Alive, Has anyone heard the CD?? Options

[mattyeagles]

If possible, can we keep this thread to discuss music and not argue with each other?

[+Ed+]

I am listening to this album right now.

[+Ed+]

Stand ak.a. Do This Anymore by Nickelback

I havehardly EVER heard such a RUSHED album with such tremendous vocals, nice pop melodies, horrible musicians and awful texts

[Merica]

I'll be honest, I ended up skipping through most of it. I'll have to give it a few more spins but on first listen I find it to be a giant ball of "meh", save for Zion and Grace which are cool enough. Other songs are just... very safe music, usual simple lyrics, some okay melodies but.... you know. Meh.

Get back to me later. Maybe my mind will have changed.

This post has been edited by Merica: Jun 25 2010, 4:52 pm

[PurdueSteve]

I'm listening to it.

Here's the album disc and back cover, for those interested.

It sounds like Simon Cowell was the lead on this thing. I didn't watch American Idol last season, was Ed a contestant and did he win? It's frustrating because he is/was so talented. His voice sounds good, but this is more pop than SFBM by a mile. Even on the songs with heavy, semi-hard guitar. The pop-lyrics, song structure and style just makes me think he's just aiming for a totally different fanbase.

I want to give my disclaimer. While not anywhere near as much of a fan of Ed as Nick(SJN) as a person I've been able to tolerate Ed's transformation musically. I obviously prefer the MJ - TDTH Ed, but BOP and even SFBM were worth owning to me. I didn't down right hate it. I like Zion and even Grace.

I wanted to give this disclaimer so that my comments on the songs below would be relative. I can't believe I'm so critical and harsh of his album, but it's really the worst thing, in my opinion, that he has put his name on. The best song is Zion. Tracks 7,8,11 are generic christian radio-play pop. This album makes me wonder about the whole law-suit thing, because if this is 100% Ed's work, I find it hard that he actually had 100% creative control of Live for BOP and SFBM. Each of those three are notably better albums than Alive.

1) Drive is alright, I guess. Would suck for a live song, but probably one of the better songs on this album
2) The Great Beyond - Sounds like Kelly Clarkson Pop..... from 1982
3) Grace - We've all heard it
4) Stand - Sounds hard on the guitar, had potential, but goes too pop in the singing
5) Drink (Everlasting Love) - One of the better songs on the album, which is sad. Tolerable-ish SFBM-ish
6) Zion - Probably the best song on the album, vocals sound re-mixed (but the same recording) from the version we had earlier
7) In your light - Generic Pop, I just can't get into it
8) Just in Time - Starts off horrible (verses), get's better but still more cliche' trendy pop
9) Rome - Tolerable if you could tolerate SFBM
10) Soul Whispers - One of the better songs, maybe 3rd best IMO. Softer Ballad kinda song thus less radio-play formulaic. Although "Soul Whispers" as a lyric is tacky
11) Fire on the Mountain - More generic sounding pop

[TheBeacon]

So its 11 tracks then. What about a secret song? We seem to know of 13 tracks actually recorded now. We have still not heard Eat Your Love or A New World.

[Pokey]

Ok so I have it, and before Nick starts demanding to know how anyone outside of Holland could POSSIBLY have it, I'll be honest with you Nick .... I got a knock on the door last night, as I opened it there was nobody there but the album was sitting on my door step.. I looked up to just catch a quick flash of a bald head disappearing around the corner .. Now I'm not saying it was Ed himself, but I can only tell you what I saw.

Before I review this, I'm just gonna say that I'm not doing this to delibritly shit on the album, I haven't even heard it yet and I will type this as I listen to it for the first time. Just honest thoughts.

Drive - Only took about 3 seconds into the album before we got some "ooooooooo'ing", terrible sound and I wish Ed just wouldn't make it. It's not outright terrible, it's generic and very Idol like (I assume this will be used to describe almost every song on the album). The transition from verse to chorus is quite good in an "epic" type of way. Kelly Clarkson did it well too. 4/10

The Great Beyond - There is already a cage match set up, in it is Home, Love Shines, The River, OK?, You Are Not Alone ... now they are being joined by a new one, The Great Beyond, this one is up there with the worst he's ever done. The lyrics are just painful. The upbeat tempo just doesn't work. The drumming serves its purpose I know, it's just there to keep a beat in this song but after so long hearing Gracey pounding the skins and making the drumming in Live songs really interesting it's just sad. 1/10

Grace - We've all hear it, it's generic but not disgraceful. Not much more you can say .. it's a sad state of affairs when the music is so bland that you just can't figure out what more you can say about it. The line "Every time I feel the sun shine I thank the lord up above" is just bad. 4/10

Stand - Man I love Chris Dou... wait it's Ed. I imagine this song and Grace was what Ed thought was "bringing the Rock" on this album. It isn't. It's another attempt at making an epic sounding song. Once again it's epicly generic. It just doesn't rock ... it gets loud, but loudness doesn't equate to rocking. Once again in a song that is SUPPOSED to rock, the drumming is woeful. 3/10

Drink - Wasn't a fan of this one from the accoustic version and nothing much has changed. One thing I must say so far is that Ed's singing has been a step up from the last little while. The production is better too than SFBM. The song is boring, I imagine that if I had JUST met a girl and I was in the process of falling in love that this song might speak to me or something if I was on a new love high. But as Morrissey sang "It says nothing to me about my life". Which isn't a fault with the song, it's just not for me. That doesn't stop it from being generic. 4/10

Zion - Once again I prefered the accoustic version. But this is the first song that seems different and also seems slightly out of place on the album, which isn't a bad thing. I like the vibe that it's a "work song". The piano is kinda a nice touch which wasn't as prominant in the version we all have. The drumming once again lets it down, maybe thats why I prefered it accoustic because Remy or Ramy or whatever the creepy fuck's name is wasn't there to put his big old mark of 1 dimensional drumming on it. Either way, it's not terrible at all and is probably the best song on the album so far. 6/10

In Your Light - I wonder what time Doctor Who airs tonight? It's the season finale and I'm really looking forward to seeing how The Doctor escapes the pandorica. Oh wait, theres a song playing. The fact my mind was able to wander to other things like this when I am listening to an album by someone I once called one of my musical hero's is sad. Once upon a time putting a new album on by one of my favorite artists was a sacred thing. I think there might be a little more space in the cage match. Jesus this is terrible. I bet this never gets played at gigs, it just screams filler. This song also seems to have the honor of being the longest song on the album at an epic 4.24. 1/10

Just In Time - sigh. Is this not over yet? The best thing I can say about this song is that it does have a catchy chorus. I feel like this album is just relentlessly trying to pull my mouth into a smile and it's not working. It's like continuously being beat over the head with nothing at all. at 3.09 this is the shortest song on the album and it's over now, and just in time! 2/10

Rome - This is a little bit more interesting. It's a strange song. For some reason it reminds me of being a really bad TDTH out take. Which I guess is kind of like a back handed compliment. I don't outright hate it. It's just more about love shining and such. I don't quite get why it's called Rome. It could be called just about anything really. 4/10

Fire On The Mountain - For fuck's sake Ed shut up. There's actually a kind of nice musical intro and he's going "oooooooo, ohhhhhh yeah-eeee-yyeeah lord". God damnit. Again it's not terrible, the chorus just makes me think "Wherever you go, Whatever you do, I will be right here waiting for you". The fact it reminds me a little of Bryan Adams is not a good thing. 3/10

Soul Whispers - It's a terrible title. I listen to a lot of non english music. A lot of it is chinese, when they do a song in English it's not as if they have broken english or anything, but the titles are things like Soul Whispers, things that they might think would sound good in English but instead sound awkward. wtf is a soul whisper? But the song isn't all that bad I guess. It just doesn't hit me hard and doesn't feel emotional. 4/10

New World - This sounds like every song on the album so far. It all just sounds the same, by the time the chorus is about to hit it could be the chorus of Just in Time or Rome or The Great Beyond, it all just seems so interchangeable. Just a nothing song ... I heard Nick say this song rocks, how he can think this is what rock is but dismiss a song like Closer from TGF blows my mind. 2/10


So in summary ... There's just no god damn substance, no depth, nothing to make me go "damn I'm gonna get more and more out of this on each listen". That's what I love, albums that give you more and more on each listen .. like a really good movie that you watch the second time and go "wow I never picked up on that the first time!" and there is a whole new level of appreciation all over again. This is all just surface deep. It's really sad ... the themes of the album just don't speak to me ..God, Water, Love, Daughters, Church ... they might really hit home to devote Christians, but I'm affraid the man has completely lost me.

38/120

[Merica]

Add an extra couple of marks to Grace because, despite its generic nature, I dig it - and Pokey's review can count for me too. Expressed pretty much everything I was too lazy to.

[Aitkens]

Great review Pokey. I could have told you that before you even listened to it. At least then I could have saved you from such horror.

[ItchyTriggerFinger]

In the hopes that the album will appeal to my varied tastes, I'm still going to buy it. But the scathing reviews thus far lead me to believe this could be a one and done deal where I'm concerned.

Thing is, I'm not necessarily completely averse to a pop-ish sound. But at the same time, it's going to be hard listening to an album and constantly thinking about what might have been. I already went through that with Songs from the Black Mountain. I didn't hate it as many did. But I kept wishing that it would sound like the Live I loved so much. Hearing the songs in concert helped, but the CD spends more time on my rack than in my CD player compared to any other Live album I own. It fits the "I have to be in the mood" category for me.

[Deku]

Ok so I have it, and before Nick starts demanding to know how anyone outside of Holland could POSSIBLY have it, I'll be honest with you Nick .... I got a knock on the door last night, as I opened it there was nobody there but the album was sitting on my door step.. I looked up to just catch a quick flash of a bald head disappearing around the corner .. Now I'm not saying it was Ed himself, but I can only tell you what I saw.

Before I review this, I'm just gonna say that I'm not doing this to delibritly shit on the album, I haven't even heard it yet and I will type this as I listen to it for the first time. Just honest thoughts.

Drive - Only took about 3 seconds into the album before we got some "ooooooooo'ing", terrible sound and I wish Ed just wouldn't make it. It's not outright terrible, it's generic and very Idol like (I assume this will be used to describe almost every song on the album). The transition from verse to chorus is quite good in an "epic" type of way. Kelly Clarkson did it well too. 4/10

The Great Beyond - There is already a cage match set up, in it is Home, Love Shines, The River, OK?, You Are Not Alone ... now they are being joined by a new one, The Great Beyond, this one is up there with the worst he's ever done. The lyrics are just painful. The upbeat tempo just doesn't work. The drumming serves its purpose I know, it's just there to keep a beat in this song but after so long hearing Gracey pounding the skins and making the drumming in Live songs really interesting it's just sad. 1/10

Grace - We've all hear it, it's generic but not disgraceful. Not much more you can say .. it's a sad state of affairs when the music is so bland that you just can't figure out what more you can say about it. The line "Every time I feel the sun shine I thank the lord up above" is just bad. 4/10

Stand - Man I love Chris Dou... wait it's Ed. I imagine this song and Grace was what Ed thought was "bringing the Rock" on this album. It isn't. It's another attempt at making an epic sounding song. Once again it's epicly generic. It just doesn't rock ... it gets loud, but loudness doesn't equate to rocking. Once again in a song that is SUPPOSED to rock, the drumming is woeful. 3/10

Drink - Wasn't a fan of this one from the accoustic version and nothing much has changed. One thing I must say so far is that Ed's singing has been a step up from the last little while. The production is better too than SFBM. The song is boring, I imagine that if I had JUST met a girl and I was in the process of falling in love that this song might speak to me or something if I was on a new love high. But as Morrissey sang "It says nothing to me about my life". Which isn't a fault with the song, it's just not for me. That doesn't stop it from being generic. 4/10

Zion - Once again I prefered the accoustic version. But this is the first song that seems different and also seems slightly out of place on the album, which isn't a bad thing. I like the vibe that it's a "work song". The piano is kinda a nice touch which wasn't as prominant in the version we all have. The drumming once again lets it down, maybe thats why I prefered it accoustic because Remy or Ramy or whatever the creepy fuck's name is wasn't there to put his big old mark of 1 dimensional drumming on it. Either way, it's not terrible at all and is probably the best song on the album so far. 6/10

In Your Light - I wonder what time Doctor Who airs tonight? It's the season finale and I'm really looking forward to seeing how The Doctor escapes the pandorica. Oh wait, theres a song playing. The fact my mind was able to wander to other things like this when I am listening to an album by someone I once called one of my musical hero's is sad. Once upon a time putting a new album on by one of my favorite artists was a sacred thing. I think there might be a little more space in the cage match. Jesus this is terrible. I bet this never gets played at gigs, it just screams filler. This song also seems to have the honor of being the longest song on the album at an epic 4.24. 1/10

Just In Time - sigh. Is this not over yet? The best thing I can say about this song is that it does have a catchy chorus. I feel like this album is just relentlessly trying to pull my mouth into a smile and it's not working. It's like continuously being beat over the head with nothing at all. at 3.09 this is the shortest song on the album and it's over now, and just in time! 2/10

Rome - This is a little bit more interesting. It's a strange song. For some reason it reminds me of being a really bad TDTH out take. Which I guess is kind of like a back handed compliment. I don't outright hate it. It's just more about love shining and such. I don't quite get why it's called Rome. It could be called just about anything really. 4/10

Fire On The Mountain - For fuck's sake Ed shut up. There's actually a kind of nice musical intro and he's going "oooooooo, ohhhhhh yeah-eeee-yyeeah lord". God damnit. Again it's not terrible, the chorus just makes me think "Wherever you go, Whatever you do, I will be right here waiting for you". The fact it reminds me a little of Bryan Adams is not a good thing. 3/10

Soul Whispers - It's a terrible title. I listen to a lot of non english music. A lot of it is chinese, when they do a song in English it's not as if they have broken english or anything, but the titles are things like Soul Whispers, things that they might think would sound good in English but instead sound awkward. wtf is a soul whisper? But the song isn't all that bad I guess. It just doesn't hit me hard and doesn't feel emotional. 4/10

New World - This sounds like every song on the album so far. It all just sounds the same, by the time the chorus is about to hit it could be the chorus of Just in Time or Rome or The Great Beyond, it all just seems so interchangeable. Just a nothing song ... I heard Nick say this song rocks, how he can think this is what rock is but dismiss a song like Closer from TGF blows my mind. 2/10
So in summary ... There's just no god damn substance, no depth, nothing to make me go "damn I'm gonna get more and more out of this on each listen". That's what I love, albums that give you more and more on each listen .. like a really good movie that you watch the second time and go "wow I never picked up on that the first time!" and there is a whole new level of appreciation all over again. This is all just surface deep. It's really sad ... the themes of the album just don't speak to me ..God, Water, Love, Daughters, Church ... they might really hit home to devote Christians, but I'm affraid the man has completely lost me.

38/120

Must say I thought it a tad cynical that you wrote your reviews upon first listen rather than just sitting back and taking it in, but the fact that you have it at all shows you were willing to give it a chance and I thank you because your thoughts confirmed my suspicions from listening to the 30 second samples. Think I'll avoid this for now

[Pokey]

Just a couple of things .. I don't have anything against pop as a style of music. Pop can be fun without having to be overly in depth. But there is a way for pop to be creative and not lame. I stated before I'm a big Lady Gaga fan and she's probably the biggest pop star in the world at the moment. I love a lot of French pop, -M-, Aliezee, Melanie Pain etc... Lily Allen, Custard .. etc, so it's nothing against the genre of music. I just don't think Ed does it well.

Secondly, I know Deku you said that it's a little cynical to write the review upon first listen. It's sad but I've listend to it twice since then and enjoyed it even less on both those listens. I did mention that it just isn't the sort of music to me that will grow on me. Sometimes you do listen to a song for the first time and even though you might not straight away go "wow this is terrible!" you don't exactly love it, but theres SOMETHING about it that makes you think "maybe i'll give it a few listens and it might change.." whether it changes for the better or worse, there is definitely a lot of music that makes you think you need more listens. Ed's album just doesn't have that, it doesnt need more than the first listen to know everything about it. The only thing you'd get out of more listens is memorising the lyrics.

[Sakhmet2]

If possible, can we keep this thread to discuss music and not argue with each other?

To properly respond to this likelihood I would need one of those emoticons that rolls around laughing hysterically.

It's a touching sentiment, though

[Pokey]

To properly respond to this likelihood I would need one of those emoticons that rolls around laughing hysterically.

It's a touching sentiment, though

I think I at least deserve some credit for trying to keep my review purely about the music and didn't let any talk of court cases or merchendise sales or anything like that seep in

[Liveman94]

Just a couple of things .. I don't have anything against pop as a style of music. Pop can be fun without having to be overly in depth. But there is a way for pop to be creative and not lame. I stated before I'm a big Lady Gaga fan and she's probably the biggest pop star in the world at the moment. I love a lot of French pop, -M-, Aliezee, Melanie Pain etc... Lily Allen, Custard .. etc, so it's nothing against the genre of music. I just don't think Ed does it well.

Secondly, I know Deku you said that it's a little cynical to write the review upon first listen. It's sad but I've listend to it twice since then and enjoyed it even less on both those listens. I did mention that it just isn't the sort of music to me that will grow on me. Sometimes you do listen to a song for the first time and even though you might not straight away go "wow this is terrible!" you don't exactly love it, but theres SOMETHING about it that makes you think "maybe i'll give it a few listens and it might change.." whether it changes for the better or worse, there is definitely a lot of music that makes you think you need more listens. Ed's album just doesn't have that, it doesnt need more than the first listen to know everything about it. The only thing you'd get out of more listens is memorising the lyrics.

while I respect your opinion mate - regarding the album it wouldve had more weight had you listnd the 3times or whatever then posted. On subsequent listens now u are almost duty bound to dislike it in order to maintain ur previous statements.

I think what you say Is probly more than a fair-call on the albums quality - however and this may be what you refer to above but in the context of 'idol/daughtry/nickelback' pop how does the album and how do the songs rate?

Also, I have a theory on 'Zion': that the reason it is so magnetic for live fans inspite of the fact it's only average is that it is the only song by the real Ed Kowalczyk - as in not a poptastic manifestation of the man we once knew...perhaps written with or in the same style as Live songs of the past - it may even represent what live may have sounded like today with genuine Ed instead of the plastic solo artist guy - imagine the rest of the boys behind it? It'd be an all out return to glory similar in punch to 'believe' the two songs couldve formed a strong basis for a new Live album. Anyway I hadn't heard alive but am looking forward to it and I'm hopeful I'll like it a little more than you do... good review though.