Posted on: December 30, 2007 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Five For Fighting – Back Country Special Edition / 2007 Aware / 15 Tracks / http://www.fiveforfighting.com / http://www.awarerecords.com /

Wow, did you know that Five For Fighting only had one individual? All this time, I guess I just presumed that there were five individuals in this band. John Ondrasik, the face behind Five For Fighting, has released four full-length albums to this point, and tracks representing these four albums have made it in some capacity onto “Back Country”, a live concert that in many aspects resembles a greatest hits album. This means that tracks like “100 Years”, “Superman”, “The Riddle”, and “World” all are present during this performance. The special edition marries a CD with a DVD, with the DVD having videos for a number of FFF’s hits (the aforementioned four tracks plus “The Devil In The Wishing Well”), “making of” videos, and interview with the Dad during “Two Lights”, and a photo montage of Five For Fighting.

Individuals that do buy “Back Country” should keep in mind that this disc was recorded during the touring that was conducted in support of “Two Lights”, and thre is a little bit more of a focus on the songs from that album instead of equally having parts from all of Five For Fighting’s albums. However, having this performance take place at this certain times allows tracks like “100 Years” and “Superman” to have a different sound than has previous been present on John’s studio releases.  The production value of this live CD is strong, and could conceivably even fool individuals buying the CD if the live audience was deleted in post processing. In much the same way, the menu system for the DVD is intuitive and will allow individuals to go forth and find everything that the DVD offers.

Individuals that want to hear a Five For Fighting concert and have not had the ability to go to one at this point should seriously consider picking up this album. Individuals that are looking for a more traditional type of hits album to give family or friends should look toward procuring copies of the rest of the Five For Fighting catalogue. Regardless, a sharp performance, and the songs presented here are all the ones that will get individuals up and singing for months, if not years, to come. John will likely be in the scene for years to come, and this provides the first glimpse into the live version of an artist that will likely evolve as the years continue.

Top Tracks: Freedom Never Cries, The Riddle

Rating: 5.9/10

Leave a Comment