Live - Secret Samadhi

N Product Description

Live's Best Album

Throwing copper is great but there are a few songs that i could live without. This disc however is the complete package. You can listen to this from start to finish and love every song. June 12, 2008

A Different LIVE

I bought this based on the success of the first two CD's. It is a darker, perhaps introspective CD. Not my favorite release, but LIVE still interests me. These guys can play some music! March 25, 2008

secret ROCKS!!!

i feel this disk was the BEST of all their works!!! LIVE is an awesome band and secret tops throwing copper and rocks out with soul searching authenticity!!! the *story* on this disk tells truth and brings a connectivity to all who listen to it~~~ it is a defining moment of our own humanity and our own acknowledgement of our understanding of our human experiences~~~ reflection reflection reflection~~~

she }{
July 9, 2007

A masterpiece!

This album, the third release from York, PA's LIVE, is a rare musical masterpiece. At first listen the album may be hard to swallow, but several listening sessions later, you'll want to keep it in your CD player for six straight months. No kidding. It's that good. The record's twelve tracks combine into a cohesive whole to evoke a mood that almost feels corporeal. True, the mood is decidedly dark and slightly gloomy, but the album never makes you feel depressed. Instead, it fills you with an almost mystical feeling that wisks you away into another reality. The musical arrangements and lyrical delivery form a powerful vessel that transcends just rock music. It is a song writing milestone. The album pulls you in and takes you on an otherworldly journey that you never want to end. It evokes a powerful and primal emotion that is both refreshing and unsettling. You either feel like you're standing at the beginning of time or the ending of it, and you can't tell the difference. Let me tell you: for music to reek of this much raw emotion is VERY RARE. Buy it. You will not be sorry. Then tell anyone who'll listen. Please. It's a tragedy that this album was released and marketed under the radar. Then again, a creative masterpiece like this that shatters boundaries and dares to shun fluff and b.s. is bound to never be revered by the masses, but rather by the minority that can appreciate the depth of the work. Such is often the curse of true excellence and originality! January 2, 2007

What a find!

I loved a couple songs off of Live's first album, and was then completely blown away by Throwing Copper. Unfortunately TC was SUCH a big success, that nowadays, I can't really listen to Selling The Drama, Lightning Crashes and All Over You, since the unrelenting radio-play pretty much ruined these songs for me. But I still love jamming out to I Alone, Iris, Dam at Otter Creek and (the highlight of the album IMHO) White Discussion.

I remember hearing Lakini's Juice on the radio a few times, and Freaks too, but I never really got around to buying "Secret Samadhi". Just yesterday I finally downloaded all the tracks and gave it a listen and am surprised at what a tremendous album it is.

I won't go into the song breakdown but I will agree with many of the previous reviewers that this is a DARK album. But to me, that is simply picking up where White Discussion left off. Personally, I like the fact that there are no REALLY radio-friendly tunes on this album. And besides DARK can be good. TOOL's album "Undertow" is one of the best albums ever and that thing is dark and creepy as hell.

I also agree that Live was not a "grunge" band per se. They just sounded heavy at a time when sounding heavy meant you were lumped into a ridiculous label of being "grunge". After all if you listen to Soungarden's "Louder than Love", Alice In Chain's "Sap", and Nirvana's "Nevermind", they are all very different. And then are the Smashing Pumpkins "grunge?" What about Bush? What about Tool? The whole "grunge" category is terribly simplistic.

I have always felt that some bands defy category. Live is definitely one of them, and that's what makes them great.

As far as preachiness, I've never considered Ed's lyrics to be preachy. They're obviously very personal to him (is there any better source) but I've never felt that any kindof message was being pushed on me. Perhaps he's just urging the listener to think a little bit more (or in a different way) than usual.

So the long/short of it is, if you loved Throwing Copper because of the radio singles, you probably won't get "Secret Samadhi". But if you dug the darker tunes like Iris, Dam or White Discussion (although that got pretty significant airplay too) then you should check out this album.

One other thing that appeals to me about Live personally, is that they somehow capture the essence of Southeast Pensylvania. Maybe it's simply because I lived around Delaware/Philly when they were at their biggest, but their songs always remind me of the woods and the fields and the sticky summer nights. Probably just because that's where I usually was when listening to them, but it's still pretty cool.

PS- I've also always felt that Ed has one of the most unique (and cool) voices in music. The drummer is great too. Go see them live. September 26, 2006

More reviews at Amazon.com ...