Mindcrime at the Moore

Regardless of what visual theatrics are missing from the cd alone (duh), there is no excuse for such a poorly mixed live album. The overall sound is flat and lifeless. This is supposed to be a ROCK concert, but the drums have the softest-hitting sound I've ever heard recorded. It doesn't even sound like they were mic'ed properly.

Another issue is the backing vocals, which at most times are effective, however other times are so out of tune its not even bearable. The choruses to "The Needle Lies" (one of my favortie Mindcrime tunes) are all completely ruined by this. In moments like these, I'd rather they not even sing; silence would be far better.

On the plus side of things, the band itself is spot on. I don't care what anyone says, Geoff Tate sounds fantastic. Of course, its good setlist (I enjoy both Mindcrime albums) and the two encore tracks make it somewhat of a well-rounded QR show - though maybe one more crowd-pleaser would have been welcomed.

Let me offer up a disclaimer for continuing with this review-- I am not one for retro acts-- the recent trend that seems to be emerging of acts touring behind 20-30 year old catalogs or playing old records start to finish and either not bothering to put out any new material or ignoring it completely has been one that's been difficult for me. And while I thought Queensryche's "Tribe" was a reasonably good record, I really disliked "Operation: Mindcrime II", feeling it was an attempt to capitalize not only on prior successes but abandoning progress in exchange for trying to capture a previous sound. I waffled back and forth as to whether or not I should pick up "Mindcrime at the Moore" but in the end my long standing love of the band won over. Nonetheless, my review is clearly tempered by my feelings about the band's decision to release a sequel album and this sort of performance.

One thing that's immediately obvious to me is a mixing oddity-- it seems one of the guitarists (Mike Stone) is mixed way too low. The clearest illustration of this is on "Suite Sister Mary"-- the piece opens with the gentle arpeggios before a blast of distorted guitar kicks in. Well on this recording, that blast has significantly less effect because it's buried in the mix. Even Stone's solo at the end of that piece seems subdued compared to Michael Wilton's rhythm guitar performance. Further accentuating that is the fact that the rest of the record is mixed fantastically-- there's a nice balance and everything sounds great except that one guitar. This sonic oddity aside, the band sounds pretty good-- they're clearly into what they're doing and as much as I dig out retro accusations, they've made a good attempt (moreso than on "Operation: Mindcrime II" in the studio) to really modernize the sound of the record-- gone are many of the few details that made the original record sound a bit dated these days-- some of the goofy backing vocals, the harmonized guitar leads, etc. All of this is really to the benefit of the sound. And while vocalist Geoff Tate has lost a bit of his high end since the band's heydey (and should stay away from trying to reach it-- he sounds awful when he tries the shrieked vocal just prior to the guitar solo on "The Needle Lies"), his voice is still a fantastic instrument.

But the bottom line on the first disc is that it works out pretty well and the band's played with the material enough to keep it interesting even to an anti-retro type like me, whether it's fantastic performances ("Speak" is positively on fire) or great rearrangements (the extended ballad portion of "The Mission" accentuates the mood and feel of the piece). And while some of the theatrical elements that probably come off better on the DVD end up being a bit goofy on audio only (Mary and Dr. X's interaction prior to "Electric Requiem"), by and large, it's a good performance.

The second disc is, well, it's "Operation: Mindcrime II", an album I just still can't get my head around. The performance stays a lot truer to the material than the first disc, no doubt as it was recently recorded, and as on the record, the theatrical sound of the piece tends to sit badly with me ("One Foot in Hell", "Speed of Light") and in fact, these pieces, designed seemingly with a stage show in mind, feel completely lacking on record (which was pretty much my problem with the studio record). Having said that, it proves to be a really energetic performance, and if you liked the album, you'll probably love this (the only song from "Operation: Mindcrime II" I really love, "I'm American", practically leaps off the recording). The show closes up with a brief encore of two old hits-- "Walk in the Shadows" from "Rage for Order" and "Jet City Woman" from "Empire". Both have been played by the band so many times they can't help but get great readings.

In the end, this is a decent performance, but mixing oddities and questionable material keeps me from rating it too high. Further, I find I prefer the "Operation: Livecrime" take of the first volume of 'Mindcrime'. This is probably worthwhile for diehards and anyone who really enjoyed the last record, everyone else can probably skip it.

I was disappointed in this cd, especially since I was really looking forward to it. Queensryche is one of my favorite bands, even though most of their quality stuff is in the 80's and the rest is...lackluster. When I heard that they were going to be releasing a live cd of both Mindcrime albums, I was really pumped, especially since Mindcrime 2 is their best album since Promised Land. However, the sound is terrible. There is no energy. The Mindcrime performance on Operation:Livecrime is much better. Better sound, better production and much more interesting to listen to. Geoff Tate's voice is not as strong as it used to be and there is a lot of straining heard here. I am glad I did not pay full price for this cd. You should not, either.