Taking Back Sunday – Live From Orensanz

Live albums are meant to capture a perfect moment in time. To transform the random, hap hazardousness of a band at the top of their game and preserve it for eternity. There are live albums that have gone and become the corner stone of a band’s catalogue – a historically significant release away from the studio that will be talked about for generations to come. These are records that somehow, someway capture something unique – a mistake here, a comment yelled from the crowd, an unexpected moment of passion or a band so far out of their element in a way that shouldn’t work but miraculously does. These are the albums you want. Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison. James Brown Live At The Apollo. Bruce Springsteen Live In Dublin. The Who Live At Leeds. Nirvana MTV Unplugged Live In New York.

But what happens when you take away the unexpected and the mistakes? What happens when you siphon out the crowd? You get an album that is far too safe. Yes, it sounds good and can show a band in a unique way but still feels just too safe.

That’s what happens with Taking Back Sunday’s latest live offering, Live From Orensanz. An acoustic performance recorded at a New York synagogue built with a Gothic flair, Live from Orensanz has the potential to become one of those unique releases that could be talked about for years to come but never realizes that potential.  Sadly, the band’s decision to record two shows and merge the best moments of them all together into one “performance” dulls the effect of the record and ultimately takes away from the “Live” aspect of the album.

From a straight forward perspective, Live from Orensanz delivers quite well. Opening with the energetic MakeDamnSure, Taking Back Sunday breathes new life into the songs by stripping them down. It increases the passion into the songs, showcasing Adam Lazzarra’s voice way better than any recording since their debut. His soft delivery on Your Own Disaster, backed by soothing piano melody and delicate backing vocals, sends shiver down the spine; while the appearance of the string metal band Judgement Day on Everything Must Go pushes the song light-years ahead of its studio counterpart.

These moments make the album memorable and unique – the way a live album should be. Sadly these moments are too few and far between and the rest – while individually enjoyable – stills feels far too safe. The recording quality is too perfect. The crowd is nearly non-existent  as they only showing up on the closer Cute Without The E (despite a comment from Lazarra saying that they’re “loud as hell”).

There’s no crackle or pop as the songs fade in and out of one another without reprieve or banter ; and when they do have banter, it feels jarring as it cuts too quickly from banter into the next song (see the transition between Set Phasers To Stun and Everything Must Go).

Live From Orensanz is not a bad release by any means. It shows the band in a new light and creates a nice ambiance but a real live set – instead of two spliced together – would’ve been better.