Search - Ed Kowalczyk :: Alive

Ed is 'Alive' with this release

Robert Rizzo | 07/07/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been a Live fan for as long as I've been a music fan. Through all the ups and downs, they are without a doubt my favorite band creating such phenominal albums as The Distance to Here and Throwing Copper. Since there breakup almost a year ago, I've been following both Ed's solo project and The Gracious Few (Chad, Chad, and Pat from Live along with Kevin and Sean from Candlebox) with much anticipation. This album without a doubt didn't disappoint!



1. Drive - The song is a great opening track and sets the mood for the entire album. If there was one track on the album that reminds me of Live, this is it. Mellow verses with a hard driving chorus (no pun intending). It has great guitar work accompanied with Ed's powerful voice.



2. The Great Beyond - This is probably one of my least favorite songs on album. Although, it was much better listening to it the 2nd time when I focused on the lyrics. It's really not that bad. "Something so clear as love / Could Become So Vague / And it Don't Matter What We Do / And it don't matter what we say / Without surrender we will never find our way"



3. Grace - This is the 1st single on the album and is probably his most radio friendly song since The Dolphin's Cry. Really not much to say here, other than it's a great song.



4. Stand - This was the 1st song on the album that I didn't hear prior to release thanks to either concerts or youtube. This is one of my favorites from the album. The chorus is awesome and it is probably the best concert song from Alive.



5. Drink (Everlasting Love) - This song was co-written by Chris Daughtry. It's a nice, catchy tune.



6. Zion - I've loved this song since I saw it performed acoustically in concert last year. It is however a bit overproduced and that drops the quality level a little, but still one of the best songs on the album. It really picks about halfway through with some heavy guitars and Ed's voice when he yells "He's Gonna Run"...it just shows how Ed has one of the greatest voices in music.



7. In Your Light - This is a very touching song inspired by his love for his wife and children. Classic Ed lyrics!



8. Just In Time - It's OK. Not really too memorable



9. Rome - This is a weird track because I like the verses, but the chorus is a bit annoying. That's odd for Ed because he's done a good job through his entire career creating fantasic chorus'.



10. Soul Whispers - This is where the album picks up again. Soul Whispers has a very haunting feel to it, which reminds me of the Secret Samadhi era. It's a great song with some fantastic lyrics such as "Time to reach for that Love / That was there in your infant eyes / Time to believe again". Maybe the best track on the entire album.



11. Fire on the Mountain - A really good song, although I would have probably reversed this with Soul Whispers and had that close the album.



Overall, I really like this album. Most of the songs are really good and the one's that aren't...well, they aren't bad and are definitely listenable. Throughout the album he sings about his faith and the love of his family and depending on what type of music you like, you are probably going to either love it or hate it. I recommend this album. It's worth a listen or 100."

Sounds like Live - is that enough?

Dony150 | 07/13/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Alright, so this album is pretty good. Eddie K went off on his own and well, not much changed. That could be good or bad - depends on how you enjoyed the last two Live albums. The good: Ed's on the vocals, and it's like Live never broke up! The bad: There is not much progression or experimentation here from those previous albums.



Here's where I stand - I really enjoyed Birds of Prey (apparently in the minority here), but I couldn't bring myself to buy Black Mountain because I'm not into their softer "pop", and I kinda disliked the single (seriously guys, we've already gone to the riverside, ran to the water, not again...)



In style I think this album is comparable to Birds of Prey, with a couple softer songs mixed in. I like that. There is passion in the vocals, the guitars wail at appropriate moments, and there are some catchy rythms. Lyrically/thematically it is also similar. Birds had a great Christianish single in Heaven - Alive has Grace. Remember the anti-war What Are We Fighting For - Alive has Stand (Chorus: "If you could stand tall with me, what are we fighting for..."). I definitely had that nostalgia when Ed is singing about love again - ahh, how familiar. But while I consistantly liked almost all of the songs on Brids and previous Live albums, I don't know if I can say the same for Alive. And that's the real catch.



So if you've been a Live fan since the 90's, sorry guys, this is no Throwing Copper. But if you like Live's newest stuff, you'll definitely enjoy some of the songs on this album, and you'd do well to check it out."

Ed's Soul is Alive on this Album!!!

Shelley Merz | Toledo, OH | 07/07/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It is wonderful to see Ed back to his songwriting on this album. Alive showcases the true talent of Ed as a musician. The songs are full of passion & show his return to the stage as a performer. "Grace" shows that we can have faith, even in the hardest or darkest of times, while "Zion" is soulful and full of spirit. "Alive" is a return for Ed to his roots...his love of making music for the fans. I had the awesome opportunity to see Ed perform in NYC the day of the album release and it was so great to see his true excitement over this album. It is also wonderful to see how much into the music he gets when he performs. The new band works so well together and it really feels like they've been creating music together for a long time, rather than just a few months. Many Live fans have been waiting a very long time for "Alive" and 7/6/10 marks a day in history for Ed Kowalczyk fans everywhere. May there be many more years of Ed's success as a solo artist!!!!!"