The Used – Maybe Memories (CD/DVD)

One year ago they were an opener on the Vans Warped Tour, this year they are headlining it, what more can you say to describe the speed of which The Used’s popularity has grown in the past year? Cashing on that popularity, The Used and Reprise Records have released a CD/DVD combo celebrating the success of The Used. Featuring 10 unreleased songs on the CD and just under 2 hours of footage on the DVD, this is a must-have for any Used fan.

The CD starts off with 4 live songs (the performance is available for viewing on the DVD), they give you a nice feel of what to expect from this band if you do see them live. Clear vocals, with heavy sounding music pounding in the background, pretty similar to the real recordings. The other tracks are unreleased tracks from their debut album and home demos. The demos are somewhat scratchy and poor quality, but that’s what a demo is so what can you expect? The most surprising track is the final one, “Sometimes I Just Go For It”. A 5 minute instrumental, mostly piano. It is something you really don’t expect from the band, but still something which you can appreciate. Not being a huge fan of the Used myself, the CD doesn’t strike me much, but for any true Used fan they will love the CD portion. I give it 3/5.

The DVD is the part which makes the combo worthwhile. 115 minutes of information, videos, interviews, bios, anything you can think of. It is a chronicle of the band’s hardships and efforts in becoming where they are. The band tells you the story of how they were formed and discovered and how their lives have changed with the publicity. The also have music videos for “A Box Full Of Sharp Objects”, “The Taste Of Ink”, “Buried Myself Alive” and “Blue And Yellow”. This DVD will keep you entertained for sometime. A Used fan or not, it is something interesting for everyone. The DVD gets a 4/5 rating.

If you are a true Used fan, you’d be stupid not to pick this up, but if you are not a fan, it won’t make you change your mind; although it will make you think twice about them next time you hear the name.