Road to Revolution - Live At Milton Keynes, Vol. 1

Album Review

Like nearly every other live release of the new millennium, Road to Revolution: Live at Milton Keynes is a CD/DVD extravaganza, capturing the entire concert twice, once as a CD, once as a DVD for optimal home viewing. In this case, the concert is Linkin Park's June 29, 2008 show at the Milton Keynes National Bowl, where the band was joined by Jay-Z for two songs on the encore ("Jigga What/Faint," "Numb/Encore"), while rapper Mike Shinoda's side project Fort Minor pop up for "The Rising Tide." This is the third Linkin Park live set — they arrive like clockwork after every tour — so it's no surprise that there are no surprises outside of the Jay-Z cameo and perhaps just how big and slick the whole thing sounds; it was mastered to be showcased on surround sound in home theaters. It's big but not ballsy, an appropriate sound for an immaculate performance from Linkin Park — one that may not exactly replicate the details of their studio versions but certainly doesn't find them coloring outside of the lines. It's something that will surely please fans, the ones who have the other two Linkin Park live sets, but it's not a bracing testament to the band's on-stage prowess. [A clean version of the CD, with all profanity removed, was also released.]