Korn
Live And Rare
Sony BMG


I had given up on Korn ever releasing anything half decent soon after the nu-metal pioneering of Follow The Leader. With a consequent string of mediocre releases, things were starting to look very shaky for this little outfit. Then, when a 'greatest hits' package appeared long before it was rightly due, my suspicions grew even stronger.

To my astonishment, I was pleasantly surprised with their attempt to raise Lazarus on their latest album 'See You On The Other Side'. It seems that a change of record company and a good, long, hard look at what went wrong did wonders.

'Live And Rare' could have been proof of why so many of us enjoyed Korn's angry sonic head-butts, but something is seriously depressing about this release and it is easy to find the evidence for it.

Recorded in 2003, this is a record company rehash of inferior live recordings and forgotten (for a reason) b-sides. Honestly, I've heard bootlegs better than this. The drums sound like they were recorded underwater, the trademark crack and rattle bass from Fieldy sounds more like he is playing the spoons and the guitars are either thin and weedy or overly-muddy. While obligatory (but pedestrian) versions of hits like Freak On A Leash and A.D.I.D.A.S. are included, others, like the snivelling cover of Metallica's One and a horrible stab at Pink Floyd's Another Brick In The Wall Pts. 1,2 and 3, just sound embarrassing

I don't blame Korn for this mess, in truth I am sure they probably only heard about this release two or three days before I did. If Korn hadn't changed companies and had a resurgence in popularity, I am sure this poor quality front-of-house desk recording would never have seen the light of day.

If you want my advice, turn your attention to 'See You On The Other Side' and enjoy this latest quality addition to their admittedly uneven library. It seems like Korn aren't looking backwards, so nor should we. 'Live And Rare' is just getting in our way.

Jeremy Green