Customer Reviews

Live

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

 

 

We have all grown to love the popular band, MATCHBOX TWENTY, with such hits as "Push," "Real World, "Bent," and their most recent, "Last Beautiful Girl." But, there was a humble begining to this band. They started out as Tabitha's Secret and this album is amazing.

It shows a great effort of how passionate each band member is in a live show that seems to be very raw and real. Rob Thomas is on lead vocals and displays a very powerful voice. Each song puts forth a message of love, dispair, hope and getting through life the best way we know how. Rob Thomas seems to always write each song with a view of how he feels and makes each lyric so personal that almost anyone can relate to it.

I love each and every song on this album. The one that I feel has the best vocal harmonies between Rob and ex-band member Jay Stanely is the song "Here Comes Horses." Other songs to give a listern to is "Paint Me Blue," "Unkind," "Tired," and "Forever December."

I would have to agree with "a music fan from Montpelier, Vermont". This CD is "soulful, beautiful, and raw". Remember: This IS a live recording! Of course the music is going to be "raw" and "unpolished"!
And yes there are some fans screaming in the background of the song #12, "Dear Joan". It is faint, and not as bothersome as you would think... I hardly noticed it.
With endangered songs like "Million Miles", "This Is Not A Love Song", "Loss, Strain & Butterflies", and the original song that "Tired" derived from: "Just Plain Tired"... the CD is well worth it to endure the "oh so terrible sound quality" *sarcasm*! Those who complain about the sound quality are not true MB20/TS fans. Those who are, will accept the minor flaws with the better...

1. Million Miles: A very up-tempo song, which slows down and picks up like an ocean current. Very nice song! Clear, good quality.
"These are the days that make up the lifetimes, these are the lifetimes that make up generations, yeah, these are the days, these are the days that make up the lifetimes"
Something to sit around and listen to when you're old and crippled, reminiscing about your "sweetie" and when y'all were young (haha!).

2. Paint Me Blue: Another up-tempo song. One to listen to when you're a little depressed. A little soft & tiny bit fuzzy-like sound quality.
"And I need understanding, just a pack or two, to help me with my troubles, and what-to-do's, I don't feel no raging, there ain't nothing new, drop me in the ocean, and paint me blue"

3. Just Plain Tired: Very mellow (at first), then it picks up quickly, and suddenly, it slows down again! It's funny at the end, Rob Thomas sings: "ha! w-w-w-w-w-will I'll be tired" and he keeps saying it over again, and running it together & it's funny, b/c you can hardly hear what he's saying (LOL)! Semi-low, soft volume.

4. This Is Not A Love Song: There's a trend here... semi-slow tempo at first, and picks up, then slows down again. Wondering why you are with your "mate"? Seems like the character in this song is wondering the same thing.
"Don't wanna scare you, don't be unhappy, this is not a lovesong, this is not a lovesong, We ask, and we burn what we hear on the water, And we speak, we burn what we say, But if you hold the rain"

5. Unkind: OK, so I'm not good at describing the tempos and beats of music, they all sound the same.
Feeling a little bitter towards the world? Need a place to get away? Good song to listen to.
"Oh well I'm torn and I'm tattered, so the thoughts in my head they get scattered, and pain gives me the right to be unkind, and it set's me here, right back to the heart of it, Jones Crazy is a slight defense from it, Jones Crazy is a place I call my own, when I'm alone"
The song is kind of low and a tiny bit fuzzy, but still a good one!

6. High: "this is a song called High, is anybody high? Where's our people, yeah, buddy!" -heehee, nice intro!
Volume is a little soft, and echolike every now and then. Nice drum sound to it.
"Yeah well I can't sleep so I believe, if the shades are drawn then the slate is clean, so don't look at pride, well there is no other way now"

7. Jesus Was An Alien: VERY soft volume at first, so you turn it up, then Rob starts to let it out, and you have to turn the volume down, then it starts to get low again *sigh*
Love the piano in the background. This song makes you really think.
"Jesus was an alien, flying through space, and God was an astronaut, who said "boy I like your face", so the story began, I see you shaking boy, do you find it hard to believe, that the one you've been living for would cut your wrist to watch you bleed"

8. Here Comes Horses: Nice Volume & gets louder... And this is where the fans start kicking in with the cheers. Nice background vocals! (but sounds a little echolike) You think the cheers in the background of "Dear Joan" are bad, listen to this song!
"I was thinking I was angry but I'll let it go, I was waiting on a miracle but nothing showed, and they say our new messiah is at the local bar"

9. Loss, Strain & Butterflies: A "cute" song, but kind of sad (to me)! Good sound quality.
"And I said good morning Mrs. Sumner I would like you to meet my friend Mr. Jones, he has a house made out of butterflies, I can't sleep sometimes but I've been told It's a lonely condition called growing old, Let me stumble sometimes"

10. 3 am: good ole 3 am! Nice sound quality, different from the current version (of course). Tiny bit "raw" sounding! Good drum back rounds...

11. Forever December: Well, there go the screaming fans again! "Dear Joan" sounds perfect, compared to this song...(stupid fans, but, hey! it's live... you got to support the band you love!) *AND! ROB ECOURAGES THEM TO "YELL"... he says it himself in this song!* Soft & Loud volume at the same time!? Umm, maybe the background vocals shouldn't have sung. It doesn't sound right (to me). Little fuzzy quality. AWESOME guitar sounds around 3:00 & 5:00 minutes (electrical sounding). Very uplifting song!
"You build the wall I'll build the fountain, We'll wrestle it, we'll conquer it, I think we'll live to see the mountain"

12. Dear Joan: (notes mentioned in the beginning) Sorry to say, but the sound quality is at it's worst here... but still a beautiful song live, not as bad quality as you think!

Hope I didn't bore you... This CD is definitely worth the $$$!

The sound quality of this disc is quite bad. Your money will be better spent on the new MB20 disc, or buy other new music, like 3rd Eye Blind's new one.

When I heard Rob Thomas was in a band before Matchbox Twenty I wanted it straight away. I went around every music shop I could find but no one had any Tabitha's Secret. Finally someone said try amazon and there it was. It only took about three weeks to come and I was so happy when it did. When I first heard it I was a little disapointed. Rob's amazing voice was still there but the backing music wasn't the same standard as mb20's. Now im much more used to it and love it to bits. My favourite songs are Paint me blue, High and Dear Joan. They have really interesting lyricks and Iwouldn't be without them.

This CD embodies beautiful preformances from Tabitha's Secret. While it's unpolished and has slightly bad sound, these two points tend not to be negative but really positive, pushing the listener into believing they're actually there, live, with the band. Rob Thomas's vocals are amazing. He seems to be immersed in the music, singing with all his heart. "Dear Joan" (my favorite song) is sung slightly slower but with no less passion than on "Don't Play With Matches". A good solid listening investment, highlights include Dear Joan, Million Miles, Paint me Blue (the guitar solo 3 minutes and 18 seconds into the song is great), and Loss, Strain & Butterflies. Anybody who enjoys the vocals and guitars from MB20 will love this CD, as well as original TS fans. Wonderful!

I loved this album, Rob Thomas writes great songs, and he surely can sing them well. My English is not perfect, so don't judge me if I say something sense-less. I love the song "Loss, Strain & Butterflies", in fact all songs are cool. This is some of the best CD's I got this year. :o]

Please don't waste your money on this cd unless you are collecting. The sound quality is so poor that it is completely distracting. In addition to that, that last thing I want to hear while listening to a song like "Dear Joan" is some drunk guys whooping and hollering like it was footbal game. The ONLY good point I can think of is that you get to hear Rob talk a little. But even that can't get me to recommend wasting money on this cd. It should never have been put out, its like buying a damaged product. Spend your money on any of the newer cd's, which are great, or try "Don't Play with Matches".

As far as a "live" recording goes, Rob Thomas and the gang truly know how to do it right. Not since Soul Asylum has a live band put together such a meritage of heart felt rock and roll. Till they tour again (MB20), keep this disc spinning.

Rob Thomas is a great/good song writer. If you like Matchbox 20, or Matchbox Twenty, these songs are less pop, but more intense in writing, listen to Dear Joan, very creepy. Forever December is a great song.
Rob Thomas has the best voice in music today, well, besides George Michael.

if you like mb20 or rob thomas you'll love this one. rob was as soulful then as he is now. the best is hearing 3am then and now ..its hard to deside which one is better.finally i'd just like to add that i think rob thomas is here to stay