Anywhere But Home (w/ bonus DVD)

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com
Essentially a live showcase for their mega-selling breakthrough Fallen, this CD/DVD combo set chronicles Evanescence in peak form during a subsequent tour stop in Paris. The performances here lean early on the crunch of guitarists John Lecompt and Terry Balsamo (reaching a peak on the the band's potent cover of Korn's "Thoughtless"), but ultimately revolve around the melodramatic, goth-rooted vocal charisma of singer Amy Lee. It's on stripped-down, yet still larger-than-life takes of "Bring Me to Life" and "My Immortal," as well as the shadowy grace of "Breathe No More," that Lee stakes her claim to the alt.diva throne. Taken as a whole, the forceful renditions here argue that this live recording was hardly premature, instead well documenting the band's more direct musical tack and considerable live chops. The CD contains the appropriately named, previously unreleased studio track "Missing," while the DVD supplements its crisply shot and edited concert performances with four videos and an hour of documentary footage and interviews. --Jerry McCulley

Album Description
Evanescence's "Anywhere But Home", captures one night of the magic as cameras entered The Zenith in Paris to capture the phenomenon. The two-disc DVD/CD features Evanescence's sold-out European tour and is offered in both 5.1 and two-track audio mixes. In addition to the live concert DVD, which was directed by Hamish Hamilton (U2, Peter Gabriel), "Anywhere But Home" also includes a CD of the concert presented in a two-track mix, and the previously unreleased studio recording of the composition "Missing." The DVD features the band's four music videos, an hour-long behind-the-scenes program, and some special surprises in addition to the concert film. The special surprises will be discovered by the viewer as they navigate the menus designed exclusively for this special release.

Customer Reviews: Read 140 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

A live CD with a bonus DVD, and all for one great price! November 30, 2004
56 out of 66 found this review helpful

It's without question. This is something all Evanescence fans need in their collection! I notice this to be something a lot of artists are doing these days, and it probably is just a ploy to cash in, but I personally enjoy live CDs, and especially DVDs, so you can relive the experience or merely feed your curiosity if you missed one of your favorite groups in concert. I haven't seen Evanescence in person yet but after watching the DVD portion of 'Anywhere But Home', which was taped at a sold-out venue in Paris, I definitely think it would be worth it to try sometime. Amy Lee looks innocent yet deadly, her haunting vocals are in healthy form and the band sounds better than ever whilst they perform their greatest hits...which is basically everything since their melodies are all so unforgettable....

Many people claim Amy doesn't sing as well in concert as she does on her studio recordings and though they may be right, take into consideration the fact that she obviously gets really into the songs and because she jumps around so much, which equals exhaustion and breathlessness, I felt she did a pretty damn good job at controlling the words and pacing. You'll notice during the songs she sings while sitting at the piano, like on the wonderful Korn cover of "Thoughtless", the stunningly emotional "Breathe No More", and of course the infamous "My Immortal" she sounds quite better. Also, during a live event if you mess up there's no turning back so be grateful she doesn't lip synch like countless other acts around. And I'm so sick of people dissing this group simply because they had a lucky break and hit it big thanks to the 'Daredevil' soundtrack. I'm not saying Evanescence is better than similar groups who get far less recognition (or at least in the states) like Lacuna Coil, 'cause they're not, but they've also been around a while now so their fame didn't exactly happen over night.

Bottom line is they've got undeniable talent and they are, in my opinion, a blessing to mainstream music which is mostly full of crap. But back to the CD/DVD combo...

Closing the set is the new, or rather recycled track "Missing" (originally found on their hard-to-find 'Origins' CD) and it's a beautiful orchestral ballad, however it's the DVD that's truly spectacular! Aside from the concert it also features a lot of bonus material, and it isn't just filler either. The behind the scenes is great because you get to see a little of how they are in real life and it's not at all boring. It also includes all their videos to date, which are some of the most inventive I've seen in a long time ("Everybody's Fool" is without a doubt my favorite). And for the most part the concepts actually relate to the lyrics.

I predict Evanescence will be around for many years to come and I can't wait to hear their new album set for release sometime next year.

3 out of 5 stars

Not bad, not good November 24, 2004
23 out of 28 found this review helpful

I am a fan of this band, I have been from the beginning. That being said, I'm not going to fawn over this live CD/DVD. Like I mention in my subject heading, it's not bad, but it's also not good. Let me explain.

I judge the worth of a band on both the quality of their music and the quality of their live performances (after all, what's a rock band if they can't tear it up live?). "Fallen" is both a well-written and well-recorded album. In terms of their live performances (and I have seen them three times), Evanescence isn't all that impressive. They are entertainers more than musicians. While Amy Lee is an incredible singer, and the music her and Ben Moody wrote is compelling and catchy, it doesn't translate very well into a live setting. Anyone who has seen them live knows the band relies heavily on samples, pre-recorded synths, and taped over vocal parts. That being the case, they never perform the songs any different than what they sound like on the album. Some people value that; I suppose I value seeing a band improvise and prove their worth as musicians more than simply performers. All this being considered, their live recording sounds like the album with a less satisfying sound quality. They don't do anything other than perform their music faithfully to its original version, which I find relatively boring. I do give them props on their cover of Korn's "Thoughtless," which proves that they do have some live musical creativity up their sleeves.

So by now I'm sure anyone reading this wants to know what I consider a good live recording, since I just spent a paragraph criticizing Evanescence's. I recently bought Incubus' live CD, "Alive at Red Rocks." Now there's a live CD worth owning. Incubus finds the perfect balance between performing their songs as we best know them and altering them to highlight their individual musical talents. It really is a great disc. Another good live disc is Tool's "Salival."

I often find that band's release live CD's to pass the time between the end of a tour and the recording of a new album. Evanescence seems to have done just so. Again, the CD/DVD isn't bad, it just isn't good. You'd probably be best off getting this as a present (so you can feel good not having paid for it) or downloading it somehow (if you can live with that ethical dilemma, and considering the fact that these guys are multi-millionaires, it shouldn't be too hard!).

These are just my two cents.

I often find

4 out of 5 stars

Decent... November 29, 2004
19 out of 20 found this review helpful

I am a fan of Evanescence and I couldn't wait for this CD/DVD to come out. When I got it, I was both happy and disappointed.

The CD is pretty good, but the cheering in the background gets real annoying, real fast. The new songs Farther Away and Breathe No More are very good, and the spinoff of Thoughtless was very nice. Missing had to be the best song on the CD (No cheering) and the vocals and music were very nice.

The Music Videos were awesome. They are all eerie in their own part, but I was very happy to see them on the DVD. They were one of the main reasons I really wanted the CD.

The Live Concert was ok. The camera jumped around too much. Every two or three seconds the camera changed angles and it was a little disorientating. Plus, the cheering maxed out the music and Amy's voice causing you to stain to hear it.

The Behind the Scenes was entertaining and funny. A lot of people look at Evanescence as a gothic-depressing band when in reality they are just regular people having fun.

Overall, I liked this and it should keep me happy until the Sequel to FALLEN is out, but I really wish they would have edited out some of the cheering.

1 out of 5 stars

Here We Go, Miss Arrogance Makes More Music In Her Sleep November 30, 2004
11 out of 31 found this review helpful

This self-proclaiming vocalist Amy Lee ranks amongst my least favourite artists in the current world of popular music. When this band got some publicity for their last album I saw an interview with her on MTV, and she irritated me immensely with her laid back arrogance, strive to look like 'she doesn't give a damn' when in fact she really does. Her attempt to look hippie, scrappy, poor, when in fact she's rolling in money and has a rather posh English accent is horrid. She claims 'music is easy, it's just something I do' - f**k right off. What a terribly demeaning thing to say. There are countless bands out there trying to hit the big time, trying to get the lucky break, and you spring up with a comment like that. Please be quiet.

If the previous release wasn't enough to destroy your well-being, and fill you to the brim with sincere repulse. Well, here you go. Enjoy this amazingly gifted musician who can produced `good' music in her sleep.

2 out of 5 stars

If only I could hear over all the screaming December 11, 2004
11 out of 15 found this review helpful

I was very let down by this album. I don't know who did the clean up on these songs but it stinks. You can certainly tell it's a live recording - half the time you can't even hear the band over the shrill screams of audience members. I own several other live albums and have not noticed this problem in them.

For example, Sarah McLachlan's live album "Mirrorball". While there are some sounds from the audience at the beginings of the songs, you can actually HEAR the songs once they start. Not the case with this. At times you can't hear the band playing, others you can just bearly hear Amy Lee singing, and almost constantly is the shrill, annoying screams of the audience, which personally, I find very distracting.

They should have done a bit more editing of this before putting it out. If you're trying to complete your Evanescence collection, this is probably something you'll want but as far as for the sheer entertainment for listening to, stick to "Fallen".

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