by Steve Devadanam
Contributing Writer
Live: Secret Samadhi
(Radioactive Records)
Live makes grand music. It makes grand albums. It releases grand singles. It has cultivated a grand sound. Grand guitarist Chad Taylor revealed in a recent interview a complaint by an assistant working on their new album, Secret Samadhi: "The thing I hate about your band is that every song has be the greatest ever," the assistant told him. "It can't be lighthearted and whisk by you."
But grandeur gets old, as in the case of the Pennsylvania quartet's last album, Throwing Copper. The album went double platinum and eventually sold six million copies. Yet its near-flawless crafting was at times overshadowed by lead singer Edward Kowalczyk's cryptic religious ramblings.
Not so with Secret Samadhi. Kowalczyk has reached a new level in his songwriting, using his spirituality to write, rather than write about. Instead of pretentiously regurgitating lessons from his local guru, he turns his introspection outward, with stark reflections on sexuality, social injustices against women, and the state of the country.
He spits malevolently at so-called sexual liberation in "Unsheathed," bellowing, "Free love was just another party for the hippies to ruin." In "Freaks," he stabs at weak men asking, "If the mother goes to sleep with you/Will you run and tell Geraldo?"
Not to be outdone, the rest of the band members offer their most collective musicianship to date. Drummer Chad Gracey and bassist Patrick Dalheimer are an immaculate rhythmic team, perfectly in tune to the dynamics of each song. Taylor, Live's secret weapon, displays his uncanny ability to accent each track with an understated power that underscores Kowalczyk's intense, passionate vocals.
This is especially apparent in the epic first single, "Lakini's Juice." Taylor opens the track with a grinding, crunching, repetitive chord that lays the framework of the song. The chorus, made even more fervent by Kowalczyk's explosive vocals, maintains the intensity, not fading until the final crescendo.
"Lakini's Juice" sets the tone for other radio-friendly, though no less substantial, tunes. Taylor flexes his solo muscles on "Graze." "Turn My Head" soars, accentuated by the lush string arrangement. "Ghost," true to its name, is a haunting piece, its surging chorus tempered by guest vocalist Jennifer Charles's ethereal whispers.
Created by a band whose 20-something members have played together for more than a decade, the secret of Samadhi's success lies less in musical ability and more in maturity. Live, while maintaining a socio-spiritual conscience, has emerged from the stiffened prodigy mentality. By doing so, the band has captured the true intensity found in its live performances, but conspicuously lacking in its albums.
With the white-hot Secret Samadhi, Live is poised to carry the standard as modern rock's next superpower.