In a year that couldn't even salvage Lollapalooza, Korn's Family Values tour was a complete success story. Playing 27 dates to over 240,000 fans, Family Values proved that not only is rock far from dead, it's picking up steam. The just released Family Values live CD serves as a companion piece to the wildly successful tour, although this may be another case of "you needed to be there." Without the frenzied stage antics and visual insanity of the live show, the audio portion falls a little flat.

Composed of music from DJ C-Minus, Incubus, Orgy, Limp Bizkit, Ice Cube, Rammstein and Korn, the album is more a greatest hits recap than a sampling of the tour. Of the fifteen live tracks on the album, more than half are retreads of singles that have already been played to death -- a fact which wouldn't be so bad if more variation were put into the live versions. Instead, we are offered album-sounding versions of Orgy's cover of Blue Monday, Limp Bizkit's cover of Faith and both singles from Korn's latest album. Even Ice Cube's normally intense stage presence doesn't make the translation to CD.

It hard to explain the rationale behind this release (other than just plain $). Surely fans who were in attendance at the shows would've wanted something more comprehensive. Family Values screams for a double CD release, allowing each band's set to stand on it's own. As it stands now, the two-to-four song mini sets offer little distinction between bands. As devoted as Korn and Limp Bizkit fans are, it's hard to imagine that this live album will entirely please. The album does have it's moments, but nothing really impresses.

Aside from song selection, the album does sound good, although it's easy to forget it's a live record. Save yourself the cash on the CD and pick up the companion video. At least then you'll have the visuals to compensate for what on it's own is a disappointing live album.