It would have been about time that Megadeth finally released a live album. While bands from the similar era tend to flood the market with a plethora of unnecessary live releases and compilations, Mustaine & co. have always managed to avoid doing this, making Rude Awakening all the more special, now that it's finally been released.
The track listing, of course, is first class, covering the entire Megadeth back catalogue minus Risk (and I can't honestly imagine that anyone would have a problem with that). And I for one, am glad that they didn't overlook older classics like for example Mechanix, Devil's Island or Hook in Mouth. Other favorites on this two hour disc-set are an excellent 8 minute version of She-Wolf, Sweating Bullets, Tornado Of Souls & Dread And The Fugitive Mind.
Quite unusual for a band with the status of Megadeth however, is the fact that it seems that they didn't use too much studio magic to spice up the recordings, which especially shows on Dave's vocals at times (listen for example to Train of Consequences, which doesn't exactly sport his best vocal performance ever). Then again, this is not necessarily a bad thing, since this IS a live recording after all, and In my opinion should sound raw and in-your-face, which is exactly what Rude Awakening does.
There are however two minor complaints I have, which however do not interfere with the enjoyment you'll get from this album. This first one being the rather lame cover-artwork, which is way below par (hey, they brought back Vic on their previous album, so why the hell didn't they just use him for the cover of the live album as well ?), the second one being the fact that, while the band is certainly more than adequate, It doesn't come close to the Friedman/Menza line-up during Megadeth's mid 90's period.
Rounding up this review, what we have here is certainly one of the more notable and enjoyable live albums of recent times, with an excellent performance, good sound, and what might be considered a brilliant set list. Definitely worth buying.