MY insights on the new album, after a handful of listens Options

[edstipe]

I'm going to jump on what Gertjan said in Dan's thread and add to it a bit.

Thanks for the review Dan. Having heard the album myself (once) I agree it has a general sound of poppy songs with a love theme, but I like the way they bring it out. No cheesy ballads or acoustics but good guitars, nice hooks, many more low vocals from Ed and not too much falsetto's. And to me it sounded much more cohesive than BOP but that's hard to judge from one listen.

I've heard the album (in its entirety) a decent handful of times now. Yes, it is clearly a pop/adult contemporary album, as has already been made clear. It's far from Secret Samadhi, but I wouldn't liken it (at all) to Birds of Pray, simply because BoP came off -- to me -- as a bit stale, uncreative, forced, and lackluster. Even "Like I Do" seemed to try a little to hard to be a song written to appease long-time fans, not necessarily something written from a burst of creativity.

I would liken SFBM, then, more to The Distance to Here. There are no hard-rockers on SFBM in the style of Where Fishes Go or even Sparkle, but the honesty of the songs on SFBM reminds me a lot of the sense I got when listening to TDTH the first few times. As Gertjan stated, the cheesiness is mostly removed (say what you want about The River), and the presence of excellent pop melodies, hooks, and vocals really bring the record to life. It's not Throwing Copper Live, nor is it V or BoP Live -- it's catchy, sincere, unforced pop, and that's not a bad thing, unless old-school Live is the only Live that is going to appease you.

My favorites, from what I've heard, are "Show" (if you like the live recordings going around, I think you'll be pleased with the studio version), "Get Ready" (one of those songs that is easy to fall in love with on first listen!), "Love Shines" (might not be a favorite if I hadn't heard the live tracks first, but after I got used to them it was easy for me to appreciate the studio version), and "Night of Nights" (strong way to close the album).

Overall, my analysis of the general reception of this album is this: those whose like/love of the band is centered on TC and SS, and pretty much exclusive of their old stuff, are not going to like it. Like I said, the songs just aren't in the same style. There seems to be a lot of people on this board who detest the fact that Live ever went away from the 90's version of the band -- those are the people who are going to shoot SFBM down as garbage.

Those who are solely heavy metal / hard rock fans who just happened to stumble on Live early and got into the band because of their heavy stuff may as well stay away from the album. It's not for you.

Later era fans, say from TDTH forward, will likely appreciate SFBM and regard it as a steady progression from their previous two albums. These will be the fans who catch on quickly to certain songs from the record and, over time, will regard the album as a whole as one Live's best. People who liked V and/or Birds of Pray are going to have a hard time not liking this one, because the style is somewhat similar, but of a much higher quality.

Those who are not centered on any particular Live record/style and are open minded about Live being a pop/adult contemporary band will likely enjoy the album as well. Its catchiness and overall strength as a solid pop record should win them over, though it may take a few listens before that happens.

I also believe that the record -- if the singles are chosen correctly -- will create a lot of new Live fans. I do see the potential for some of the songs to become very strong singles if given enough radio/tv play. According to the person who allowed me to listen to the record, Sony thinks the same way, and is putting a lot into the promotion/release of the album as a result. They honestly believe that this record can become a "dark horse" heavy seller, which is hopefully an insight into its potential.

There you have it.

[SJN1279]

According to the person who allowed me to listen to the record, Sony thinks the same way, and is putting a lot into the promotion/release of the album as a result. They honestly believe that this record can become a "dark horse" heavy seller, which is hopefully an insight into its potential.

I like the sound of that!!!!