Search - Various Artists :: Live From 6A : Late Night With Conan O'Brien

Let's Go Into The Late Night Darkness

John Orfield | Cincinnati | 02/18/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Conan pretty much took up where Letterman left off at NBC: cutting edge comedy and under-the-radar musical acts that don't get a lot of TV time elsewhere. So, for nearly 20 years now, Late Night has "introduced" a lot of acts to a national TV audience. The artists on this compilation aren't nearly as obscure as some of the acts you'll see on a nightly basis on Conan, but it's a pretty interesting mix. From well-respected stars (Bowie and Costello) to indie acts with loyal followings (Sweet, DiFranco, Richman, Soul Coughing, SNZ) to artists who've had a modern rock hit or two in the 90s (Bjork, Cake, Jamiroquai, Edwyn Collins, 311). The highlights for me include Bowie's acoustic version of his "Dead Man Walking," Matthew Sweet's torrid soundcheck cover of The Move's "Do Ya," Costello's exquisite "All This Useless Beauty," Cake's driving "The Distance," and Jonathan Richman's slinky smooth "Let Her Go Into The Darkness." I'm not a fan of Jamiroquai or 311 (maybe you do) but they don't take away from the CD at all. Besides, it's hard to like EVERY band on compilations like this. It's still a great collection."

I doubt anyone will ever read this

A. M. Lewis | 07/10/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"So I'll make it brief. This is a hidden gem of the late 90's, and it contains the Holy Grail: Dead Man Walking. David Bowies acoustic version of a techno experiment is quite possibly the most chillingly beautiful song ever written by the Glam God of Rock and Roll. In addition "Do Ya" is awesome as is Edwyn Collin's "Girl Like You". Mostly every track is enjoyable."