Live Album: “Secret Samadhi”

I own every +Live+ cd and count them among my top three all-time favorite bands. I listen to at least one of their cds just about every day while in my car and think all but one (V) are masterpieces. Secret Samadhi was the first Live cd I bought and remains the jewel in their crown. The first time I heard the cd I was happily stunned. It wasn't like anything I'd ever heard before. The energy and passion in lead singer Ed Kowalczyk's vocals wowed me. The lyrics were intriguing, even weird in parts (I can't believe anyone would call them 'trite' -- trite is Mariah Carey's lyrics, people, not Ed Kowalcyzk's!) and the music was balls-out rocking. This quickly became my favorite cd and remains so, eight years later. You either 'get' this kind of intensity or you don't, and frankly I feel a little bad for those who don't.

It's really unfortunate that Secret Samadhi didn't get as much attention as some of Live's other work. I agree, the lyrics aren't as spiritually oriented as on Mental Jewelry, and it's not likely to generate a mainstream craze as Throwing Copper did. But Live has done some wonderfull work on this album.

There are some wonderfull songs here. Lakini's juice is great and full of Kowalczyc's lyrical comments on the pitfalls of human nature. 'Merica is an interesting comment on the lost "American Dream" and lost innocence. "Ghost" and "Turn my Head" are musical gems with haunting, catchy rhythims and risque lyrics. Gas Hed Goes West is a powerfull ballad with much the same theme as " 'Merica".

Granted, the songs and lyrics are dark, and Kowalczyc and the guys have a great deal to admonish the human race for. But then again, who doesn't? Secret Samadhi was a welcome departure from Throwing Copper while still remaining true to form. I personally would have been disgusted if Live had followed up Throwing Copper with yet another mainstream happy-go-lucky album.

My advice to potential buyers of this album is, don't give it only one shot and then decide you don't like it. With every one of Live's albums, I've had to own it some 6 months before it hits me, and then I can't get the songs out of my mind. Live's work is much like any other work by a true artist: you have to really examine it awhile, but once the message hits you, it never leaves you.

Let's get this straight right now, Live isn't going to make another "Throwing Copper". Anyone buying this album expecting to hear that again are going to be disappointed.

I was disappointed when I heard this first, but it grew on me. Yes, the album is dark and gloomy. Yes, the quality of the lyrics are questionable. Yes, this album meanders sometimes. However, it is a good album, and it should be heard.

Some songs rock ("Rattlesnake", "Unsheathed", "Heropsychodreamer"), others are mid-tempo ("Graze", "Insomnia and the Hole in the Universe", "Freaks",), and some are just strange ("Lakini's Juice"). "Ghost" is definetely a weak track. However, the other songs all grow on you and are pretty good. "Turn My Head" is a great ballad.

In the end, the best songs on here are the pop rockers ("Century", "Merica", "The Gas Hed Goes West"), which Live has always been best at. However, they don't make up the album. This is a good album, and it is very underrated (as is their new album, "The Distance to Here"). I think people should forget about "Throwing Copper" and stop fretting over what the band used to be. Just enjoy what they've become instead :).

This is nothing like the wonder of mental jewelry or the sometimes mind boggling rythms of throwing copper or the over the top melody and energy thrown into distance but I think any modern day poet could understand that lyrics don't need political commentary and they don't always need to have some sort of world society message, this album doesn't really have it in most songs but I loved it. True, you may not love it like the other albums, but if you take the patience to listen to it, you may love it just the same. The darkness happens upon being like voodoo lady, the dam..., and so on only it extends Ed's ability to write something not so extroverted and Unsheated so to speak. The climactic releases of Unsheathed and the beautiful feel of Gashead and the odd taste of rattlesnake and graze and the familiarity of Insomnia and turn my head are all reasons to buy this album. Every track leaves a lasting impression after a few listens. The guitar is more mature/ the melodies in general, and the fading in and out of chad gracey's slow marches is also very familiar. This cannot be missed by Live fans and I think anyone interested in dark or introspective music would appreciate most of the tracks like Lakini's juice and Hero. This album is unafraid to surrender to its gray qualities and lash out or come to a halt whenever they feel like it. It is not a weak performance and it is no less than a voyage into their blue period as artists and a stop on the way to the shiny, unflawed work of The distance to here. For what this album was supposed to accomplish I think it was genuine and great, but It may not hit with the fans of the acoustic and mystical sound of the first album nor the charged second, or heroic most recent. But all in all for at least a few tracks, any live fan would be missing out without this album no matter what aspect of Live they love the most. The lyrics are completely underrated due to their unorthadox nature, and the darkness blinds people to the complete sense of the album.

I hate it when people compare this cd to Throwing Copper. TC was a once in a lifetime thing, something that can never be duplicated again. We need to look at SS as a unique cd, which is what it is. Live's style has grown moodier and darker, which is no less spectacular than TC. The songs take on a life of their own, with longer songs growing themselves. Such unique songs as Insomnia and the Hole in the Universe provide a break from the dark and moody consistency of the first bunch of songs. Century is a suprisingly upbeat song stuck between Graze and Ghost, two of the more philosophical songs. These two songs, (Graze and Ghost) sweep you up in their haunting choruses and briliant melodies. Perhaps the heaviest track, Lakini's Juice, really draws you into the song with the strings and incredible screaming voice and guitars. Turn My Head is an original ballad, providing the softer track that most albums have. This is followed by Heropsychodreamer, which challenges Stage as Live's hardest driving rocker. The weird melodies of Freaks stand apart from the rest of the songs. Gas Hed Goes West is almost ballad like in itself, while still rocking. This album is more consistent than TC, and though it has much variety in more subtle ways, people still compare it and say, "it isn't as good." As a seprate album, however, SS is a spectacular acheivement for Live as well as for music. Rock on!