a beat, the band goes straight into Tourniquet. As one of the best, hard rocking songs off Fallen, it is amazing in concert. Amy's voice along with the hard driven guitar make this song rock. This is a fast paced song, and yet unlike Going Under Amy's voice doesn't sound as stressed and throaty.
12. Imaginary - This song begins with the promise to "see you next time", and then the pre-recording strings along with the rising wail of "Oooooh Paper Flowers" Imaginary begins. This is a signature last song by the band, but has yet to be a single. As much as I love this song on Fallen, I really feel that until the end of the song - it has nothing new to offer that I haven't heard before. However, at the end of the song, even over the pre-recorded chorus of voices, the musicians rock this song. It is the edgy rock that drives this song, and it is the drums at the end that leave you screaming for the encore.
13. (Encore) Whisper - This forever and always will be for hardcore Evanescence fans the song that defines them as a band. It is a staple at every show as the encore, and that is for good reason. This is the one song where I do not disagree with the use of pre-recorded voices. The Latin chanting in the background gives that haunting feeling that there's is more to this song than first meets the eye. The band has played around with the beginning of this song - much in the way that they did with Bring Me to Life, but it is not breath-taking a change as it is in BMTL.
14. Missing (Bonus Track) - Missing is a bonus track that never made it onto Fallen. It has been previous released on a single, but it is a nice addition to the CD for fans who have never heard it before. The sound is close to that of Breathe no More and Taking Over Me. For fans of their older work, this song is a favorite - due to the haunting vocals and light guitar. This is one of those songs that fans of all genres can agree is a beautiful song - much like My Immortal.
Reviewing this CD is a lot like reviewing a live Evanescence show, in the fact that I am critiquing song selections and presence, more that then song quality itself. For a review of how the songs work on the album read a review of Fallen. It is a great CD if you have never seen them live, or if you want to relive the live experience again. The inclusion of Missing and Breathe No More makes the CD worth it, especially to the fans who have not had access to the songs in the past. My two biggest pet peeves with the album are the tiredness of Amy's voice and the pre-recorded tracks they use live. I have seen them live, and in person as well as on the CD, this has bothered me. It seems as if the band is pre-occupied with making their songs sound exactly like the Fallen versions, and less concerned with putting on an awesome show. Although they do rock I fell that they lose some of their integrity as a live band with the pre-recorded tracks. All in all I think that this is a great CD for the already strong Evanescence fan base, but if you haven't picked up Fallen yet - you'll probably enjoy that more than the live CD.
For more info, see: www.evanescence.com.
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