Big Empty
Andrew Estes | Maine | 01/02/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)
"A lot has happened in the world of Sevendust over the past three years, and in case you weren't paying attention, the band "opens it's vault" (?) on the past few years with "Retrospective 2." Now, wait a minute, wasn't the first Sevendust DVD simply called "Retrospect?" Oh well. A CD/DVD combo full of music videos, behind-the-scenes featurettes, live performances and studio album outtakes, "Retrospective 2" is a fairly thorough briefing over the past three years. And that's just it. Once you get past the first bit of the DVD, titled "A Day In The Life Of Sevendust" -- which is just a cheesy three minute montage of the band setting up it's live show -- you get to watch the "Making Of Next" again. That's right, the bonus DVD that came with ALL copies of the band's fifth album, is recycled into this package. So what does that leave you with? Well, to be honest, the "Making Of Alpha" segment was a chore to sit through, leaving only music videos and live performances as it's saving grace. The live performances -- which consist of latter day 'Dust material only -- are spot-on, the cream of the crop. On the CD side, we are treated to three new studio tracks, "Losing You," "Sleeper" and "The Rim." "The Rim" isn't exactly new, as it came with some editions of "Alpha," and it's a little bit to goofy to be considered Sevendust canon. The other two tracks, however, are pure Sevendust, trading in the balls-to-the-wall style of "Alpha" for something a little more traditional. Both "Losing You" and "Sleeper" sound great and could have fit somewhere nicely on the "Animosity" album. The rest of the CD consists of audio recordings of the DVD's live performances. Too bad the CD falls short at nine songs, as it is easily the better half of this set. Whereas this portion satisfies, the DVD is so cheaply made, with such little material that it makes you wonder why they didn't wait a few more years to put this out. Of course, had they been able to pick up where the last "Retrospect(ive?)" left off, and include material from "Animosity" and "Seasons" we'd have a full meal. Heck, including a full live concert could have really brightened things up. As it stands though, this feels like a cheap cash-in. Even still, it's Sevendust, and any material from this band is appreciated."
Solid sevendust, but more for the collector fans.
Wiseguy 945 | Cedar Rapids, IA | 12/11/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"With 3 New songs, a must for sevendust fans. But for the casual fans, essentially a live CD of their most recent stuff, more than likely you want something from their older albums, buy the greatest hits album. The DVD is what drags this package a bit down, a day in the life of sevendust, not bad, but I never have liked "the making of" anything, but Thank goodness they included the videos, and some concert videos as well. Solid package for any fan."