''Alive 1997'' is the first live album by French

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...

duo Daft Punk, released on 1 October 2001 by

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...

. It contains a 45-minute excerpt of a live performance recorded during Daftendirektour at

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

'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 French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

Background

The album was initially released online as part of the Daft Club service. Early pressings of the Daft Punk album ''

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discover ...

'' 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. The performance at Birmingham's Que Club was considered by Daft Punk to be one of their favorite live sets at the time of its release.Hot Press review
/ref> ''Alive 1997'' prominently features elements of " Daftendirekt", "

Da Funk "Da Funk" is an instrumental track by French electronic music duo Daft Punk, initially released as a single in 1995 and later included on their debut album, ''Homework'' (1997). The song and its accompanying music video directed by Spike Jonze ...

", " Rollin' & Scratchin'", "

Revolution 909 "Revolution 909" is an instrumental track from Daft Punk's 1997 album ''Homework''. It was released as the fifth and final single from the album in 1998. The music video for the track was directed by Roman Coppola. Theme The opening skit in "Re ...

" and "

Alive Alive may refer to: *Life Books, comics and periodicals * ''Alive'' (novel), a 2015 novel by Scott Sigler * '' Alive: The Final Evolution'', a 2003 shonen manga by Tadashi Kawashima and Adachitoka * '' Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors'', ...

" from their ''

Homework Homework is a set of tasks assigned to students by their teachers to be completed outside the classroom. Common homework assignments may include required reading, a writing or typing project, mathematical exercises to be completed, informatio ...

'' 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 A short circuit (sometimes abbreviated to short or s/c) is an electrical circuit that allows a current to travel along an unintended path with no or very low electrical impedance. This results in an excessive current flowing through the circui ...

" featured in ''Discovery''. ''Alive 1997'' contains the 45-minute excerpt as a continuous track. The physical releases contain no tracklisting. 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. In 2022, the album was reissued for the 25th anniversary of ''Homework''.

Critical reception

Reception to ''Alive 1997'' was generally positive upon release. John Bush of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

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. Fiona Reid of ''

Hot Press ''Hot Press'' is a fortnightly music and politics magazine based in Dublin, Ireland, founded in June 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. History ''Hot Press'' was founded in June 1977 by Niall Stokes, who co ...

'' felt that the audible audience enhanced the record, making it reminiscent to sound effects heard in ''Homework''. An ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' review called ''Alive 1997'' "an immaculately executed product", expressing that it was preferred over the "sleek sophistication" of ''Discovery''. Sputnikmusic also felt that it was superior to the duo's later live album ''

Alive 2007 ''Alive 2007'' is the second live album by the French electronic music duo Daft Punk, released on 19 November 2007 by Virgin Records. It features Daft Punk's performance at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy arena in Paris on 14 June 2007 dur ...

'', in particular highlighting the singular continuous flow of the 1997 performance. '' Q'' called ''Alive 1997'' "45 minutes of breathless electronic excitement" while ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'' wrote that it "has a shrill rawness that vividly captures a night of sweat-stained gymnastics".

Personnel

Adapted from the ''Alive 1997'' liner notes. * Daft Punk – production, writing * Serge Paulet – photography * Åbäke – layout * Janvier – photo retouching

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control Daft Punk live albums 2001 live albums Virgin Records live albums Albums produced by Thomas Bangalter Albums produced by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo