Matisyahu - No Place To Be 

Miguel de Cervantes is quoted as saying, "The pen is the tongue of the mind." I think that's a ridiculous notion, as the tongue is, quite literally the tongue of the mind. I'd love to be really pretentious and tie that into the Matisyahu review, but it's really just on the wall of the writing lab here, and it really bugs me. Anyhow, Matisyahu's "Youth" album, his studio debut, was one of the highlights of 2006, following on the underground success of 2005's "Live at Stubb's" and appearances at Bonaroo and other festivals, so it lifted my spirits considerable to see there was a new release available. I was disappointed that the CD portion of this CD/DVD combo is only EP length. New versions of "Jerusalem (Out of Darkness Comes Light)," "Warrior," and "Chop 'em Down", and a cover of the Police's "Message in a Bottle" play opposite remixes of "Jerusalem" and "Youth," and a dub version of "Message." The studio tracks are great, except "Message," which might've been a treat live, sounds kind of stale. The real weakness comes from the remixes, which are sadly unoriginal. "No Place to Be" verdict: Not very good. The "Live in Israel" DVD is a different story altogether, though. It's a combination documentary/concert film capturing an entire concert performed in Tel Aviv, Israel, and also follows Matisyahu and his band around the town to fill in the exposition. It's a very balanced piece, and Matis' performance is on point. This is for sure the highlight of the package, and well worth the price of admission. "Live in Israel" verdict: Superfantastic.

Final verdict: If you think of it as a DVD with a bonus EP, then it makes much more sense. For sure worth it for the DVD

MP3's

Jerusalem

[audio:http://us.video.aol.com/video.index.adp?mode=1&pmmsid=1778416&referer=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.singingfish.com]

Chop 'Em Down

[audio:http://www.yekayeka.com/shnazzle/03%2520Chop%2520%2527em%2520Down.mp3]

Rastaman Chant

[audio:http://ia310115.us.archive.org/3/items/matisyahu2004-12-25/matisyahu2004-12-25sbdt01_vbr.mp3]

Related Links:

Matisyahu Official Website

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