Anywhere But Home [CD + DVD] [Enhanced] [Live]

Now this matter of a bad cd, I thought that it was quite clear by the fact that since Ev havent actually released their 2nd album the content would not be all new. The tracks are the same as they are taken straight off of the DVD. This is why there is screaming in the background. In my opinion this adds to the cd as it gives you the atmosphere of being back at one of their gigs. The final track Missing (or the only redeeming feature as was said before!) is also not new, it is just unreleased, this song has been one of my favourites for a long time as it is truly beautiful, so at least we are in agreement about one thing. Ev are currently writing their new album and I believe this DVD/CD was released as there will be no more tours consisting of only the songs from fallen.

This is sadly the case with 'Anywhere But Home's' live CD. Evanescence are a very good band and put on a great live show (I've seen them live and they were fantastic), but this live CD doesn't do them justice. If you never heard Evanescence before and heard this you would think it was pretty good, and if you were there in the crowd I am sure you really enjoy the performance. But anyone familiar with 'Fallen's very slick, highly finished production listening this CD could easily pick out the inperfections.

On a positive note, the inclusion of 'Breathe No More', 'Missing' and 'Farther Away', 3 songs left off the 'Fallen' album are all very good songs and any Evanescence fan who never heard them is really missing out. Also the piano led cover of KoRn's 'Thoughtless' is very interesting as Amy Lee twists a familiar song in a totally different direction.

The DVD is very well presented, the menu screens and the way the live footage is cut works very well. The DVD roduction in general looks very cool.

The concert on DVD is a lot better than it is on the CD, the visuals do go some way to recreating the concert atmosphere and hide many of the flaws so clearly heard on the CD. With the best moments coming during Amy Lee sits down on the piano for the heart felt 'Breathe No More' and 'My Immortal'. It is still by no means perfect but it looks good, sounds a lot better with the visuals and is overall very watchable.

The DVD extras are pretty much Evanescence messing around back stage, it does throw out the myth that Amy Lee is miserable and moody and that she has no connection to the rest of the band. These extras are quiet watchable and do have some funny moments, but they are hardly relevant or essential viewing for any fan. It also includes the Evanescence music videos for 'Bring Me To Life', 'Going Under', 'My Immortal' and 'Everybody's Fool'.

The DVD is pretty good, while the live CD is not the best. For all the hardcore Evanescence fans I am sure you will find enough here to justify the purchase (the 3 unreleased songs in particular), but for the passive fans there is little here to convert you into a hardcore fan and you might want to give this a miss.