Customer Reviews

Awake: The Best of Live

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

THE BAND: Ed Kowalczyk (vocals, guitar), Chad Taylor (lead guitar), Patrick Dahlheimer (bass), Chad Gracey (drums & percussion). Hometown: York, PA.

THE DISC: (2004) 19 tracks clocking in at approximately 77 minutes. Included with the disc is a 7-page foldout containing song titles/credits (no lyrics), band photos, what songs came from which albums, a quick paragraph on each album from Kowalczyk, and thank you's. This compilation follows the band from their 1991 debut through "Birds Of Pray" in 2003. There is an additional 2-disc release (the CD with music, and a DVD with interview and videos) also available. Label - Radioactive Records.

ALBUM REPRESENTATION: Mental Jewelry (3 songs), Throwing Copper (5), Secret Samadhi (2), The Distance To Here (3), V (2), Birds Of Pray (2), Unreleased (2).

COMMENTS: Outside of "Throwing Copper" (1994), this "Best Of" compilation might be all the Live you need. It absolutely hits on all the highlights of each album. Tracks 1-3 find the band in raw form from "Mental Jewelry"... singing and playing like they had something to prove. "Operation Spirit" and "Pain Lies On The Riverside" were the standout songs and worthy of inclusion here. Tracks 4-8 are from "Throwing Copper" - easily their biggest and most recognized tunes. "Copper" had so many great songs - and Kowalczyk never sang with such conviction. The melodies were most importantly... memorable. And then Kowalczyk shaved his head and went Zen on everyone. For me, "Secret Samadhi" (1997) was the start of the decline for Live. "Lakini's Juice" was my favorite track from this one because of the weird guitar chords. "Turn My Head" was the other good tune from "Samadhi", but the rest of the album was a mixed bag at best. Kowalczyk singing about spirit, his Holiness, angel wings, birds and dolphins crying in the near future was losing audiences. Not to mention the music just not being that strong - outside of a few tracks on each album - all of which are here on "Awake - Best Of Live". The Distance To Here" made some waves but quickly lost steam and fell from the charts. Their fifth album "V" (labeled as "experimental") was trashed by most major music mags. "Birds Of Pray" was a semi return to form, but once again garnered mixed reviews and almost no FM-airplay. The unreleased "We Deal With Dreams" was an extra song from the "Throwing Copper" sessions and is a nice inclusion here. Live's remake of Johnny Cash's "I Walk The Line" is nothing out of the ordinary, but still respectable. Missing are a few personal favorites (but by no means essential) - "Iris", "Top", "White, Discussion", "Ghost", "Voodoo Lady", and "Graze". This is a fantastic disc because it has the band's best songs over their 1st dozen years ALL in one place. Despite Live's 2nd half fall from the charts, this is a stellar introduction to the band (5 stars).

I have loved live since Throwing Copper came out in the mid-90's.
I then fell in love with their earlier album, Mental Jewlery.
Both are great, and probably owning the pair give you Live's truely greatest hits.
This album is basically all of the singles, more or less, that made it on radio.
The only thing that I would have added was Iris from Throwing Copper. It is, in my opinion, Live's greatest song.
But if you don't own any Live, own Throwing Copper first, then if you want to expand maybe get this album and then Mental Jewlery. The rest of their albums, I feel, is fairly represented in this Greatest Hits CD. Enjoy.

Ok, I admit that I pratically "grew up" with Live. I've watched Ed grow chest hairs for goodness sakes. We're about the same age, and I remember being in my very early twenties and hearing Mental Jewelry for the first time, sitting lotus style in a studio apartment in Northern California, my mouth full of coffee as I was reading poetry.

I was mesmorized. And I still am, over ten years later.

I didn't think a band could move me this much. I waited in anticipation for every new album to arrive so I could devour it, each song serving as a delicacy for my ears.

While I have loved them and cite them as a "favorite" band for over a decade now, I must admit with the one review on here that I wasn't as in to their albums after Secret Samadhi. But I still was a devoted follower, always choosing at least one or two songs that I could claim as my own. V was really my least favorite, to be honest.

So when I read on their website that "Awake" was coming out--to include a DVD of their videos--I was beyond ecstasy. I probably ran--I can't remember, it is all a blur now--to the record store and snatched up the last one. I think it's glued to the CD player in my computer as we speak.

Intricate song-writing, even if obscure at times, will draw you in, coupled with a musical style that is all their own. I don't care what others say, Live is a class-act who can not really be compared to anyone else. Maybe I'm biased because their music was just always "there" during my twenty-something years, as I became a witness to their harnessing maturity as well as myself. I just hope they keep rocking for years to come. Buy this record: you won't regret it.

The four members of LIVE met in their York, PA high school before forming a band to compete in a school talent show. They mixed in the angst of being trapped in a nowhere city, the crisis of spiritual identity and a love of rebellious noise and came out with "Mental Jewelry." The three songs from that CD here lay out the blueprint for the next couple decades of LIVE material. Earnest vocals with lyrics that reflect a quest for spiritual ascendance.

Under the hand of Talking Head Jerry Harrison, who kept the band's recorded sound dense and textured, LIVE got better fast. They cut a masterpiece on the second try. "Throwing Copper" opened with the shouts of "Lightning Crashes" and "Selling The Drama," contained the fighting "I Alone," and the moral diatribe of "White, Discussion." This was a powerful, passionate album and it made them stars. The follow up, "Secret Samadhi," was darker in tone but more direct. "Turn My Head" was the closest thing to an actual love song, and "Lakini's Juice" mirrored Led Zepplin more than U2.

It was right about now that LIVE began to lose their footing. "The Distance To Here" began a shift towards a maturity that took away from the band's edge. While Ed Kowlaczyk may claim that this is his favorite of the LIVE albums, it is the point where LIVE began to experiment with their basic sound. On "Distance's" best song, "The Dolphin's Cry," it works, but for most of the album, it just seemed uncharacteristic. "V" suffered from the same hodgepodge (Tricky rapping with Ed, too much electronic noodling, etc), but it also contained the transcendent "Overcome," which seemed to appear from nowhere after the horror of 9/11, giving voice to the feelings of a national anguish. "Birds Of Pray" tries to return to form, but comes off as over baked. While the duet with Shelby Lynne, "Run Away," is terrific, the cheesy religious ballad "Heaven" is entirely forgettable. Fortunately, "Awake!" closes with a fine cover of Johnny Cash's "I Walk The Line."

PS: The bonus DVD with the deluxe version is definitely worth picking up. In addition to a few of the songs left of the CD, ("Freaks," "They Stood Up For Love" and a couple live tracks), you get "Simple Creed," probably one of the two decent tracks from "V." The other "V" video for "Overcome" may be a tougher watch, as it is made from 9/11 footage. It's also worth getting to see the youthful exuberance of LIVE's first video, "Operation Spirit."

I'd call this the perfect time for a Live hits album, and if ever there was a disc of theirs to top "Throwing Copper", this is it. "Awake" is great because it includes 19 tracks, and they're in chronological order, and of course for the music itself. Everything is here from "Pain Lies On The Riverside", "Lightning Crashes", "Lakini's Juice", "Dolphin's Cry", and "Overcome". Plus the cover of "I Walk The Line", and the unreleased track "We Deal In Dreams". The only song I miss is "Freaks". Overall it's a great collection from one of the better bands of the past 10-15 years.

I absolutely LOVE this CD!! It hardly ever leaves my CD player. All of the songs are great, but some of my favorites are "All Over You", "Lightning Crashes", "Turn My Head", "Dance With You", "Run to the Water", and "Dolphin's Cry". "Overcome" is also really good. Actually, I might as well just name every single song on the album! Buy this and you will not be let down!

I was SO suprised when I was CD shopping and stumbled upon this CD. I had no idea they even had a greatest hits CD out. I have always liked Live so, I snatched it up immediately. I couldn't be happier. There is SO much on here beyond just their hits. There is unreleased songs & early, early stuff plus it is all remastered....gotta love that. A deffinite must!

I'm having a hard time removing this CD from my player after 8 months....really, really, good stuff. I don't think the Johnny Cash cover was necessary though.

This CD is exactly what I was looking for - a collection of Live's best songs over the years.

This was the first CD I got from these guys. I had always liked what I heard on the radio from them, but was I surprised how many of these songs I knew but didn't know they were Live songs. The album has a great flow to it.Since purchasing this CD I have gone out and bought their entire catalog.This is a great primer to getting into this band.