Live Album: “Awake: The Best Of Live”

With many greatest hits albums, you just have a collection of songs from albums you already own (provided you're a big fan), and there's not much reason to buy it unless you're new to the band. However, Live's new greatest hits package holds something for everyone.

At over 70 minutes in length, the album contains tracks from all 6 of Live's studio releases, including nearly half of "Throwing Copper". The song selection is excellent, and I don't think that anything important was left out (I would have put "Simple Creed" on there instead of "Nobody Knows", but that's it). But wait, there's more. In addition to this fine collection of old favorites, we get new stuff as well, including a new version of the rare track "Dealing Dreams" (now entitled "We Deal in Dreams"), an alternate version of "Run Away", featuring guest vocals from Shelby Lynne, and a cover of Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line". And, if all of that weren't enough, you also get a bonus DVD, with all of the band's music videos.

This is a damn fine buy, whether you're already into Live or not. Highly recommended.

Ok, I admit that I pratically "grew up" with Live. I've watched Ed grow chest hairs for goodness sakes. We're about the same age, and I remember being in my very early twenties and hearing Mental Jewelry for the first time, sitting lotus style in a studio apartment in Northern California, my mouth full of coffee as I was reading poetry.

I was mesmorized. And I still am, over ten years later.

I didn't think a band could move me this much. I waited in anticipation for every new album to arrive so I could devour it, each song serving as a delicacy for my ears.

While I have loved them and cite them as a "favorite" band for over a decade now, I must admit with the one review on here that I wasn't as in to their albums after Secret Samadhi. But I still was a devoted follower, always choosing at least one or two songs that I could claim as my own. V was really my least favorite, to be honest.

So when I read on their website that "Awake" was coming out--to include a DVD of their videos--I was beyond ecstasy. I probably ran--I can't remember, it is all a blur now--to the record store and snatched up the last one. I think it's glued to the CD player in my computer as we speak.

Intricate song-writing, even if obscure at times, will draw you in, coupled with a musical style that is all their own. I don't care what others say, Live is a class-act who can not really be compared to anyone else. Maybe I'm biased because their music was just always "there" during my twenty-something years, as I became a witness to their harnessing maturity as well as myself. I just hope they keep rocking for years to come. Buy this record: you won't regret it.

I'd call this the perfect time for a Live hits album, and if ever there was a disc of theirs to top "Throwing Copper", this is it. "Awake" is great because it includes 19 tracks, and they're in chronological order, and of course for the music itself. Everything is here from "Pain Lies On The Riverside", "Lightning Crashes", "Lakini's Juice", "Dolphin's Cry", and "Overcome". Plus the cover of "I Walk The Line", and the unreleased track "We Deal In Dreams". The only song I miss is "Freaks". Overall it's a great collection from one of the better bands of the past 10-15 years.

Awake shows that Live is still awake and ready to make wonderful music. This album is excellent; a must for all Live's fans. Awake includes songs from all albums putting Live's history in the context of a music album. To me, Live's second release "Throwing Copper" is a phenomenon; I don't think that a human being will ever be able to make such a unique rock album that combines sophisticated lyrics, catchy melodies, powerful sound and beautiful voice. The Distance To Here and Secret Samadhi come hand in hand as Live's second best, albeit the obvious difference in terms of how they sound. Birds of Pray is much better than V, and Mental Jewelry has some very good songs. If this album was not acoustic but of heavy sound like Throwing Copper it would be fantastic. V is experimental. When I first listened to it, I almost cried. However, four years later I must admit that there are some songs that I really enjoy: Deep enough, Transmit your love, Forever may not be long enough, Overcome and Hero of love.

Live is one of the most underrated bands ever. Apart from the excellent sound, lyrics and voice that are identified in their songs, Live is unique for its complexity and variation. There are other good bands out there but most suffer from the lack of variation.

Based on some songs that have been leaked, Live's upcoming album sounds more like Birds of Pray, but still is different and catchy; enjoy on the 21st of March.

It's hard to believe these guys are in their early 30s for the amount of time they've been around. 15 years!!! Definitely worthy of a retrospective.

They fall in between U2 and Creed (who have a "greatest hits" coming out, more because they broke up). Ed K. is no Bono, but he's also proven to be no Scott Stapp either, seemingly choosing a path blazed by Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam, where they will put out truly confounding recordings but doing well in concert, and then when you least expect it, they'll be on the radio one day out of nowhere.

The CD is really good. A duet with Shelby Lynne, an unreleased track, and no filler anywhere. I have yet to grow bored of it.

And the great part is being able to see the videos from the first album to their most recent, seeing them growing (and in Ed's case, his hair and lack thereof going through stages) through the years. There's nothing bad to say about the videos themselves and are great to listen to without watching them, an alternative to the CD. Even the first 2 promo videos are still pretty good for being low budget. The "Overcome" video is from ground zero filmed right after 9/11, so there might be some uncomfortable feelings from watching that one.

However, if there any minuses I'd give, it's the following. A) They have "Dolby Surround" stamped on the disc. I was hoping to hear them in "glorious" 5.1 surround, but it's just regular "ol'" stereo. B)As much as I like "Mental Jewelry" and the songs from there, it was kind of pointless to put the live versions right after the promo video versions. You'll either listen to one or the other, but you'll wind up skipping one of them. C)The "Ed Commentary" is a 30 minute interview with Ed discussing the history Live and the music, their influences, and not an alternate audio where it's played over the videos. For me, this is a one-time viewing because he just looks like a rich guy sitting by the swimming pool on a hill overlooking Los Angeles. I'm sure that this is how he is offstage, but it's still a huge contrast to the image Live portrays in their videos and shows, which comes off more "shamanesque". I think that a better setting should've been the recording studio or working on the road. If you want to keep that image of Ed in your mind, don't watch the commentary. But it still is a good introduction and brief history of the band as well as explaining some of the things they've done over the years,and some changes they made.

I don't feel those are worth taking any stars off of for though, except for the misleading "Surround" logo.

Overall, it's a very satisfying collection, fans of their music and their videos will truly love it (although it would be great to see a full length concert on video), and it's one of the better "best-of" collections I've heard and seen in a while.