Released just in time to for the run-up to the 2005 version of the Austin City Limits Festival, this CD and DVD highlight some of the performances from the 2004 installment. Marking the festival's third year, the 2004 ACL Festival was wildly successful with sellout crowds bringing in excess of 70,000 people to Austin's Zilker Park for Saturday and Sunday with over 60,000 showing up on Friday. The weekend was hampered by the hottest temperatures of Austin's blazing summer (one local meteorologist put his portable thermometer in the middle of the field during the early afternoon and recorded a temperature of 113 degrees), and crowds squeezed into what little shade could be found. But for music fans that were willing to battle the heat, it was a feast, and the broad spectrum of acts is reflected on these two releases which are comprised of performances from the festival (if that wasn't already obvious).

The CD consists of sixteen tracks, all of which are also included on the DVD with the exception of Dashboard Confessional's "Hands Down," which is no great loss in the grand scheme of things unless you are such a rabid fan of that band that you need to own everything they appear on (and bless your tortured heart if you are). Of the two, the DVD is a better deal since it not only includes fifteen of the CD's performances, but also adds nine more. It also is easier to get a better feel for the festival by seeing the performers rather than just hearing them, especially seeing how hot they all look.

The standouts tracks that are on both the CD and DVD are not surprising. Blind Boys of Alabama can be seen wandering through the crowd at the start of their stirring "Walk in Jerusalem." The red hot bands include Drive-By Truckers tearing through "The Day John Henry Died," and Franz Ferdinand showing on "Darts of Pleasure" why their ACL set was such a US breakout performance for them. The Neville Brothers look like the seasoned badasses that they are on "Streets Are Calling." Broken Social Scene's "Anthems for a 17 Year-Old Girl" is a reminder of how good that band's show was during the fading afternoon hours when people were starting to look really haggard, and "Brown Eyed Blues" from Ben Harper's weekend closing set showed why his name deserved to be at the top of the 100-plus band bill. Unfortunately, other bands that had great shows are not shown at their best here. The Pixies "Debaser" came at the start of their set (to a massive throng estimated at 45,000) and comes off as a bit sluggish, and though Calexico's cover of Love's "Alone Again Or" is terrific, it would have been cooler to have one of the band's own songs.

As for the DVD-only performances, some of them are excellent and should have replaced some of the CD tracks (if there weren't other licensing issues involved or whatever). Rosanne Cash's "Seven Year Ache" shows her in fine form on her return to the Nashville scene. For bands persevering despite the heat, check the Old 97's kicking up a great raggedy, twangy racket on "The New Kid," and Soundtrack of Our Lives throwing everything rock star move they have into "Sister Surround" where singer Ebbot Lundgren climbs off the stage in his brown tunic and valiantly attempts to maintain his rock star posture despite the fact that the redness of his face shows that even the hottest days in Sweden don't prepare you for a Texas heatwave.

But there are also a lot of yawn-worthy moments on both the DVD and CD, and nothing is really essential. There were so many great performances that were not included (Solomon Burke comes immediately to mind), but what is here is really a cross-section of the variety that was available. The recordings, both audio and video, are of high-quality, and the camera work is up close and personal with the performers. It's a bit deceiving when they splice in the same crowd shots at the beginning of each performance even though they took place on different stages, but people who didn't attend the festival will be none the wiser. For people who were there, it will undoubtedly make a nice memento, and people who have never attended might be tempted to make the trip. (Andy Smith)