On May 30, 2012, Linkin Park announced: "To celebrate the release of their new album LIVING THINGS on June 26, Linkin Park has partnered with Spotify to release a set of "best of" live compilations to correspond with each of their albums. These Spotify exclusive albums contain some of the band's favorite live performances of each song through the years and will be released each week leading up to June 26. Listen HERE starting May 31. To purchase full Linkin Park live recordings click HERE."[1]
Via Spotify, iTunes and other online digital outlets, Linkin Park released a series of these compilations to fans to lead up to the Living Things release. All of the tracks came from the band's Digital Souvenir Program (DSP) shows that were released between 2007 and 2012. However, due to some songs not being released via DSPs since they were not played live during that period, songs were missing from each release.
Notes: "With You" and "Runaway" were performed in 2012 before this release, but were not released on DSPs until June 2012. "By Myself" was last performed in 2003 and "Forgotten" was last performed in 2002.
Highlights: The performance of "Papercut" came from the day that the band celebrated the Hybrid Theory 10th Anniversary, in Paris. "A Place For My Head" was the special song at that show, but that version was not released here; instead, the version from Köln in 2008 is a really good one, being the fifth show of the European Tour (meaning the band was in fine shape) with an excellent crowd. "One Step Closer" came from the day before, in Frankfurt.
Notes: "Hit The Floor" and "Easier To Run" were last performed in 2003 and "Figure.09" and "Nobody's Listening" were last performed in 2004. "Session" was performed in 2009, but the version was shorter than the studio version so that is possibly why it was omitted.
Highlights: "Foreword"/"Don't Stay" is from the band's first show ever in China. "Somewhere I Belong" comes from a great show in Germany in 2008, "Lying From You" and "Numb" are from Linkin Park's first show at Madison Square Garden, "Faint" and "Breaking The Habit" are from the LPU Summit #4 show in 2011, and "From The Inside" is from the LPU Summit #2 show in 2010.
Notes: Since the DSPs started for the Minutes To Midnight World Tour, this album lucked out and had performances from every song featured. Minutes To Midnight is also the last Linkin Park album to have every song on it performed live.
Highlights: "Wake" is from arguably (we say that term since we aren't 100% sure, but we are confident) the largest headlining show the band has played live - or at least in Asia. "No More Sorrow" and "Given Up" are from Taipei's 2009 show, which was a good performance. "In Between" was from the second performance ever of the song. The first time featured a vocal messup by Mike, so this one is a good one.
Notes: The DSPs were going strong at this point, meaning almost everything from this album was released as well. "The Radiance" was only performed once as it was on the album and that show had no DSP. "Wisdom, Justice, And Love" faced licensing issues from the Martin Luther King Jr. family, so that's probably why it isn't here. "Fallout" is a questionable omission since it was performed at almost every show of the touring cycle. "Blackout" is mislabeled. The recording is actually from Homebush in 2010.
Highlights: "The Requiem" is from a sold out show in London for LPU Summit #1, "Empty Spaces"/"When They Come For Me" are from the fourth performance of the song, in Paris. "The Catalyst" is also from that show. "Waiting For The End" is from the sixth performance of the song, but the first in Europe. "Burning In The Skies" is from LPU Summit #4 in Hamburg.
