V [Enhanced]

Live | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 18, 2001)
• Original Release Date: 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Mca
• ASIN: B00005NZKG
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (291 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #58,896 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Intro

2. Simple Creed

3. Deep Enough

4. Like A Soldier

5. People Like You

6. Transmit Your Love

7. Forever May Not Be Long Enough

8. Call Me A Fool

9. Flow

10. The Ride

11. Nobody Knows

12. Ok?

13. Overcome

14. Hero Of Love

15. Bonus Track

Editorial Reviews

(1124852)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LIVE; art and spirit uncompromising and hopeful!, April 11, 2006

By 

K. A. Turner "LoveistheOnlyLaw" (Idaho and Washington) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: V (Audio CD)

'V', at first entitled 'Ecstatic Fanatic', is a departure for LIVE on the scale if, not the nature, of 'Secret Samadhi's melodic weirdness, though on the complete other end of the sonic spectrum. What ties them together is the ballsiness of such a change of pace, and the wonderfully experimental feel of both; a refusal to bow to the status quo and expectations of the business. Things like a duet with Tricky, an attempt to rap about spiritual love, and wonderful timing a la 'Throwing Copper' (with regard to 'Overcome', anyway) combine to make this an album that at first throws all expectations, and then without warning, begins to grow on you at an exponential rate. If you give it the second and third chance it deserves rather than tossing it aside after the first listen tells you this is FAR different from other LIVE offerings, this could become one of your favourite LIVE albums. Or at least it did for me; I listen to it when I want LIVE--high energy! LOL.

A lot of people (read: critics) slam the band for,(A) having an 'inconsistent recording history', or (B) being from the grunge era.

My rebuttal to (A) is: Too many folk in the music business can't seem to get past the biggest selling album disease; they compare all later efforts to the one that broke the charts. I personally wouldn't have remained a LIVE fan of this degree throughout the years if all they had done was release a 'Throwing Copper' clone every couple of years. I happen to LIKE the fact that LIVE gives the money-driven industry the finger and goes on growing and evolving--and letting their music evolve WITH their lives and ideas--without regard to trying to duplicate the public success of their best known effort. This rather punk ethos (for a solid rock band anyway) is called 'not pandering to the moneymen' and 'artistic integrity over public consumption'. The subsequent albums have sold well, though they haven't had the lucky timing that 'Throwing Copper' had to fit so well into what was happening in popular music at the time. Only jaded critics who care only about numbers would call these modest successes 'failures' only because they weren't 'Throwing Copper's with different covers. Far too many bands and artists have been murdered by their labels forcing or pressuring them to recycle, rerecord, and play the same stuff that won them accolades in their breakthrough efforts, regardless of whether they had since grown or changed; in the process losing that edge of anger or wonder or whatever it was that first captured the public imagination. LIVE has chosen to be comfortable with the fans that 'get' them rather than allowing someone to force them into an artistically stultifying mould for the sake of sales alone; this is called 'not selling out', and for that I applaud them.

As for (B): Though they happened to have emerged into the public eye in the same era as Nirvana and Pearl Jam, et al, LIVE never really fit the grunge model with anything but a tendency to ignore the interview and paparazzi angle of business (ie they refused to [...]themselves out to the media, instead preferring to concentrate on the MUSIC, shocking though that may be!), and a wonderful sort of ambivalent anger at the socio-religious status quo. This anger was the reason many folk loved 'Throwing Copper', and dislike later albums, in which the anger has faded to a message of Hope and Unconditonal Love. If consistent anger without growth is what these folk are looking for, then obviously a band that grows and changes is not for them. And for those who call lead singer Ed Kowalczyk a Kurt Cobain wannabe; they have obviously never listened for a moment to the lyrics and melodic spirit of his songs anyway.

Which brings me to another main criticism of LIVE. Some folk are turned off by the overt spirituality of Ed's lyrics, calling it 'preachy'. Critics also slam LIVE for their lyrics, saying "if we wanted preaching, we'd go to church". But EddieK is not preaching; he neverdoes. What he is doing is sharing the most intimate moments of his life: the moments when the Spirit touched him and made him whole; and in knowing how that feels, how uplifting it is in a moment of confusion, I find these lyrics inspiring.

As a long-term Live fan, I find them life-altering; and in fact, this fourth album, 'Distance to Here', quite literally saved my life. Many I've spoken to feel the same way; for though Live as a band name is hard to 'google', the FriendsofLive are out there and being uplifted daily by the work the band, and EddieK with his lyrics in particular, do. They make the world better just by being in it...and by being willing to SHARE! If communication and understanding can save the world, then Live are right on the avant guarde, with U2, the Indigo Girls, and a few others.

So all I can say for those critical minds who find Live's lyrics 'pretentious and sentimental' and 'drippy softcore preachery'... for them I can feel only pity, for as far as I am concerned, the message of Love is one for everyone, if we can but let it in. If the lyrics don't speak to these people, fine; but they do speak to some of us; so deeply that they bring tears to our eyes. So the fact that these critics are arrogant enough tell everyone they meet not to bother listening long enough to make their own decision/connection (or not) with the music, to me, is a sin. Just because they got nothing out of it, doesn't mean we are all alike...thank God! Yes, we are all different...but Love is Love.
Thank you EddieK and Live, for lifting me up.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars well...it's different, October 4, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: V (Audio CD)

As soon as I saw the cd, I said, "Oh yes, it will be mine". But after listening to it a few times, I don't know what to make of it. While I am all for artists expanding their limits, some expansion should have been more thoroughly edited. For the most part I like the album, and in time, maybe I will really get into it. But right now, it is still different. Lyrically, the album doesn't live up to the previous Live standard, but for the most part the lyrics work. The rap stuff is energetic from a musical standpoint, but the genre sets harsh limits on what Kowalczyk is able to do with his superb voice. In fact, the main issue I have with the album is the lack of contrast in the vocals. Instead of the rap expanding his vocal prowess, it simply limited a sound that he has accomplished.

For those who were expecting to find the "Throwing Copper" style in this album will not be happy. Every Live album has had a different style, and V is just super different from their earlier work.

This album had the potential of being great, and fell flat at good. Lyrically, there is much to be desired, and the album's sound seems to have limited the variations in song sound that existed before. The album has more of a "this is the hip hop sound", this is the "slow sound" rather than the twists that would prevent the pigeon-holing of songs.

For people who just get albums for the popular songs, this is not the Live album to get. But if you want to hear an attempt by an established group to incorporate the modern sound, then you might get something out of it. Since I haven't really gotten into the modern pop sound, maybe this album being limited shows me that I am not missing much. Just Live "Pissing in the mainstream" I suppose.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Give the guys a break...please!!!, October 24, 2001

By 

Shannon (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: V (Audio CD)

As diverse as Live's five albums are, is how diverse their fans are. After reading only the first several pages of reviews, I noticed that each of their previous albums were noted as a reviewer's favorite. It makes me wonder then why so many are pining for a 2001 version of "Jewelry", "Copper", "Samadhi", or "The Distance". Live's evolving creativity and artistry are 2 of the main reasons they are one of my favorite bands. How many bad reviews would they get if they kept churning out a new "Jewelry" every two years? If you want to listen to "Copper", then put it in your CD player! But don't knock "V" because it's nothing like the first 4. Sure, "V" has a lot of rap/techno/etc. flavor. The walls between musical styles are not as impermeable as they used to be. Who would have imagined Sting and Stevie Nicks working with Puff Daddy and Destiny's Child? Not me, but it happened! I commend Live for their growth as artists and individuals. I will continue to buy their CD's, and I will continue to listen to each one that came before.