Daft Punk November 21 2007

Alive 2007, which documents Daft Punk's sell-out tour last summer, illustrates the possibilities and problems of capturing live dance-music sets on CD. The group's performance is mostly a series of instrumentals, with prerecorded vocals occasionally spliced in. Daft Punk reworks most of its best-known tracks (save for the 1997 single "Revolution 909") into a massive, stomping electro-house attack, mashing up classics such as "One More Time," "Face to Face" and "Around the World." But since you're not actually at the show, fully immersing yourself in the experience, it's easy to lose interest. To its credit, though, Alive 2007 paints a picture of what the concert must have been like. There's plenty of crowd noise for atmosphere, and the sound quality of the disc is excellent. If it's sometimes difficult to get into the spirit of the occasion, it may be because you wish you had been there. 3 stars.