Live albums have, for quite some time now, provided artists with the opportunity to demonstrate their capabilities as performing artists in a raw, stripped down, non-studio environment. They attempt to capture some of the spontaneity, the energy and the atmosphere of a live performance. There are many good live albums, but only a few have been able to capture the total live experience in a way that deserves the label of masterpiece.

Nine Inch Nails new live album And All That Could Have Been, falls right on the border between good and masterful. While the album accurately documents the strength of a Nine Inch Nails live show, the sense of less-is-more present on the album, leaves a bit to be desired.

Nine Inch Nails, one of the pioneers of the electronic/metal genre, have been deemed one of the most important acts in the last 20 years. 1994's The Downward Spiral still receives high-praise, eight years after its release, as being a landmark album in the electronic genre. With such high-praise, one would expect that avenues of equal brilliance would be taken with a live album.

Recorded on the sold out "Fragility v2.0" North American tour in 2000, And All That Could Have Been encompasses everything from the violent cacophony to the fragile melodies that come standard at a Nine Inch Nails show.

Trent Reznor, the perfectionist mastermind that is Nine Inch Nails, manages to inject new life into many of the songs by altering their form without necessarily losing their format. In doing so, the songs sound fresh, and regain a sense of edginess and newness their studio counterparts had when released a decade ago.

Reznor's ability and willingness to experiment with deconstructing songs is further illustrated on the optional second disc, Still, a nine song companion featuring new and restructured songs.

Songs like "Sin" and "Head Like a Hole" that were revolutionary when released on NIN's debut, Pretty Hate Machine over a decade ago, have lost some of their vigor and ferocity in comparison to newer electronic/metal artists like Marilyn Manson and KMFDM. And All That Could Have Been updates the songs and restores their potency with crushing live guitars and thunderous drum blasts.

What sets the album apart from other live albums is Reznor's willingness to let his songs take on personalities of their own. Where many artists try to correct any flaws in the performance with overdubs and studio work, Reznor sets aside his own perfectionist tendencies and allows the flaws to remain in order to achieve one of the most important elements of a live show, spontaneity.

One of the best songs on the album, "The Great Below" from The Fragile, finds Reznor's voice going flat. The flaw lends itself to enhancing the hopeless pleading present in the lyrics. No longer a well-crafted often-rehearsed song, but it becomes a desperate man showing his vulnerability to an audience of thousands. Thus, while the songs are all heavily structured, there is still a sense of impulsiveness that is void on the heavily layered studio versions.

"The Day the World Went Away" adopts a stronger ambience of apocalypse than the version on The Fragile. Its haunting chorus, a kind of depressed "Hey Jude" comes alive awash chunky guitar chords and synthesized blasts as the song bleeds into "Star----ers, INC."

"Star----ers," is a song that blasts people who elevate celebrities to God-like status and who seek out celebrities to try and elevate their own status. The harsh, choppy, delivery of the lyrics on the studio version is recreated with as much spite and vinegar on the live performance. The song builds up intensity as Reznor borrows from Carly Simon "You're so vain/ I bet you think this song is about you." The song then bursts open, much like a red-lined pressure-cooker, into a sonic berating that leaves the listener as awestruck as a member of the audience.

Victims of radio-overplay like The Downward Spiral's "Closer" and "Hurt" come alive with rejuvenated breath. "Closer" casts aside the teeny-bop aura that continuous airplay on MTV cursed it with, and returns to its original aggressive meshing of perverse sexual imagery and spiritual questioning.

"Hurt," the last song on the album, takes on a much gentler persona and finds Reznor reflecting inward on his life and what it all means. But rather than approach such reflection with pessimism and skepticism so typical in his songs, Reznor leaves a sense of hope. "If I could start again/ A million miles away/ I would keep myself/ I would find a way," he crows at the song's conclusion.

What is disappointing about the album is the omission of several songs from the live album that were mainstays on the tour. The Fragile's "La Mer," a beautiful piano solo that breaks into a funky electronic jam is truly missed on the album. "A Warm Place," a gorgeous instrumental that layers throbbing bass lines with gentle synthesized melodies was also brushed aside for better known material.

In leaving songs like "La Mer" and "A Warm Place" off of the album, an important aspect of the live show has been ignored. One would have thought that someone like Reznor, a perfectionist at everything, would have made sure to incorporate as much of the live performance into the album as possible.

Fortunately, Reznor released a DVD by the same name of an entire concert. The DVD not only includes songs omitted from the album, but also allows the viewer to experience the spectacular visual aspect of NIN's performance.

Reznor deserves congratulations for putting together a strong audio testament to NIN's brilliant live performance. He succeeds in keeping songs fresh that would normally have long passed their expiration date.

But for a man who has become one of the most important people in popular music, the live album leaves the listener wondering what all could have been.

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