Live in Paris, France

Recorded just a few days after the Aachen set (also released in this series), this Paris concert offers an object lesson in compare and contrast. The set is largely the same, but various pieces expand — “Calymba City,” for example, achieves epic proportions with electro and ambient sections, showing the way the band could improvise, although their extemporizations had more to do with mood than technique. “Parisien Piano” lightens the mood with its fat fingers, and once again “Diamond Diary” provides a vehicle for some seriously rockin’ guitar work. The excesses of the previous decade are toned down, and the whole ideal is more focused and, it has to be said, more musical. The sequencers are still clattering drum parts, but more seamlessly integrated into the whole, making for a surprisingly enjoyable experience, even for those who aren’t hardcore devotes. – Chris Nickson