I love V. Options

[Merica]

Yup, no lies, tricks, or rick rolls; I love V.

Today whilst working on post-production logging for my film I rocked V twice in a row, all the way through. It was cracking. I know many don't like it, but I really dig the explosion of creativity. It's all over the place, the album. There's some rock, rap, techno, even middle-eastern flavours here and there. I think it all mashes together in the form of a pretty decent roller coaster ride, with some really cool lyrics in there (admittedly, there are also a few doozies). In terms of songs, in particular, and I care not for any haters this might bring on, I really dig Flow and Ok?. They're both just great exmaples of the creativity boom Ed had. Only song I question is Call Me a Fool. Catchy as it is, it stands out as slightly weak amongst the rest, and his voice sounds kinda sharp and somewhat grating throughout it.

But yes, I am a fan of V, in all it's mismatched cheesy glory. I fell back in love with Live this afternoon. Not that I ever fell out of love, but today I just got really high on Live. Great stuff!

[Pokey]

I hear you ... V has it's moments, for me its a very personal album because of the time in my life in which is came out, I'm not sure how I'd feel towards it if this wern't the case. Flow is a song that really just transports me to a good place and time ... it's really weird I can almost always capture this one feeling I had from one particular time I heard it whenever I listen to it now. I was going through a really shit time, I was barely getting out of bed .. a friend managed to convince me to come to a football match and I dragged myself out of bed, I had V in my discman and was on my train to the football .. it was an overcast day and I was between South Yarra and Richmond station (for you Melbourne people) and Flow came on and the sun broke through the clouds and for some reason I just for a few moments felt really, really good .. I was out and about, I was going to see my first footy match in about a year (a good win over Melbourne too at that) and now whenever I hear Flow it captures that.

The album itself I do dig a lot of the experimentation .. I think there was a lot that went right .. Simple Creed as a more traditional Live song with Tricky thrown in for good measures .. I like Deep Enough's crazy energy that is unmatched by any Live song IMO ... crappy lyrics yes but they don't all have to be deep and meaningful shit. The beatlesesque Nobody Knows, The middle eastern/Indian tinge of The Ride, the beautiful Overcome, for some reason that I cant explain Like a Soldiers cheesiness endeared itself to me and I really like Hero of Love ... Forever May not be long enough has some cool deep intimidating vocals, I found the music really interesting in the sense that it just sounds unlike anything Live had done before .. I really thought it was brave breaking away from everything they've done that made them successful ... people say this album was Live's attempt at going mainstream and such but I really dont see it.

However theres the bad ... no matter how I look at it now, OK's painful "rapping" , People like you's shameless name dropping, Transmit your love's utter blandness, and the above mentioned Call me a fool ... to me these songs absolutely stink.
I put V above BOP and SFBM ... BOP has Lighthouse, Like I Do and my major weakspot for Everytime I See your face, but to me the rest of the album is just a bit blah .. SFBM is just flat out lame. But V had a little something, not everyone's cup of tea, but yeah ... basically I agree with the original post

[+Ed+]

God damn, each time I read Eamon, I sense a Mozzo fan.

V is a good album. It was the second album by Live which I managed to hear, slowly digging out the information about the band and getting to know myself, slowly growing up together with the music hissing through the speakers.

Once again, Mr Herzelied had a very good portrayal of what is called "capturinig the moment". I pretty much want some of Live's songs to lose it for me, reminding of the times I spent with my ex-wife, for example. Anyhow, V has nothing to do with it. Purely american sound (of what I thought it was back in 2001), a mixture of a variety of music styles, creating a purely mainstream record, never ment to become popular.

One of my personal highlights for me is for sure the Simple Creed, to which we managed to create a cover to win the Cover Contest here, at FANSOL. Very warm thoughts of thinking each sound over, making a completely new, harder and more bassy version of it. Each time I listen to it, it does bring back the memories.

Anyhow, V is a very good record and I am proud to be a part of it actually, as through the years not only music got into me, but it also started sounding together with me heartbeat.

[Wendy]

Yup, no lies, tricks, or rick rolls; I love V.

And i always thougt i was the only one who liked V !!! It's better and more powerfull than BOP and even SFBM!!!

[Schlomo]

I just listened to this while walking my dog.

I discovered all of Live at once, and I think in the very beginning V may have been my favorite album without really digesting any of them. There's just a ton of energy. The lyrics are pretty weak and there are defenitely some cringeworthy moments but there's a lot of good stuff on here.

Like a Soldier and Simple Creed are awesome.
People like you, if you ignore the name dropping is a pretty kick ass song.
The Ride is underrated in my opinion.
Flow and Hero of love are solid.

I wouldn't reccomend this as someone new to Live but once you're a fan you can appreciate how outside of their norm they went and look past the bad on V to see all the good.

[Hoodstock]

Alright, what the fuck is wrong with you people.? V sucks. This is the album that killed this band in the industry. No matter what they've tried so far they haven't been able to recover.

The only thing worth a damn on the whole album is Simple Creed and even the studio version of that song sucks. It is the worst album that this band has ever put out - bar none.

I remeber when it came out I bought it at midnight and listend to it all the way through. The first thing I thought was that it needed a few more listens and it would grow on me. The next day I gave it two more spins in the car and remember being pissed. I felt like the band had ripped me off and I actually wanted my money back.

I can't even stand trying to listen to it all the way through today. I tried last fall and I couldn't make it. Why listen to these songs when I can pick ANY other Live album?

I wouldn't even ask a friend to listen to it because it is that bad and I wouldn't do that to them.

The lyrics are cheesy, the songs are boring, and the sound is like fingernails on chalboard to the ears. It was an artistic risk that went horribly wrong. The worst part about this album is that some of the songs actually had potential, with nice sounding riffs and beats, but if they did Ed completely ruined them by his lyrics or choice of how to sing them.

One example of this (and there are many) is Flow. Ed''s high pitch repeated Flows makes a good song shit on a CD. I actually wish they would re-record the song without it.

As a whole the album makes no sense and the songs has no connection to anything worthwhile (And I don't want to hear Overcome and 9/11 because it wasn't written for that and I am ashamed that Live tried to capitalize on a tragic event. No matter what you say they tried as hard as hell to connect that song to the event). It is shit on a disc.

To top it off it has the worst album face, book, and cover. Even Live's style was off at the time.

If you don't believe me that this album sucks ask anyone you know that hasn't heard Live to give it a listen all the way through to prove me wrong. Their honest opinion will tell you it's that bad.

[Badman]

I put V above BOP and SFBM ... BOP has Lighthouse, Like I Do and my major weakspot for Everytime I See your face, but to me the rest of the album is just a bit blah .. SFBM is just flat out lame. But V had a little something, not everyone's cup of tea, but yeah ... basically I agree with the original post

Wow... every word is exactly like it came from me.

I have always shamelessly loved V. People like you, (hoodie) don't get it at all. I liked V because it had the balls to be different and I don't care that it killed them for the radio. The radio can't handle different and I love different. Transmit has some awesome, passionate guitarwork and The Ride is good and incorporates the ideals of MJ. Not all songs are good on it, but at least they are fucking memorable. I think all of SFBM and most of BoP sounds exactly the same as the rest of the songs on those albums.

I'm just going to say it, I would rather listen to V than The Distance to Here. V jumps around and I love it for it. TDTH just repeats the same idea over and over.

[Pokey]

Alright, what the fuck is wrong with you people.? V sucks. This is the album that killed this band in the industry. No matter what they've tried so far they haven't been able to recover.

The only thing worth a damn on the whole album is Simple Creed and even the studio version of that song sucks. It is the worst album that this band has ever put out - bar none.

I remeber when it came out I bought it at midnight and listend to it all the way through. The first thing I thought was that it needed a few more listens and it would grow on me. The next day I gave it two more spins in the car and remember being pissed. I felt like the band had ripped me off and I actually wanted my money back.

I can't even stand trying to listen to it all the way through today. I tried last fall and I couldn't make it. Why listen to these songs when I can pick ANY other Live album?

I wouldn't even ask a friend to listen to it because it is that bad and I wouldn't do that to them.

The lyrics are cheesy, the songs are boring, and the sound is like fingernails on chalboard to the ears. It was an artistic risk that went horribly wrong. The worst part about this album is that some of the songs actually had potential, with nice sounding riffs and beats, but if they did Ed completely ruined them by his lyrics or choice of how to sing them.

One example of this (and there are many) is Flow. Ed''s high pitch repeated Flows makes a good song shit on a CD. I actually wish they would re-record the song without it.

As a whole the album makes no sense and the songs has no connection to anything worthwhile (And I don't want to hear Overcome and 9/11 because it wasn't written for that and I am ashamed that Live tried to capitalize on a tragic event. No matter what you say they tried as hard as hell to connect that song to the event). It is shit on a disc.

To top it off it has the worst album face, book, and cover. Even Live's style was off at the time.

If you don't believe me that this album sucks ask anyone you know that hasn't heard Live to give it a listen all the way through to prove me wrong. Their honest opinion will tell you it's that bad.

The thing is man no one is really saying this is the greatest album of all time and that we think it's a turning point in modern music .. most people here seem to be saying we have a soft spot for it regardless of its faults. Like I said personally, I dont know how I'd view it if it wernt for the emotional attatchment .. obviously not as favourably.

[Bremang]

V is all about love, if you can feel that you should really enjoy the album.......that and the production is stellar, and the tracks, even if you dislike them, are still in a really decent order.

But it takes the early Live fans alot to realize the beauty in this album, because of all the cooler harder and darker and spiritual rock that we originally coveted.

[Costakoui]

V is just ok. It has some very good songs, it is better than SFBM but not than BoP. And I agree that V killed Live commercially, but I think that this what the band wanted. Ed, in his Awake: The Best of Live interview said that "art" for him means to destroy everything one has done so far and rebuild it. So this is perhaps what we have. Live, possibly geared by Ed’s philosophy, has destroyed much with V, BoP but especially with SFBM, and perhaps this is the time to rebuild. Maybe that’s why we have songs like the Purifier, Take me up to Zion and the intention to release Hold me up.

[Lebanon Corvalis]

V is just ok. It has some very good songs, it is better than SFBM but not than BoP. And I agree that V killed Live commercially, but I think that this what the band wanted. Ed, in his Awake: The Best of Live interview said that "art" for him means to destroy everything one has done so far and rebuild it. So this is perhaps what we have. Live, possibly geared by Ed’s philosophy, has destroyed much with V, BoP but especially with SFBM, and perhaps this is the time to rebuild. Maybe that’s why we have songs like the Purifier, Take me up to Zion and the intention to release Hold me up.

I think your absolutely right. I love +Live+ I think they always have tried to change it up album to album. When I first heard V I wasn't sure what to think. It was strange but I understood quickly that this wasn't going to be another TDTH. I liked the fact that the band was brave enough to try something different. I think they always have tried to . Even Secret Samadhi was a departure from what they did with Throwing Copper. I remember reading articles that said +LIVE+ was going to be the next U2 if Secret Samadhi was just as big TC. It would've been cool to Have TC 2 and they could've easily done it but they came out with Samadhi and Secret Samadhi isn't Throwing Copper 2 it is completely different. The feel, the mood and the structure of the album is different than TC. From the opening song to the last song. I Love that about it. I think Ed likes to experiment and try new things and though it hasn't always been the most successful thing to do I enjoy his music. V, BOP, SFBM not great albums but I like them there are songs on those albums that I enjoy listening to all time, Sure there not all perfect songs but hey, I'm glad they are still around. I'm a fan.

But I have a feeling that less OOOOOOH's and AHHHHHHHH's are coming (not all, less ) I think Ed likes being in this band and playing in this band and to continue to do so for years to come he is gonna give fans what they have been waiting for a long time. I don't think TC 2 or SS 2 (would be awesome though) but maybe a TDTH 2 followed by a shit load of OOOOOOH's and AHHHHH's on a solo project.

LC

This post has been edited by Lebanon Corvalis: Apr 29 2009, 2:45 am

[seriakiLLa]

Live, possibly geared by Ed’s philosophy, has destroyed much with V, BoP but especially with SFBM, and perhaps this is the time to rebuild. Maybe that’s why we have songs like the Purifier, Take me up to Zion and the intention to release Hold me up.

I like this idea. Maybe this is all a part of Live's journey of discovering and rediscovering.

[Merica]

I wouldn't even ask a friend to listen to it because it is that bad and I wouldn't do that to them.

Ohhh baby, let my lovin' ease your pain.[/the height of cool]

The lyrics are cheesy, the songs are boring, and the sound is like fingernails on chalboard to the ears.

You're describing SFBM moreso than V here. Perhaps minus the chalkboard comment, SFBM's material just kind of falls flat or passes you by. But cheesy lyrics in boring songs. That's easily SFBM more than V.

One example of this (and there are many) is Flow. Ed''s high pitch repeated Flows makes a good song shit on a CD. I actually wish they would re-record the song without it.

Why do people cry over this? Ed does high pitched shit in all the albums, I can't see why this turns so many people off. Especially you, because you like Myersteeee - hee - heeeee which is FAR more annoying in the high pitched stakes.

As a whole the album makes no sense and the songs has no connection to anything worthwhile (And I don't want to hear Overcome and 9/11 because it wasn't written for that and I am ashamed that Live tried to capitalize on a tragic event. No matter what you say they tried as hard as hell to connect that song to the event). It is shit on a disc.

Whether or not it's connected to anything worthwhile is total opinion (and we tend to discount yours by proxy), and as for making no sense, that's plain wrong. You just don't like the songs.

To top it off it has the worst album face, book, and cover. Even Live's style was off at the time.

None of that means anything when it comes to the music though, of course. The only thing wrong with the band's style was Ed's curls, in my opinion. Taylor looked at his best, possibly.

If you don't believe me that this album sucks ask anyone you know that hasn't heard Live to give it a listen all the way through to prove me wrong. Their honest opinion will tell you it's that bad.

I best most would find more memorable, enjoyable material in V than SFBM.

This post has been edited by Merica: Apr 29 2009, 11:44 am

[Distance to Me]

I'm sorry, Hoodie, but I think it's time you sat down and rethought your life.

Anyway, I'm surprised Hoodie is the only one who has decided to shit on this topic. I bet all the same people who gladly tormented random visitors (in extremely clever, funny, and simply mind blowing, sophisticated ways) decided to back off because Hoodie was here. I would say grow some balls, but this is the internet, and Hoodie is speaking. So I don't know what to think.

Oh, by the way, did you tell your friends to listen to the River or Love Shines? No wonder we're losing fans...

[mattdm11]

As a whole the album makes no sense and the songs has no connection to anything worthwhile (And I don't want to hear Overcome and 9/11 because it wasn't written for that and I am ashamed that Live tried to capitalize on a tragic event. No matter what you say they tried as hard as hell to connect that song to the event).

I like V, but sadly, I agree with you on this. They tried really hard, too....Ed recording a video the night of (or the next day or two)? Pretty pathetic.