Rascal Flatts Live (2003)

A City Boy's View From The "Way Back" Machine

I'm a new Rascal Flatts fan.

Candidly, my taste tends to be more "old school" preferring Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and my all-time favorite Country Artist Waylon Jennings (moment of silence please). To me, Willie and Waylon set the bar that all others must aspire to.

Long story, short: My fiance caught them on their 2007 tour and came back a Rascal Flatts fanatic. I gave their 2004 release Feels Like Today a try and I was hooked. Their casual blending of Country, Rock, Jazz and Pop is infectious and hard to resist. I also like the values and life lessons encapsulated in their songs - which are well crafted and well produced. They also seem like wonderfully warm, authentic, and down to earth guys. Yes, I would feel comfortable having a beer with any of these ol' boys!

But my fiance went on. She kept telling me, "But you've gotta see 'em live - they're great musicians and great performers." So I got this DVD/CD combo to see for myself. This is a well produced DVD and, I suspect, representative of their typical performance.

As for the "great musicians" point we'll have to agree to disagree. I'm a 30+ year classically trained musician. She's a classically trained vocalist. From my vantage point they are above average musicians who know how to leverage their limited musical skills and warm personalities for maximum market impact. Frankly, I can't see any these of guys getting many studio gigs after their run is over and they disband. The one possible exception is the bass player who seems to be a versatile craftsman (despite the choice of an ugly sparkling silver bass - apparently the no-taste in fashion spirit of Elvis is still alive and well and living in Nashville).

As for performers . . . OK, for country artists, they're more interesting than the average bear. They're not high energy but they mix it up and they do move A LOT more than my "old school" boys ever did. Somehow I can't imagine Willy and Waylon ever using lasers or pyrotechnics - now THAT was a new one!

Would I ever want to see them live? Yeah, sure, but probably more to enjoy the company of my beloved as well as the energy of their devoted fans than anything that's happening on stage. They're just not that entertaining and at times they (especially the, "All I do is hold a mic, sing and pose" lead singer) are downright hokey (like I said . . . Elvis . . . ).

So am I glad that I bought this DVD/CD set? Sure. It's a great value given what you get for the price and the DVD lets you see for yourself what these guys are like live. In fact, after I finished this DVD/CD I ordered their first album (Rascal Flatts) and the album that this tour was from (Melt). No, they can't touch Willie and Waylon with a 10-foot pole, but they've still got this ol' city boy hooked none-the-less! April 25, 2008

One of the live albums ever

Who keeps writing the main editorial for Rascal Flatts? This guy needs to stop being the main guy for this. For starters: Gary Levox is one of the best male singers ever and is way above Jay DeMarcus. This guy needs to leave these guys alone because he seems to be the only one with negative things to say about them. June 30, 2007

Rascal Flatts Live

I like Rascal Flatts. The DVD and CD (with five songs not previously released) were just what I expected. I liked having the CD of the songs available just to play later. The DVD was almost like being at the concert. It was lots of fun. March 25, 2007

Buy it

if you love Country this is the deal for your. Excellent value for money. July 13, 2006

Rascal Flatts Live (DVD & Audio CD)

I love this product...every chance I get I watch it... March 2, 2006

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