Maps of Music

Alive 1997 (1998)

Where the lyrics of Alive 1997 take you, and where it was really made.

This live album captures a Birmingham club night from November 1997, but it was not released until October 2001.

Key places

Birmingham's Que Club, November 1997 (1997)

Recording site Que Club — The album's 45-minute excerpt was recorded during the Daftendirektour at Birmingham's Que Club on 8 November 1997. The album was released in 2001. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Alive 1997: first live album by French electronic duo Daft Punk
• Released 1 October 2001 by Virgin Records
• Contains a 45-minute excerpt of a live performance
• Performance recorded during the Daftendirektour at Birmingham's Que Club on 8 November 1997
• Later followed by Alive 2007

Background

• Initially released online as part of the Daft Club service
• Early pressings of the album Discovery included a card granting access to the Daft Club website
• The Daft Club website featured remixes and the live recording
• The Daft Club service ended in 2003
• Daft Punk considered the Que Club performance one of their favorite live sets at the time of release
• The live performance contains elements of what would later become the track "Short Circuit" on Discovery

Recording

• The album contains the 45-minute excerpt as a continuous track
• Physical releases contain no tracklisting

Cover

• Layout by Åbäke
• Photography by Serge Paulet

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Daft Punk is a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo.
• The duo grew out of their earlier band Darlin', which disbanded after around six months. The name Daft Punk came from a Melody Maker review of Darlin' that called their music "a daft, punky thrash."
• They were managed from 1996 to 2008 by Pedro Winter, head of Ed Banger Records.

Members

• Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo are the two core members.
• From 1999 to 2021 they performed in robot personas, with Bangalter in a silver helmet and Homem-Christo in gold.

Career

• The debut album Homework (1997) on Virgin Records was backed by the singles "Around the World" and "Da Funk".
• Discovery (2001) earned acclaim and hit singles including "One More Time", "Digital Love" and "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger". It became the basis for the animated film Interstella 5555 (2003).
• Human After All (2005) received mixed reviews. The duo also directed the film Electroma (2006).
• The Alive 2006/2007 tour is credited with broadening the appeal of dance music in North America. Alive 2007 won a Grammy.
• They composed the score for Tron: Legacy (2010).
• Random Access Memories (2013), released on Columbia Records, won five Grammy Awards in 2014, including Album of the Year. Its single "Get Lucky" was their first UK number-one.
• "Starboy" with the Weeknd (2016) was their only US Billboard Hot 100 number one.
• They announced their split in February 2021 after 28 years.
• Rolling Stone ranked them the 12th-greatest musical duo of all time in 2015.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• The reception to the album was generally positive upon release
• AllMusic (John Bush): noted how radically different the live versions of the tracks are compared to the originals, and that the release accurately captured the energy of the stage show
• Hot Press (Fiona Reid): felt the audible audience enhanced the record, making it reminiscent of sound effects heard on Homework
• NME: called the release an immaculately executed product and preferred it over the sleek sophistication of Discovery
• Sputnikmusic: felt it was superior to the duo's later live album Alive 2007, highlighting the continuous flow of the 1997 performance
• Q: called it 45 minutes of breathless electronic excitement
• Uncut: wrote that it has a shrill rawness that vividly captures a night of sweat-stained gymnastics

Records

• Peaked at number 25 on the French Albums Chart

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The Que Club performance was considered by Daft Punk one of their favorite live sets at the time of its release.
• The CD and vinyl packaging included a set of Daft Punk stickers.
• The album's layout was done by Åbäke, and the photography by Serge Paulet.
• The live recording was made available online through the Daft Club service before the album's physical release.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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