Secret Samadhi (studio album) by Live

From llibnanoon 10/01/2020 14:41

Another solid release. Rating (81.25)

From jeremy9 09/24/2019 10:38

Great album, more darker than Throwing Copper

Secret Samadhi gets darker, more spiritual, and some desert western flavor mixed in to bring a different offering from Throwing Copper.

It isn't better. This is where Live starts to get preachy and lyrics try to be smarter than you the listener. It's more sparse in spots and rumors abound that Ed Kowalyckski hung out in a cabin in the desert writing all these songs.

It seems like Live heads choose this as a dark horse album over the culturally popular Throwing Copper.

Lakini's Juice is one of the best Live songs. Freaks, Turn My Head, Ghost, and Rattlesnake are highlights.

Graze and Century are underwhelming for A sides.

It has it's moments and one of the more unique sounding grunge alternative albums which boosts it above other Live offerings that are generic 90's rockers.

From Eastwood 06/09/2015 19:53

Great album. Best 10 songs average is 94,0/100 and the album can get great 95/100. Hit on hit! Best song is "Rattlesnake" maximum rating, followed by "Graze", "Turn my head" and "Gas hed goes west" all 95/100. Most other songs very good 90/100 (!!) and some good 85/100. No lows. Clear favourite!
Genre: Alternative Rock, Hard Rock, Post-Grunge

From craola 05/09/2015 06:56

i have to agree that it truly isn't as bad as people make it out to be. tracks 2, 4, 6, 8 are solid. i'm not fond of the rest, but i don't choke on it either.

it's a little heavier than the previous album. it's a little darker.

I remember buying this the day it was released. I don't think it is as much off a drop-off in form after Throwing Copper than the general concensus (323rd best rated album to 3,706!). Having said that, this was the last Live album I listened to.

Not as strong as the preceding but has its moments, I really enjoyed the 'Freaks' video. Surprisingly good live band.

From lightmyway 05/06/2012 20:20

This is the darker follow up to Throwing Copper. A lot of bands in the 90s followed up their big hit album with a something darker and artier and pretty much all of them became considered one-album wonders. Live is definitely not deserving of that label, though! An album I like a lot, it's even more over-the-top than Throwing Copper and there are a lot of brilliant moments.

From junodog4 05/03/2012 02:38

When it works, it rocks hard, makes you think, and leaves melodies and riffs running through your head all day. When it doesn't the lyrics are forced or awkward, the melody is forgettable, and the song is bland. The peaks are great. Skip the valleys.

From paladisiac 01/04/2012 18:14

"Secret Samadhi" has a heavy spiritual and abstract quality to it. "throwing copper" had angst and anger and claws. Samadhi brings shiva, brahma and vishnu along in his ruminations, Americanized of course. It's still alternative rock. The first song i heard (in live form) was "freaks". ("Will you call them freaks or will you call them gods?" is the chorus and starts off "if the mother goes to sleep with you / will you run and tell geraldo?") "Rattlesnake" is a good opener, but "lakini's juice" really kicks this album off searching for one's identity ("it was an evening i shared with the sun / to find out where we belong"), an idea that resonates throughout Samadhi, a technical term that usually denotes higher levels of concentrated meditation. That's what there is throughout this album. "Century" chronicles the decline of a civilization ("This puke stinks like beer / Everybody's here...Let's lay waste to this century.") in the name of love (of country? of god?) Pardon the pun, but "ghost" truly is haunting -- i love the female vocals ("everybody has a ghost who sings like you do. yours is not like mine, that's alright, keep it up.") -- with its tale of tortured love, needing love and "a woman to help me feel". "Turn My Head" is beautiful hypnotized by (some form of) love.