The Killers - Live From Royal Albert Hall CD/DVD Review

Posted by Marshall Slayton on 11.30.2009

The Killers release their first live album! How does their performance fare?



1. Human
2. This Is Your Life
3. Somebody Told Me
4. For Reasons Unknown
5. The World We Live In
6. Joy Ride
7. I Can't Stay
8. Bling (Confession Of A King)
9. Shadowplay
10. Smile Like You Mean It
11. Losing Touch
12. Spaceman
13. A Dustland Fairytale
14. Sam's Town (Acoustic)
15. Read My Mind
16. Mr. Brightside
17. All These Things That I've Done
18. Sweet Talk
19. This River Is Wild
20. Bones
21. Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine
22. When You Were Young

The Killers really believe they’re the greatest British rock band of all time – and they’re only from Las Vegas, Nevada. That fact couldn’t be more apparent than with their first live recording, the colorfully packaged CD/DVD set (and Blu-Ray),Live From Royal Albert Hall.

When I experienced The Killers several years ago on the Sam’s Town tour, the opening band was a Japanese four-piece that only covered Beatles songs. (They sounded great.) The theme was similar – trying to be the world’s greatest British band… from somewhere else.

And The Killers try to build that image with their live show.

Good news: they succeed with flying colors. They do several things right. First, there’s 22 full songs on the DVD, so a lot is covered. The production value of the DVD is top-notch, mostly thanks to Stuart Price, the producer of Day and Age. He provides the live show with a gloss that we come to expect from The Killers. The video is beautifully shot in high definition, and the 5.1 surround sound packs a hell of a punch on an adequate sound system. Lastly, the band is on their A-game; they immensely enjoy playing to the London crowd.



There’s lots of great stuff from all albums, but the bulk of the work is from Day and Age. If you enjoyed that CD, you’ll do fine here. If you didn’t, fear not – there’s plenty of selections sprinkled around from Sam’s Town and the big hits from Hot Fuss are included, too. They even added “Shadowplay” from Sawdust album. At first, I was disappointed they didn’t include “Tranquilize” on the setlist, but upon further inspection, was pleased to see it was included as a bonus feature from the Oxygen Festival. (The bonus features also include a Fan Camera montage, extra songs, and a brief documentary.)



The setlist is designed well. It puts most of their newest material up front and saves the older material for the end of the set. The only misstep was putting “Human” as the opener. The first single from Day and Age is pretty dull, and placing it up front doesn’t get the crowd pumping as much as a first song should. A better choice would have been “Spaceman,” “Sam’s Town,” or, if they were feeling bold, “Somebody Told Me" --something with more force to get the crowd pushing against the barrier. But that’s only a minor complaint compared to what the rest of the show has to offer.

Brandon Flowers proves his worth as the charismatic frontman. He’s consistently on the move-- except when stuck behind the piano or a guitar. And he loves holding his hands up to the crowd and making extravagant gestures, asking questions to the audience. “You ever been in love with somebody?” he spurts out during “For Reasons Unknown.” And I’ve never seen anyone happier to be behind the drums than Ronnie Vannucci Jr. He smiles the entire show.



Some highlights on the DVD include the stripped-down version of “Sam’s Town,” which manages to scale back and examine the anthemic track as a live sing-along. (The video is desaturated to black-and-white to emphasize the nakedness of the performance.)



I also really enjoyed the extended interludes placed in “Bling (Confession of a King)” and “Spaceman,” the latter of which allows the bassist and guitarist to play off each other. “Spaceman” is simply excellent when played live, and I was happy to see the inclusion of “This River is Wild,” which doesn’t disappoint.

All these things that I've said, you can’t go wrong with a CD/DVD set from a decent band that’s priced less than twenty bucks, and Live From Royal Albert Hall is very, very good. It doesn’t reach the greatness of Led Zeppelin’s self-titled DVD or even Nirvana’s recent Live at Reading, but for Killers fans, this is a holiday gift made with love. The Killers may not be the greatest British rock band in the world, but a top-quality concert to thousands of English fans is certainly a step in the right direction.

The 411: The Killers have lots of infectious pop songs, and they’re at their best at the Royal Albert Hall. It won’t win over any of the unconverted, but it preaches to the choir with ease. The DVD is shot brilliantly, recorded and produced with the over-the-topness Killers fans love. (On Blu-Ray, the high-definition picture is a real treat.) If you enjoyed any of the previous studio albums from the band, pick up a copy of Live From Royal Albert Hall, kick off your shoes, and turn up the volume. The performance is good enough to send you into outer space.

Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]