The Gracious Few, For Those Who Have Listened. Options

[Chelsea]

Two weeks in and the cd is still ruling my car stereo and my iTunes on my laptop. I work at home so I can listen to it whenever I like - woohoo!

Ed, your mom sounds like a fantastic lady. I wish her good health.

[ItchyTriggerFinger]

Two weeks in and the cd is still ruling my car stereo and my iTunes on my laptop. I work at home so I can listen to it whenever I like - woohoo!

Ed, your mom sounds like a fantastic lady. I wish her good health.

Chelsea, same here since the day of release. Bought the Amazon MP3 downloads when it became obvious my Newbury Comics order wasn't going to arrive on time. Been playing it non-stop on my iPod. Love the aux jack in my vehicle!!!!!

[+Ed+]

I hate to compare it, but I think the figures in the poll speak for themselves... In comparison to those in the Alive thread

This post has been edited by +Ed+: Oct 8 2010, 7:02 am

[livefan1999]

Can't vote. In my opinion, I can't say "it's great". It definitely doesn't "suck". I'm somewhere in between in that I enjoy the cd along the lines of most that I will listen to more than once. Most cd's I purchase, not knowing the particular band, get handed off to someone else.

I alway manage to pick out three to five songs per cd that I like and the rest I can take or leave. I'd have to say that is true for me with this cd as well. Actually it rates with a high potential six that I'd put on my own personal cd/IPod.

Most on here know over the years I've been a big Ed/Live fan. I enjoy Alive, but am hoping for something stronger if Ed puts out a second cd. I honestly didn't think I would enjoy TGF's cd at all. I had listened to a lot of the snippets at Amazon and other places and wasn't impressed. After reading all of the enthusiastic posts the TGF diehards have been posting, I decided I had to get out and be fair and buy it.

I think it was Fish who convinced me the most. He pointed out that if I liked Live, I would want to at least give TGF a try since it has three of my favorites, CG, CT and P. He was trying to convince me that I should take in a show with TGF. Were they to come close enough, I would, without a doubt. However, it would have been more of a curiosity factor than anything. To see how they sounded live vs. the recent show I saw of Ed in Chicago. I want all of them to succeed, so it would be a supportive view at their show, too.

However, after listening to the cd and being able to pick out at least five/six songs I really enjoy, I'm going to have to give them a major thumbs up on their first effort. Chad G comes through, as he always does, with such strength and drive that it drew me right in. His time is always impeccable and he moves around his kit with such style..... Patrick comes through loud and clear and I can see why he won the honor he did years back. Both guitarists are strong and their performance on Silly Thing really won me over.

I think the songwriting is pretty decent for a first efort, but I'll bet it will be even better for their EP and second full cd. My real surprise with TGF is Kevin Martin. Hearing him on the short clips and having never heard him with Candlebox, I was not impressed. I felt sure that I would spin the cd once, quicly shuffling from song to song and then hand it on to a young man I know who likes rock of all styles. Well, I'll be keeping it instead.

Kevin's okay. Pretty darn good, actually. He has a bit of a different style on many of the different songs, but it gives one a taste of what he can and cannot do. Soaring voice like Ed's? No, not really. However, he has a good tone to his voice, a good ear, and I like the way he can switch up his singing style to go with the mood of the song.

Overall, a very good first effort by these guys. I am so pleased for my Live favorites and the band as a whole.

This post has been edited by livefan1999: Oct 11 2010, 1:52 pm

[gotigrz]

i think the album is really good. it's not a TC but more along the lines of a MJ or TDTH... not, in the music but in the amount of quality of songs. i've had the album a week and i can sense that there are some songs that, while i enjoy now, i will probably not listen to that much in the future... but who knows, right? anyway, w/ that being said, there are a few songs that i KNOW i will jam to for a long long time....

"nothing but love" is one of them. this song screams the passion that LIVE use to put in their music. it has that soft/loud/soft/loud structure that i personally love. i love the build of a song.. i'm not much of a fan of a song that starts right off as heavy as it will ever be...


don't have time to critique the entire album right now.. but, as of now.. i love this album.. esp. 1, 2, 10, and 11... those are my loves... and there are a couple others that i really like, too.. i just haven't memorized the track #, yet.. lol..

all in all... this is the best album i've heard in like a decade or something... very good.

[thefunkyredcaboose]

Can't vote. In my opinion, I can't say "it's great". It definitely doesn't "suck". I'm somewhere in between in that I enjoy the cd along the lines of most that I will listen to more than once. Most cd's I purchase, not knowing the particular band, get handed off to someone else.

I alway manage to pick out three to five songs per cd that I like and the rest I can take or leave. I'd have to say that is true for me with this cd as well. Actually it rates with a high potential six that I'd put on my own personal cd/IPod.

Most on here know over the years I've been a big Ed/Live fan. I enjoy Alive, but am hoping for something stronger if Ed puts out a second cd. I honestly didn't think I would enjoy TGF's cd at all. I had listened to a lot of the snippets at Amazon and other places and wasn't impressed. After reading all of the enthusiastic posts the TGF diehards have been posting, I decided I had to get out and be fair and buy it.

I think it was Fish who convinced me the most. He pointed out that if I liked Live, I would want to at least give TGF a try since it has three of my favorites, CG, CT and P. He was trying to convince me that I should take in a show with TGF. Were they to come close enough, I would, without a doubt. However, it would have been more of a curiosity factor than anything. To see how they sounded live vs. the recent show I saw of Ed in Chicago. I want all of them to succeed, so it would be a supportive view at their show, too.

However, after listening to the cd and being able to pick out at least five/six songs I really enjoy, I'm going to have to give them a major thumbs up on their first effort. Chad G comes through, as he always does, with such strength and drive that it drew me right in. His time is always impeccable and he moves around his kit with such style..... Patrick comes through loud and clear and I can see why he won the honor he did years back. Both guitarists are strong and their performance on Silly Thing really won me over.

I think the songwriting is pretty decent for a first efort, but I'll bet it will be even better for their EP and second full cd. My real surprise with TGF is Kevin Martin. Hearing him on the short clips and having never heard him with Candlebox, I was not impressed. I felt sure that I would spin the cd once, quicly shuffling from song to song and then hand it on to a young man I know who likes rock of all styles. Well, I'll be keeping it instead.

Kevin's okay. Pretty darn good, actually. He has a bit of a different style on many of the different songs, but it gives one a taste of what he can and cannot do. Soaring voice like Ed's? No, not really. However, he has a good tone to his voice, a good ear, and I like the way he can switch up his singing style to go with the mood of the song.

Overall, a very good first effort by these guys. I am so pleased for my Live favorites and the band as a whole.

Definitely go see them live. I enjoy the CD, but to me these songs are just meant to be played and heard live.

I'd be interested to hear how you define "soaring" in regards to vocals.

[LiveRoCkS77]

Definitely go see them live. I enjoy the CD, but to me these songs are just meant to be played and heard live.

I'd be interested to hear how you define "soaring" in regards to vocals.

Me too, definately. Ed had a powerful and unique voice but honestly, he can't hold a candle to Kevin in my opinion. They are both different singers and have their own strengths for sure.

But I've been to see Live 12 times and Ed never ever sounded anywhere near as powerful as Kevin did seeing him. Martin can belt that scream still and his pitch is utterly fucking spectacular. Even his falsetto in concert is amazing. Ed's was decent at first, but then just made me want to choke him to stop him from embarassing himself.

[gotigrz]

yeah, ed's voice was better back in the day when it was raw, but i think he tried to perfect his vocals and i think HE thought they got better cause in the later albums it was less about the music and more about ed's voice.... but, the funny thing is, is that ed's voice is what drew me to LIVE in the first place, but his voice, today, is what drives me away. i like his message, of course, but his voice is not good.

[livefan1999]

Definitely go see them live. I enjoy the CD, but to me these songs are just meant to be played and heard live.

I'd be interested to hear how you define "soaring" in regards to vocals.

Actually, I don't know how to explain it. Soaring isn't probably a very good word to use in this case. I wrote it up in a hurry. Just trying to get my thoughts down as to how I enjoyed something I expected to hate.

I think what I'm trying to say is that Ed's vocals are very strong. He just has a very full, solid sound to his vocals and I don't ever remember hearing him offkey ever. I have heard him sing with a strained, sore voice, but never offkey. Not that I heard Kevin do that either. It could just be the way he chooses to sing or the way the cd was recorded, but Kevin sounds a little in the distance whereas Ed always seems to come forward loud and clear. Make any sense?

I'm not that familiar with Kevin to know what he can or cannot do. I've been following Ed for well over twenty years. I might not be giving Kevin a fair hearing yet and he might have that same, strong range that Ed has. I'm open-minded and always willing to be proven wrong, if I am and I'll admit it if that is the case.

Sometimes when you hear songs on a cd, they come out very full and strong and the live performance just cannot match up to that which was recorded. I'm gathering from all I've seen here that would not be the case should I go see TGF perform these songs live. I can honestly believe that because as musicians. the three from Live always put on the best live performance on their instruments and as a band. I would imagine that holds true in their new project as well.

Hopefully someday I'll see them live. By the way. I'm loaning my TGF cd to someone who did not care for Live. Respected them, but did not follow them or even buy a cd. I'm not telling him that three on this cd are from Live, but rather a new rock band I wanted his opinion on. I think the reason he didn't follow Live is he's fairly young and the years he began getting heavily into music were in the later years for Live when Live was more pop/rock than rock.

[LiveRoCkS77]

Actually, I don't know how to explain it. Soaring isn't probably a very good word to use in this case. I wrote it up in a hurry. Just trying to get my thoughts down as to how I enjoyed something I expected to hate.

I think what I'm trying to say is that Ed's vocals are very strong. He just has a very full, solid sound to his vocals and I don't ever remember hearing him offkey ever. I have heard him sing with a strained, sore voice, but never offkey. Not that I heard Kevin do that either. It could just be the way he chooses to sing or the way the cd was recorded, but Kevin sounds a little in the distance whereas Ed always seems to come forward loud and clear. Make any sense?

I'm not that familiar with Kevin to know what he can or cannot do. I've been following Ed for well over twenty years. I might not be giving Kevin a fair hearing yet and he might have that same, strong range that Ed has. I'm open-minded and always willing to be proven wrong, if I am and I'll admit it if that is the case.

Sometimes when you hear songs on a cd, they come out very full and strong and the live performance just cannot match up to that which was recorded. I'm gathering from all I've seen here that would not be the case should I go see TGF perform these songs live. I can honestly believe that because as musicians. the three from Live always put on the best live performance on their instruments and as a band. I would imagine that holds true in their new project as well.

Hopefully someday I'll see them live. By the way. I'm loaning my TGF cd to someone who did not care for Live. Respected them, but did not follow them or even buy a cd. I'm not telling him that three on this cd are from Live, but rather a new rock band I wanted his opinion on. I think the reason he didn't follow Live is he's fairly young and the years he began getting heavily into music were in the later years for Live when Live was more pop/rock than rock.

Good post.

[thefunkyredcaboose]

Actually, I don't know how to explain it. Soaring isn't probably a very good word to use in this case. I wrote it up in a hurry. Just trying to get my thoughts down as to how I enjoyed something I expected to hate.

I think what I'm trying to say is that Ed's vocals are very strong. He just has a very full, solid sound to his vocals and I don't ever remember hearing him offkey ever. I have heard him sing with a strained, sore voice, but never offkey. Not that I heard Kevin do that either. It could just be the way he chooses to sing or the way the cd was recorded, but Kevin sounds a little in the distance whereas Ed always seems to come forward loud and clear. Make any sense?

I'm not that familiar with Kevin to know what he can or cannot do. I've been following Ed for well over twenty years. I might not be giving Kevin a fair hearing yet and he might have that same, strong range that Ed has. I'm open-minded and always willing to be proven wrong, if I am and I'll admit it if that is the case.

Sometimes when you hear songs on a cd, they come out very full and strong and the live performance just cannot match up to that which was recorded. I'm gathering from all I've seen here that would not be the case should I go see TGF perform these songs live. I can honestly believe that because as musicians. the three from Live always put on the best live performance on their instruments and as a band. I would imagine that holds true in their new project as well.

Hopefully someday I'll see them live. By the way. I'm loaning my TGF cd to someone who did not care for Live. Respected them, but did not follow them or even buy a cd. I'm not telling him that three on this cd are from Live, but rather a new rock band I wanted his opinion on. I think the reason he didn't follow Live is he's fairly young and the years he began getting heavily into music were in the later years for Live when Live was more pop/rock than rock.

While there is obviously personal taste involved, from what you said it sounds like you aren't a fan of the vocal production on the TGF album.

Kevin's vocals are mixed quietly throughout the album on purpose. The quieter vocals makes the listener play the album louder and obviously the guys wanted people to listen to this album LOUD. Also, there are vocal effects used, but Kevin's voice is rarely if ever doubled (where two vocal tracks are used to make the vocals sound fuller).

While Live didn't use doubled vocals a lot until recently, Ed's album seems to use them frequently to make his voice sound stronger and give that effect you are describing.

Just .2 cents from this guy. The two vocalists couldn't be more different, I just found "soaring" an interesting choice because Kevin has a higher range than Ed. He doesn't usually sing melodies that stay on one note for a long time so he doesn't abuse that (Sing being an exception)

[OutToDry]

Funky this contribution cannot be challenged. This was stated by Kevin / TGF many times. When does a band ever tell you exactly how they mix a record........very rarely if ever. They always leave you guessing but the litmus test is the performance.

[thefunkyredcaboose]

Funky this contribution cannot be challenged. This was stated by Kevin / TGF many times. When does a band ever tell you exactly how they mix a record........very rarely if ever. They always leave you guessing but the litmus test is the performance.

My contributions can never be challenged.

[+Ed+]

This was stated by Kevin

"The Tite Man"

[livefan1999]

While there is obviously personal taste involved, from what you said it sounds like you aren't a fan of the vocal production on the TGF album.

Actually, no, your assumption that I am not "a fan of the vocal production on the TGF album" is not indicative of my personal view of the vocal production. I admitted in my reply to you that I was surprised, having followed a lot of the arguments for and against TGF on this site, that while having been a long-time Live fan, and Ed fan in general, that I could actually enjoy the TGF cd as much as I did. That would include my enjoying my introduction to Kevin Martin's vocals, even though I found them to be very different from Ed's style and from many of the vocalists I have followed over the years.

I did not realize until reading your background information that Kevin's vocals were intentionally kept in the background so as to encourage playing the cd loud. I don't need that encouragement, as I play all of my cd's loud. The only time I listen to cd's is when I am in my car, and I get many a strange glance as the music from my car likely annoys some due to its volume.

I wasn't aware that there was a deliberate vocal production on the TGF cd as you described in your post. As I mentioned in my response to you, this is my first exposure to Kevni Martin. I thought that perhaps he chose to keep his vocals in the background because this might be his style on all cd's he has recorded. The result of them being kept in the background, to me, made me think that his style is a little softer and not as full as some vocalists, Ed in particular. I did not say that I disliked his vocals, just that they were not "soaring" as were Ed's. I also put in my reply that "soaring" was not an appropriate word in the context I had intended. That Ed's vocals being fuller than Kevin's would be more descriptive of what I was trying to say.

Kevin's vocals are mixed quietly throughout the album on purpose. The quieter vocals makes the listener play the album louder and obviously the guys wanted people to listen to this album LOUD. Also, there are vocal effects used, but Kevin's voice is rarely if ever doubled (where two vocal tracks are used to make the vocals sound fuller).

While Live didn't use doubled vocals a lot until recently, Ed's album seems to use them frequently to make his voice sound stronger and give that effect you are describing.

I am glad to have this information, having not heard this explanation on Kevin's vocals before. I have heard of vocal doubling, but was unaware that Live/Ed had ever used such a technique in their recordings. Do you have concrete knowledge on Ed using this doubling effect or is that an assumption?

The reason I ask is because I have heard Ed acoustically and in his regular band/Live performances and his voice has always seemed very full/strong. I realize that mixing boards on the sound systems and a good engineer at the sound board can result in the vocals coming out stronger. Generally a strong/full vocal, again my opinion, would be required to achieve the effect I have heard at Ed's concerts. A weaker vocalist with an increased volume just wouldn't sound as full as Ed in his live perforances.

Just .2 cents from this guy. The two vocalists couldn't be more different, I just found "soaring" an interesting choice because Kevin has a higher range than Ed. He doesn't usually sing melodies that stay on one note for a long time so he doesn't abuse that (Sing being an exception)

Again, I have already admitted that "soaring" was a poor choice of words. I would have changed it, but having already been quoted, just admitting that in haste I chose the wrong word was in order.

Me? If Ed's singing a melody, staying on one note for a longer period of time constitutes abuse, I'm for it because I have enjoyed his performances for a very long time.

My first introduction to Kevin has been a good one and perhaps as he and TGF release more cd's, ep's, etc., I will have a better opportunity to know more about him and his style.

It is apparent that Kevin has someone who is willing to go out there and take on those who he deems as being critical of Kevin. Definitely was not my intent. Kevin is lucky to have such a devoted fan.

This post has been edited by livefan1999: Oct 16 2010, 7:10 am