Customer Reviews

Alive

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Alright, so this album is pretty good. Eddie K went off on his own and well, not much changed. That could be good or bad - depends on how you enjoyed the last two Live albums. The good: Ed's on the vocals, and it's like Live never broke up! The bad: There is not much progression or experimentation here from those previous albums.

Here's where I stand - I really enjoyed Birds of Prey (apparently in the minority here), but I couldn't bring myself to buy Black Mountain because I'm not into their softer "pop", and I kinda disliked the single (seriously guys, we've already gone to the riverside, ran to the water, not again...)

In style I think this album is comparable to Birds of Prey, with a couple softer songs mixed in. I like that. There is passion in the vocals, the guitars wail at appropriate moments, and there are some catchy rythms. Lyrically/thematically it is also similar. Birds had a great Christianish single in Heaven - Alive has Grace. Remember the anti-war What Are We Fighting For - Alive has Stand (Chorus: "If you could stand tall with me, what are we fighting for..."). I definitely had that nostalgia when Ed is singing about love again - ahh, how familiar. But while I consistantly liked almost all of the songs on Brids and previous Live albums, I don't know if I can say the same for Alive. And that's the real catch.

So if you've been a Live fan since the 90's, sorry guys, this is no Throwing Copper. But if you like Live's newest stuff, you'll definitely enjoy some of the songs on this album, and you'd do well to check it out.

I am actually very surprised by the plethora of positive reviews on this album so far. A few reviews seem to be rating the man instead of the music - and Ed is definitely a 5-star guy. Some reviewers have self-admittedly placed their comments before even listening to the album or after only one spin of the disc. In fact, though many reviewers admit this solo effort is a complete digression from "Songs from Black Mountain," there are just too many undeserved (in my opinion) 5-star reviews to be had.

I have been a Live fan from the start, and I absolutely loved hearing Ed's voice again. But I want music to make me to break out randomly in song - I am not interested in lyrical depth or meaning. I certainly won't give an undeserved good star rating just because of my commitment to the artist (which I am). What I want from a solo album is the quality we got from Emerson Hart's Cigarettes & Gasoline or Pat Monahan's The Last of Seven. And when Ed's next solo effort comes out it will have to prove itself before I spend that money. I realize that radio and media are never a good litmus test for music or artist quality, but just how much chatter have YOU heard regarding this album? There is just none to be had.

If you wish to spend 99 cents to get at least one track and feel out this album, I recommend "Drive," "Drink," or "Fire on the Mountain." It is mostly downhill from there. The other tracks provide some varying memorable moments (usually in the form of Ed's unique vocal capabilities), but after almost 3 months of listening to this album at work and at home - were this album to disappear from my music server I would never realize it was gone.

Don't hate me for my honesty. I am very glad to see Ed finally branching out to a solo effort and I wish that it had come up with at least a few more top-notch tracks to encourage my support of him should he make a Sophomore album. But with Live's last album so lacking and this one faring somewhat worse, I would rather he and the other members of Live pull together as a team to ensure their next group release is as amazing as we all know Live can be.

It is wonderful to see Ed back to his songwriting on this album. Alive showcases the true talent of Ed as a musician. The songs are full of passion & show his return to the stage as a performer. "Grace" shows that we can have faith, even in the hardest or darkest of times, while "Zion" is soulful and full of spirit. "Alive" is a return for Ed to his roots...his love of making music for the fans. I had the awesome opportunity to see Ed perform in NYC the day of the album release and it was so great to see his true excitement over this album. It is also wonderful to see how much into the music he gets when he performs. The new band works so well together and it really feels like they've been creating music together for a long time, rather than just a few months. Many Live fans have been waiting a very long time for "Alive" and 7/6/10 marks a day in history for Ed Kowalczyk fans everywhere. May there be many more years of Ed's success as a solo artist!!!!!

I've been a Live fan for as long as I've been a music fan. Through all the ups and downs, they are without a doubt my favorite band creating such phenominal albums as The Distance to Here and Throwing Copper. Since there breakup almost a year ago, I've been following both Ed's solo project and The Gracious Few (Chad, Chad, and Pat from Live along with Kevin and Sean from Candlebox) with much anticipation. This album without a doubt didn't disappoint!

1. Drive - The song is a great opening track and sets the mood for the entire album. If there was one track on the album that reminds me of Live, this is it. Mellow verses with a hard driving chorus (no pun intending). It has great guitar work accompanied with Ed's powerful voice.

2. The Great Beyond - This is probably one of my least favorite songs on album. Although, it was much better listening to it the 2nd time when I focused on the lyrics. It's really not that bad. "Something so clear as love / Could Become So Vague / And it Don't Matter What We Do / And it don't matter what we say / Without surrender we will never find our way"

3. Grace - This is the 1st single on the album and is probably his most radio friendly song since The Dolphin's Cry. Really not much to say here, other than it's a great song.

4. Stand - This was the 1st song on the album that I didn't hear prior to release thanks to either concerts or youtube. This is one of my favorites from the album. The chorus is awesome and it is probably the best concert song from Alive.

5. Drink (Everlasting Love) - This song was co-written by Chris Daughtry. It's a nice, catchy tune.

6. Zion - I've loved this song since I saw it performed acoustically in concert last year. It is however a bit overproduced and that drops the quality level a little, but still one of the best songs on the album. It really picks about halfway through with some heavy guitars and Ed's voice when he yells "He's Gonna Run"...it just shows how Ed has one of the greatest voices in music.

7. In Your Light - This is a very touching song inspired by his love for his wife and children. Classic Ed lyrics!

8. Just In Time - It's OK. Not really too memorable

9. Rome - This is a weird track because I like the verses, but the chorus is a bit annoying. That's odd for Ed because he's done a good job through his entire career creating fantasic chorus'.

10. Soul Whispers - This is where the album picks up again. Soul Whispers has a very haunting feel to it, which reminds me of the Secret Samadhi era. It's a great song with some fantastic lyrics such as "Time to reach for that Love / That was there in your infant eyes / Time to believe again". Maybe the best track on the entire album.

11. Fire on the Mountain - A really good song, although I would have probably reversed this with Soul Whispers and had that close the album.

Overall, I really like this album. Most of the songs are really good and the one's that aren't...well, they aren't bad and are definitely listenable. Throughout the album he sings about his faith and the love of his family and depending on what type of music you like, you are probably going to either love it or hate it. I recommend this album. It's worth a listen or 100.

I have been a fan of Live and Ed K for a long time. Since I was in the Navy back in 1992 I have listened to them with a certain awe at the messages of the songs. I have enjoyed their messages of hope and joy and troubles. Each album was a story to tell and at the end of that story it seemed that Ed was speaking out pretty well against organized religion. Its not overt and was always subtle.

Come to this new album, I heard "Grace" and fell in love with it. Grace is something we all could use in our lives. The message seemed inspiring. Ed has through the years been part of the Buddhist lifestyle. It seems though that at this point he is either aiming at the Christian market full barrel or has changed his religious beliefs. Which is fine, however, the music has changed and the message with it. I still enjoy his voice and this album is done very well as far as the band and arrangement. The subtle Dharma messages that were in his old songs are gone. Now the messages are more filled with Christian messages. Maybe I was mistaken all along and he has always been this way. Anything is possible.

Summary:
Old Ed in the way he sings, new Ed in the message. I will still support him, I just am not fully into this album as it stands.

I finally broke down and bought a "Used-Like New" cd of Ed's first solo effort and I must say it's really not good. What does that tell you when there's already a bunch of used cd's out there to buy? I own every cd Live has made and loved them all until "Songs From Black Mountain" which I could only put 3 songs from that onto my IPod, so I was really hoping this would be at least a tiny bit better but, alas, it isn't so. I have no problem with it being religious in theme because all the others touched on it in some way or another but this one is just in-your-face. And even that wouldn't bother me if the lyrics were creative, unique and interesting and took some real thought but these songs, including the melodies, are just plain boring and kinda sickeningly-sweet. His voice is very good, however, but that's just not enough for me and I have been a Live-Freak for many years and saw them in concert 9 times and traveled hundreds of miles to see them - so I wouldn't bash Ed on this if I didn't really believe it. I have thought for several years now that Live really needed something to shake them up because the songs were getting repetitive - they needed new blood or outsiders to collaborate with on song material. I hoped that this split was really going to change things for the better with Ed's solo, and it probably would have if he had shared the writing with more than two other people on two songs. I will be re-selling my used cd back to a resale shop and tell them to catagorize it as Christian Rock if they want to sell it again and not have it come back!

if you like live- you will love ed. i listen to it every day, sometimes more than once, since the second i got it. love it, love it, love it!!!

This is actually better then some of live's albums believe it or not. I think it's a great solo effort. Overall, Live is better , but this is still a really good album. He has a lot of melody.

I loved this CD. I've listened to it a few times. but not completely all the way through. It's just great, faith-inspired, uplifiting soulful music.

I really like this album and the spiritual theme. I'd say that my favorite songs are "Grace", "Drink" and "Zion". When I listen to Ed's music, it just melts away the stress of the day. If you haven't bought this album yet, what are you waiting for?