Alive 1997

Alive 1997 is the first live album by French electronic music duo Daft Punk, released on 1 October 2001 by Virgin Records. It contains a 45-minute excerpt of a live performance recorded during Daftendirektour at Birmingham's Que Club on 8 November 1997. The album was generally positively received by critics, and peaked at number 25 on the French Albums Chart.

Alive 1997
Live album by
Daft Punk
Released1 October 2001 (2001-10-01)
Recorded8 November 1997
Venue
GenreHouse
Length45:30
LabelVirgin
Producer
Daft Punk chronology
Discovery
(2001)		 Alive 1997
(2001)		 Daft Club
(2003)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Robert Christgau[2]
Hot Press(positive)[3]
NME(8/10)[4]
Q[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]
Sputnikmusic[7]
Uncut[8]

Background

The album was initially released online as part of the Daft Club service. Early pressings of the Daft Punk album Discovery contained a card that would allow access to the Daft Club website containing remixes and the live recording. The Daft Club service ended in 2003.[9] The performance at Birmingham's Que Club[10] was considered by Daft Punk to be one of their favorite live sets at the time of its release.[3]

Alive 1997 prominently features elements of "Daftendirekt", "Da Funk", "Rollin' & Scratchin'", "Revolution 909" and "Alive" from their Homework album. There are also prominent elements of Armand Van Helden's "Ten Minutes of Funk" remix of "Da Funk". The live performance also contains elements of what would later become the track "Short Circuit" featured in Discovery.[11]

Alive 1997 contains the 45-minute excerpt in one continuous track on CD. The CD and vinyl packaging included a set of Daft Punk stickers. The layout for the album was done by Åbäke, and the photography by Serge Paulet.[10]

Critical reception

Reception to Alive 1997 was generally positive upon release. John Bush of AllMusic noted how "radically different" the live versions of Daft Punk's tracks are compared to the originals, and that the release accurately captured the energy of the stage show.[1] Fiona Reid of Hot Press felt that the audible audience enhanced the record, making it reminiscent to sound effects heard in Homework.[3] An NME review called Alive 1997 "an immaculately executed product", expressing that it was preferred over the "sleek sophistication" of Discovery.[4] Sputnikmusic also felt that it was superior to the duo's later live album Alive 2007, in particular highlighting the singular continuous flow of the 1997 performance.[7] Q called Alive 1997 "45 minutes of breathless electronic excitement"[5] while Uncut wrote that it "has a shrill rawness that vividly captures a night of sweat-stained gymnastics".[8]

Personnel

Adapted from the Alive 1997 liner notes.[10]

  • Daft Punk – production, writing
  • Serge Paulet – photography
  • Åbäke – layout
  • Janvier – photo retouching

Charts
Chart (2001) Peak
position
French Albums Chart[12] 25

References
  1. Alive 1997 at AllMusic
  2. Robert Christgau Consumer Guide
  3. Hot Press review(subscription required)
  4. NME review
  5. Q (11/01, p.118) - 3 out of 5 stars - "...45 minutes of breathless electronic excitement..."
  6. Rolling Stone Album Guide
  7. Sputnikmusic review
  8. Uncut (12/01, p.101) - 3 1/2 stars out of 5 - "...Pulled straight from the mixing desk, this has a shrill rawness that vividly captures a night of sweat-stained gymnastics..."
  9. Santorelli, Dina (2014). Daft Punk: A Trip Inside the Pyramid. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-1783232932.
  10. Alive 1997 (liner notes). Daft Punk. Virgin Records. 2001.CS1 maint: others (link)
  11. Cardew, Ben. "Daft Punk Confirmed to Play Glastonbury... in 1997". Cuepoint. Medium. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  12. "Daft Punk - Alive 1997". French Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved on May 22, 2012.
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