Customer Reviews

Awake: The Best of Live (Deluxe Version - CD/DVD)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With many greatest hits albums, you just have a collection of songs from albums you already own (provided you're a big fan), and there's not much reason to buy it unless you're new to the band. However, Live's new greatest hits package holds something for everyone.

At over 70 minutes in length, the album contains tracks from all 6 of Live's studio releases, including nearly half of "Throwing Copper". The song selection is excellent, and I don't think that anything important was left out (I would have put "Simple Creed" on there instead of "Nobody Knows", but that's it). But wait, there's more. In addition to this fine collection of old favorites, we get new stuff as well, including a new version of the rare track "Dealing Dreams" (now entitled "We Deal in Dreams"), an alternate version of "Run Away", featuring guest vocals from Shelby Lynne, and a cover of Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line". And, if all of that weren't enough, you also get a bonus DVD, with all of the band's music videos.

This is a damn fine buy, whether you're already into Live or not. Highly recommended.

Live is my favorite band, and after having bought all of their studio albums, seen all their videos, and heard most of their b-side songs, I couldn't resist buying this CD/DVD as well. I'm so glad I did - there is a level of depth to this package that is hard to find elsewhere.

The CD takes you on a trip from their earliest years to the present, and listening to them mature as a band is a remarkable experience. The DVD includes a 30-minute interview with Ed, who explains what some of the songs mean to him, why he wrote some of them, how the songs or videos came to be, etc. The DVD also starts from their earliest videos and progresses to the present.

I've had a chance to hear "We Deal in Dreams" before and it has always been one of my favorite b-sides from Live, but the version on the CD is different from anything else I've heard before. I really liked it and I hope Live gets a lot of positive feedback on this song, as I hope they release some of their other b-sides.

All in all, there's a lot to enjoy on this album. If you've never bought a Live album before, this is a great place to start! If you're a long-time fan like me, it is a great compliment to the rest of the Live collection. Now if Live will just schedule another tour date in New Orleans....

A bit of a disclosure: this is my favorite band. Naturally, I love the music. But I was thrilled at the length and breadth of this collection. The DVD and the CD cover much of the same ground, but in very different ways. If you pick this one up without the DVD, you're really missing out. I've been lucky enough to catch Live "live" once, and the DVD is the next best thing to being there. This is an amazing live band. For what you can buy this for here, you absolutely cannot go wrong.

Awake shows that Live is still awake and ready to make wonderful music. This album is excellent; a must for all Live's fans. Awake includes songs from all albums putting Live's history in the context of a music album. To me, Live's second release "Throwing Copper" is a phenomenon; I don't think that a human being will ever be able to make such a unique rock album that combines sophisticated lyrics, catchy melodies, powerful sound and beautiful voice. The Distance To Here and Secret Samadhi come hand in hand as Live's second best, albeit the obvious difference in terms of how they sound. Birds of Pray is much better than V, and Mental Jewelry has some very good songs. If this album was not acoustic but of heavy sound like Throwing Copper it would be fantastic. V is experimental. When I first listened to it, I almost cried. However, four years later I must admit that there are some songs that I really enjoy: Deep enough, Transmit your love, Forever may not be long enough, Overcome and Hero of love.

Live is one of the most underrated bands ever. Apart from the excellent sound, lyrics and voice that are identified in their songs, Live is unique for its complexity and variation. There are other good bands out there but most suffer from the lack of variation.

Based on some songs that have been leaked, Live's upcoming album sounds more like Birds of Pray, but still is different and catchy; enjoy on the 21st of March.

It's hard to believe these guys are in their early 30s for the amount of time they've been around. 15 years!!! Definitely worthy of a retrospective.

They fall in between U2 and Creed (who have a "greatest hits" coming out, more because they broke up). Ed K. is no Bono, but he's also proven to be no Scott Stapp either, seemingly choosing a path blazed by Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam, where they will put out truly confounding recordings but doing well in concert, and then when you least expect it, they'll be on the radio one day out of nowhere.

The CD is really good. A duet with Shelby Lynne, an unreleased track, and no filler anywhere. I have yet to grow bored of it.

And the great part is being able to see the videos from the first album to their most recent, seeing them growing (and in Ed's case, his hair and lack thereof going through stages) through the years. There's nothing bad to say about the videos themselves and are great to listen to without watching them, an alternative to the CD. Even the first 2 promo videos are still pretty good for being low budget. The "Overcome" video is from ground zero filmed right after 9/11, so there might be some uncomfortable feelings from watching that one.

However, if there any minuses I'd give, it's the following. A) They have "Dolby Surround" stamped on the disc. I was hoping to hear them in "glorious" 5.1 surround, but it's just regular "ol'" stereo. B)As much as I like "Mental Jewelry" and the songs from there, it was kind of pointless to put the live versions right after the promo video versions. You'll either listen to one or the other, but you'll wind up skipping one of them. C)The "Ed Commentary" is a 30 minute interview with Ed discussing the history Live and the music, their influences, and not an alternate audio where it's played over the videos. For me, this is a one-time viewing because he just looks like a rich guy sitting by the swimming pool on a hill overlooking Los Angeles. I'm sure that this is how he is offstage, but it's still a huge contrast to the image Live portrays in their videos and shows, which comes off more "shamanesque". I think that a better setting should've been the recording studio or working on the road. If you want to keep that image of Ed in your mind, don't watch the commentary. But it still is a good introduction and brief history of the band as well as explaining some of the things they've done over the years,and some changes they made.

I don't feel those are worth taking any stars off of for though, except for the misleading "Surround" logo.

Overall, it's a very satisfying collection, fans of their music and their videos will truly love it (although it would be great to see a full length concert on video), and it's one of the better "best-of" collections I've heard and seen in a while.

This has got to be one of the greatest cds ever! Live is one of the greatest bands in the world and this cd captures all of Live's energy, beauty and art. The dvd with their videos is reason enough to buy, it covers their hole career so far with some memorable clasics and some relatively unknown videos. Live's music is one of the very best examples of what alternative music should be, and this is "Live's best" so, it's a must have for any true music lover. Excelence as far as the ear can listen!

Being able to watch live grow and evolve in this collection is wonderful. It is like looking back at my life and watching myself grow and evolve as I followed them through their career (which better not be nearing an end). The songs and the videos are great, especially as I hadn't seen most of them before due to my lack of MTV as I was growing up. For me what makes this collection special is the interview with Ed. It is enlightening to know that he views his music in much the same way I do and gets the same energy from it as his fans. I recommend watching the interview before you watch the video, it makes you feel like you can be a part of the songs from Ed's point of view. To me Live has never failed to rock and this is no exception. With every new release they reawaken me to their energy and reinvigerate my life. I love these guys and I love this compilation.

Live (the most underrated modern rock act in my opinion) culls from their history and gives fans a previously unavailable track (We Deal In Dreams, which was a Throwing Copper outtake), as well as releasing their exquisite cover of Johnny Cash's "I Walk The Line," which had not been released before on any official Live album. Additionally the DVD is outstanding with 22 videos, and commentary from Ed Kowalczyk that adds new dimensions to the albums we have treasured for so long now. Pick this up if you're a new fan, and old fan, a collector, or anyone interested in compelling 'music with a purpose'

So LIVE is still going strong--and we should all be thankful! The cd/dvd best of collection is a great addition to any music lover's collection--but also for the hardcore LIVE fan: Ed's interview is reason alone to buy this set because his interview is insightful and brilliant. The music videos are great (I love the "I Alone" video), and it's nice to have some of the hits (albeit many were left off this compiliation) on one cd. I LOVE the dvd, totally worth whatever nominal price it is. The cd is worthwhile, of course, although I am most certainly not a Shelby Lynne fan; what was Ed thinking? Awesome package!

If your not a heavy "Live" fan now, than this CD will be the best start for you to learn who they are. I know that when you listed to this, you will love it, then you should pick up the other CD'S thay have put out.

I tunes is good too so you can get the cds for 9.99 or just pic the songs you prefer. Anyway you won't be disappointed!

I already have all the music, but I got this for for the VIDEOS TO!

Live is a great band, you wont be dissabounted.