56. Justice - A Cross The Universe (2008)

Has it really only been a year since † (cross)? French house duo's 2007 release was an electric uppercut filled with heavy beats and distorted hooks making its way into parties across the world. It was hot. It was fresh. It was "cool as ice" as the kids are calling it these days. And now it has been a year since I heard anything from Justice. Because they are from the electronic family, after any release comes different remixes, singles, and erroneous nonsense which trickles down from the album. One such release is their live album A Cross The Universe, which comes from a documentary made by and about the french duo. The concert was recorded in San Fransisco in the summer of 2008. "Live albums" are, as the kids call them, "hit or miss." On the one hand, they could add an extra dimension onto an already amazing band. Great live records offer documentation to as once in a lifetime experience. They make the experience enjoyable to people regardless if they were in attendance

Ween - Live in Chicago
Iron Maiden - Live After death
Radiohead - I might Be Wrong
String Cheese Incident - Carnival 99'
Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison
Nirvana - Unplugged In New York
Grateful Dead - Dicks Picks Vol. 1-6


On the other hand, Live Albums could just be that; renditions of the most recent album played in front of a live studio audience; filled with listless tracks and meaningless banter. I am not saying that A Cross The Universe is bad, but it does not offer anything besides Cross in a live setting. In fact it doesn't offer much besides Cross. Why? Because Justice has only one album. Great live albums have a bank of songs or giant velvet bag to pull from and surprise the audience. Some old crowd favorties. An Obscure cover. A different take on a hit. A Cross The Universe offers very little besides a different track list. On a side note, my grammatically horrifying postmodern novel; A Cross Infinity was written in 2006. Take that Justice. A Cross the Universe is already drawing unfair comparisons to Daft Punk's critically acclaimed ALIVE. Unfair in the sense that you put this album next to a monumental success such as Alive, it is not going to hold its weight.

A Cross The Universe is better suited to the concert attendance in San Fransisco. During my jam band phase, I would always hope and pray that the concert I was walking into would be used for a live release. This would give the band something to play for and make an amazing souvenir a few months later. A Cross The Universe does not substitute for a live show and is merely a minor distraction for the artists who should be working on their follow up to Cross.

Come on fellows, lets get a move on.



"Stress" from Cross (2007)



"phantom part 2" from Cross (2007)