Customer Reviews

Birds of Pray (Bonus Dvd)

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I must say I was a little skeptical at first upon hearing Live had released a new album. V was, in my opinion, not only their worst album, but not a very good album by any standards. However, having bought Birds of Pray I can safely say that my confidence has been fully restored. Simply, I think this is their best effort since Throwing Copper, and that's saying something seeing I loved Secret Samadhi. The album is MUCH more guitar-based than the lame ambience they tried on V and to a lesser extent on Distance, and this is really where Live excel. The songs Like I Do (track 6) and Lighthouse (track 9) are two of my favourite Live songs ever. Enough said. Admittedly there are a couple of songs on the album that show a lot of the "Distance" motif in them and are a little weak and lame (Run Away comes to mind) but all in all it is very, very good and a must for Live fans.

Forget about your skepticism, this is their second best album (and Throwing Copper is THE best album in musical history so that is definately not a slight on Birds of Pray).

For me, Live have scored their Hat Trick with Birds of Pray. I would officially give this CD A 6-star rating, if I could.

After Mental Jewelry and Throwing Copper, Live's next 3 releases (Secret Samadhi, The Distance To Here and V) had offered shining moments of what originally got me hooked on their music. The albums, over all though, did not have the "staying power" of MJ and TC - both of which literally spent a number of months straight in my player. V, in particular, didn't grab me much at all - a sentiment many others in these reviews seem to share to one degree or another.

Now, I'm ecstatic to report that "Birds of Pray" will likely sit aside MJ and TC as a CD that will spend the coming weeks in my CD player. I am hooked. This release is, put simply, amazing. Live have recaptured - or at least returned to the energy and, dare I say, passion they conveyed on their first two releases. I'd say this one even leans a bit closer to Mental Jewelry than Throwing Copper - (a Very Good Thing in my opinion, as MJ remains my all-time favorite from Live).

Few male rock singers I've heard can deliver lyrics with such emotion as convincingly and potently as Ed Kowalcyk does. And, to me, this is his strongest and most consistent vocal performance since MJ and TC.

But don't let the praise end with him... The entire band delivers a solid, moving and overall stellar performance on Birds of Pray.

All in all, Birds of Pray is a fantastic release from a truly gifted band who has returned to their "sonic roots" and still clearly find those shoes quite comfortable.

Bravo.

I highly recommend this CD.

I'm sorry, but contrary to a previous review, Live does NOT keep getting better. It just seems better to the MTV and Pop Radio crowd.

It's a sad story. A previously insanely awesome band goes pop-rock. Just like Our Lady Peace did, and NOW they're popular. Ugh.

Live has been my absolute favorite band for a long long time, and there was a time when they could never disappoint. TC... classic. SS... brilliant. TDTH... one of the most perfect albums I've heard...

Then "V". I almost drove off a cliff when i popped that CD in my car stereo for the first time. It was like a long-time relationship soured when you find that your significant other has been cheating on you the whole time. Electronics, rapping, country-esque riffs. What happened? I started songwriting 9 years ago solely due to Ed's amazing lyrics. And now he's singing about hittin'up tha club.

BOP was a step in the right direction, but the music is very very basic and unmoving. The lyrics... thanks to Ed's daughter being born, are simply lame. Now understand this... it takes so much for me to say anything negative about Live, but boy have they really messed up. I don't feel guilty for giving a negative review, because they should feel guilty for cheating the loyal/intelligent section of their fan base in order to please the less-bright general public.

Lyrics like "I believe in the sanctity of dreams" and "ride a Harley through the heart of danger" make me feel like Live's next gig is headlining the Sesame Street cast party.

It's no secret that Live's last effort, V, was nothing short of a disaster. It was an album completely devoid of passion, heart, and meaning. Long time fans, such as myself, wondered if V marked the final chapter in the career of a great band. Thankfully, like a phoenix, Live has returned to firey glory with Birds of Pray.

Birds of Pray, quite simply, shows Live at their best. When Live has their chemistry together, they are a phenominal straight ahead rock band. This album is perhaps their most rhythmically charged to date, thanks to great drumming by Chad Gracy, with pounding bass lines by Pat Dahlheimer and guitar riffs by Chad Taylor forming a formidable backdrop for Ed Kowalczyk's singing.

While some may criticize the album for sounding too similar to their previous efforts, I state that is to the album's credit. This is the logical culmination of the previous five albums. It has some of the politically charged lyrics found in Mental Jewelry, the epic anthems of Throwing Copper, the cool vibe of Secret Samadhi, the positivity of The Distance to Here, and some of the more modern guitar riffs from V. Rather than being forced together into some kind of messy amalgam, Birds of Pray sounds like a satisfying conclusion to the band's first five albums. That is not to say the album is perfect, however.

Like all Live albums, there are a few duds on Birds of Pray. Most noticably are the songs "Life Marches On" and "Everytime I See Your Face." "Bring the People Together" would be good if it wasn't for the chorus. Those blemishes aside, the rest of the album varies from very good to spectacular, with "Like I Do," "Sweet Release," and "River Town" being the best songs on the album. Another problem with the album is that it's too short. There's only about 44 minutes of music.

On to the DVD: The DVD shows us why Live got its name. The live performances of four of the band's songs are incredible. While "Nobody Knows" is less than spectacular (although I feel it sounds better live than it does on the album V), it is more than made up for by the band's performance of "White, Discussion." Indeed, if the DVD only showed that one performance, I would have been satisfied.

Only a Top 30 album? Pleeeease!! Live's sixth release, Birds of Pray, just goes to show that it's possible to get better with age (unlike bands scraping around for moula to pay for early retirement). All tracks on this CD are how I prefer my steak- well done. If you're a new fan to LIVE, or a fan that just hasn't listened to new LIVE in quite some time, listen to "Heaven", "Sanctity of Dreams", "Sweet Release", "River Town", and "What Are We Fighting For?" as a preview before you purchase. You will not be disappointed.

Speaking of the 13th track on BoP, this marks the 2nd CD in a row that lyrics to a song actually preview future world events. On "V", we had the song "Overcome" (written for "Distance To Here", but never made it on the CD) to dedicate to victims of Sept 11. Hopefully with time, we will find the WMD's in Iraq and be able to answer that question in the past tense (What Were We Fighting For?). The lyrics to the 13th track are amazing...
From "Oil and blood on the bayonet"...to..."The world got smaller but the bombs got bigger"...and..."The crucifix ain't no baseball bat, tell me what kind of God is that?"

It's unfortunate that this CD will not receive enough recognition from a group that pours its heart and soul into providing us with the better side of music, forgotten in today's POP-friendly music market.

This CD is worth the price, especially since it includes a bonus DVD mini-concert of classic LIVE material!!!!

I've been a fan of their's since "Mental Jewelry"
which I feel is a great debut album. As for how I
would rate all their albums I would say that MJ
was good, Throwing Copper - excellent, Secret Samadhi
- above average, The Distance To Here - excellent
(and underrated), V - average(their weakest album),
and most importantly "Bird's Of Pray"- excellent
(definetely one of their best!)It is one of their most
straight - forward albums. Every song grabs you in some
way. The first song I heard from BOP was What Are We
Fighting For, which I don't know if I agree with the
lyrical message entirely. I can see Ed's point of view
though and can appreciate his passion and sincerity.
I then got to see them perform "Heaven" on Conan
O'Brian and thought the song seemed very different
for them. Once I got to hear the album from start
to finish I could really hear the maturity on it.
Jim Wirt really brought out the best in them. The
whole album has a very uplifting, positive vibe
about it that I don't know if any of their previous
albums have. I'ld say musically it's a combination
of Secret Samhadi and The Distance To Here but
much louder and brighter - sonically speaking.
Some critics can't get past Ed's unusual writing
style but on BOP they're for the most part straight-
forward and simple. He's an excellent songwriter
and has written(I think anyway)some of his best
songs on this album. The great thing about Live
overall is that they don't care about trends and
they write and play from the heart. BOP is an
addictive album from a band I still feel is
underrated.

Just to put it up front, I'm a Live fanatic too, and love every album. Even 2001's "V", which wasn't everybody's thing on account of it's bizarre production and lack of real band chemistry. It didn't bother me, because I knew the whole rapping/computer loop effects phase wouldn't last with Live.

But when Live announced album 6 was back-to-basics rock, I had a bad feeling the music would be a little dull after the energetic sound of "V". Like just all laid-back, weary radio rock.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

"Birds of Pray" has the solid rock sound of older Live records, yet it retains the inspiring, upbeat energy of newer ones. All of the enthusiasm and confidence of "V" has found a new home amidst honest, pure classic sound of "Birds of Pray".

The band chemistry is perfect- each member is holding his own musically. I have to commend producer Jim Wirt for having the common sense to bring the guitars and bass to the front of the mix for the first time in years. Rather than being beaten over the head with Ed's voice mixed to the front, as in the last few albums, it's nice to hear him drowned out in some songs by Mr. Taylor and Mr. Dahlheimer, whose respective guitar and bass work brings LOTS of flavor to this record ! The lead guitar is the backbone of most of the songs on here, with a collection of neat little effects ( guitar, not keyboard, I swear ) here and there to keep things fresh. And I can't stress enough how awesome the bass is this time around. I always knew Pat D. wouldn't abandon us.

Now as much as people say this is classic Live, don't get us wrong- "Birds of Pray" has a sound all it's own. I really feel this is a new direction, if not even a rebirth, for Live as know 'em. There's an obvious liveliness and passion in every track. The lyrics are refreshing, in that Ed just gets the message and emotion of the song across up front without the need to rap, or be heavily prophetic. They're perfectly balanced between heartfelt prose, and everyday language. The variety is wonderful, from praising one's true to love, to a narrative of a struggling loner, to a truly Live-ish rant on the state of the world.

I'd like to go through the songs one by one and give a brief description, but that just doesn't seem fair for this album. "Birds of Pray" is a strong, solid album from beginning to end and should not be broken down into just singles and favorite songs. It's brilliant as one flowing piece of music.

Live fans rejoice- this is the one we've been waiting for. It blew me away on the first listen, yet it only gets better the more I listen to it and the more I experience with it. It satisfies from beginning to end with top-notch production and an exciting new sound, with just enough classic feel. In all, this album is WAY more than I could've ever hoped for.

Oh yeah, and the DVD is intense, too. Don't miss White, Discussion !

What did you want, "Throwing Copper, Vol. 2"?? Give it up! Bands change! I personally think that this album shines just as brightly as the others- yes, even "V"...come on, just put it in when you need a good laugh...it works for me. "Heaven" gets old fast, but there's plenty of great songs to keep you rocking: "Lighthouse", "Rivertown", "What Are We Fighting For", "She", and of course, what should be the next single and, in my opinion, is the greatest song on the CD, hands down, "Like I Do". No, you're right, it'll never be another "Throwing Copper" or another "The Distance To Here"... if you're looking for another one of those, go buy a second copy. Rock on, Live!

Live's Mental Jewelry was literally the first CD I ever purchased. Eleven years later, they are the only band for which I buy each CD without question. That being said, I am trying to write this without bias. As has been said, this CD does mark a welcome return to their earlier sound and is probably my second favorite of all their CDs (next to Throwing Copper). The album is well rounded with some rockers and some softer ballad types. Of course, their spiritual and anthemic (though sometimes preachy) nature shines through in most songs. Live's music alternates seemlessly and beautifully from simple to complex and layered in its delivery. The difference between Live and many other popular bands is that the entire album is good. I have purchased many CDs based on one great song I heard on the radio only to find it was the only good song on the entire disc. Not so with Live. I just don't understand why they don't get more airplay out of the edgier songs. If the public thinks all of their songs are like those that get played over and over on the radio, they are missing out on a great deal of fantastic music. Most of my favorite Live songs never make the radio. Even so, this album has many songs that I think would play well on the radio (She, Life Marches On, Everytime I See Your Face(my favorite), Lighthouse, and River Town). Buy or borrow this CD and listen to it about 5 times. Don't try to analyze the lyrics. Just enjoy the ride. You'll be hooked.

This is an incredible cd; I highly recommend it to any fans of Live, if you haven't picked it up already, and to anyone who wants a great rock cd with no fillers. Live's previous cd, V, wasn't one of my favorites, so I didn't have high expectations when purchasing this, but through my initial listen all the way through, I was blown away by the vocals, drum work, guitar work, and the brilliant melodies in each song. It seemed like each song was better than the last, and then when I got to track #6, Like I Do, I knew this was the classic Live song that would be a favorite for years to come. Why it wasn't the first single is beyond me. It seems to be everyone's favorite who listens to the album. The way each band member and their instruments come together, I would have to say in my opinion, it's the most well-crafted Live song ever. It still blows me away everytime I listen to it..a true rocker! My next favorite track is #11, Out to Dry, which showcases the emotions and magic of Kowalczyk's vocals; it's all there in this track, which I find myself putting on repeat a lot. All the songs are great; there's nothing that annoys or bores me, they're all well-written and the catchy melodies stick in your head, and you find yourself singing along everytime you listen. Highly recommended!!