Alive (Ed Kowalczyk album)
Encyclopedia
Alive is the debut solo album by former Live
lead singer Ed Kowalczyk.
The lyrics on Alive feature much religious and spiritual imagery. Kowalczyk's acknowledgement of his faith is much more explicit on this album than it was on his work with Live. The album entered Billboard
's Christian Albums Chart at number 6.
The album is a major hit in The Netherlands
, debuting at number 4 on the Dutch album chart
. It has also charted in the United States, Belgium, and Australia.
, lacking the overheated hard rock poses of Live’s albums immediately following that blockbuster." They conclude that Kowalczyk's, "Unfettered passion and sincerity...burn brighter now that he’s on his own." Decoy Music was less favorable, claiming that the album lacks character, "Each song sounds like he hired some run of the mill group of musicians to come in and play...There's nothing exemplary about the writing, in music or lyrics." They conclude by saying that listeners would only appreciate this album if, "You find yourself happy to take whatever the modern pop/rock stations feed you."
Pop Matters was highly critical of the album, claiming that the metaphors in Kowalczyk's lyrics are "ridiculous." They summarized Alive as, "An album that deals in a calculated sort of emotional manipulation that comes up short of its targets in every conceivable way." About.com
said that the album is, "Filled with lumbering, spiritual-themed songs" and "so unremittingly bombastic that...anyone who isn’t already a sucker for Live’s pseudo-uplifting songs will easily resist Kowalczyk’s barrel-chested fervor." With regard to Kowalczyk's spiritual lyrics, the website bemoans that, "Alive is so relentless in its metaphorical content that it feels like a crutch. Great artists...have made great music about their spiritual struggles, but Kowalczyk can’t seem to express himself without resorting to cliches that fail to dramatize his personal journey of faith."
Lazyrocker.com gave the album 81 out of 100, describing the album's tracks as, "Energetic, melodic alternative rock songs about faith, love, children and the elements of nature." They conclude a very positive review by saying that, "Ed Kowalczyk made a damn good first solo record, full with new classic rock songs." The Border Mail
summarized the album as, "Passionate" and asserted that Kowalczyk "doesn’t stray too far from his former band’s signature sound."
Live (band)
Live is an American rock band from York, Pennsylvania, composed of Chad Taylor , Patrick Dahlheimer , and Chad Gracey . Lead singer and principal songwriter Ed Kowalczyk left the band in November 2009....
lead singer Ed Kowalczyk.
History
Kowalczyk entered the studio in early 2010 to record material that he began writing in 2008. He wrote songs for Alive with an acoustic guitar, as he had when he wrote for Live.The lyrics on Alive feature much religious and spiritual imagery. Kowalczyk's acknowledgement of his faith is much more explicit on this album than it was on his work with Live. The album entered Billboard
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
's Christian Albums Chart at number 6.
The album is a major hit in The Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, debuting at number 4 on the Dutch album chart
MegaCharts
MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top...
. It has also charted in the United States, Belgium, and Australia.
Track listing
All songs written by Ed Kowalczyk, except where noted.- "Drive"
- "The Great Beyond"
- "GraceGrace (Ed Kowalczyk song)"Grace" is the first single by former Live lead singer Ed Kowalczyk from his debut solo album Alive....
" (Kowalczyk, Gregg WattenbergGregg WattenbergGregg Wattenberg is a Grammy Award nominated songwriter, music producer, and musician residing in New York City, New York.Wattenberg co-produced Train's hit single "Hey, Soul Sister". He also co-wrote and co-produced Train's #1 Hit Single "If It's Love"...
) - "Stand" (Kowalczyk, Wattenberg)
- "Drink (Everlasting Love)" (Kowalczyk, Chris DaughtryChris DaughtryChristopher Adam "Chris" Daughtry is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Daughtry and as the fourth-place finalist on the fifth season of American Idol, from which he was eliminated on May 10, 2006...
) - "Zion"
- "In Your Light"
- "Just in Time"
- "Rome"
- "Soul Whispers"
- "Fire on the Mountain"
- "Eat Your Love" (Dutch bonus track)
- "A New World" (Dutch bonus track)
Personnel
- Ed Kowalczyk – Vocals, rhythm guitar
- Ramy Antoun – Drums
- James Gabbie – Lead guitar
- Chris Heerlein – Bass guitar
- Additional Keyboards – Andy Dollerson
- Guitars and Bass on "Grace" – Gregg Wattenberg
Reception
Reviews for Alive have been mixed. Allmusic was positive, giving the album 3 out of 5 and saying that Alive features, "The biggest, boldest music he’s made since Throwing CopperThrowing Copper
-Outtakes and B-sides:*"Hold Me Up"*"Susquehanna"*"We Deal in Dreams" -Album:-End-of-decade charts:-Singles:-Personnel:*Ed Kowalczyk: Vocals, Rhythm Guitar*Chad Taylor: Lead Guitar, Backing Vocal...
, lacking the overheated hard rock poses of Live’s albums immediately following that blockbuster." They conclude that Kowalczyk's, "Unfettered passion and sincerity...burn brighter now that he’s on his own." Decoy Music was less favorable, claiming that the album lacks character, "Each song sounds like he hired some run of the mill group of musicians to come in and play...There's nothing exemplary about the writing, in music or lyrics." They conclude by saying that listeners would only appreciate this album if, "You find yourself happy to take whatever the modern pop/rock stations feed you."
Pop Matters was highly critical of the album, claiming that the metaphors in Kowalczyk's lyrics are "ridiculous." They summarized Alive as, "An album that deals in a calculated sort of emotional manipulation that comes up short of its targets in every conceivable way." About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
said that the album is, "Filled with lumbering, spiritual-themed songs" and "so unremittingly bombastic that...anyone who isn’t already a sucker for Live’s pseudo-uplifting songs will easily resist Kowalczyk’s barrel-chested fervor." With regard to Kowalczyk's spiritual lyrics, the website bemoans that, "Alive is so relentless in its metaphorical content that it feels like a crutch. Great artists...have made great music about their spiritual struggles, but Kowalczyk can’t seem to express himself without resorting to cliches that fail to dramatize his personal journey of faith."
Lazyrocker.com gave the album 81 out of 100, describing the album's tracks as, "Energetic, melodic alternative rock songs about faith, love, children and the elements of nature." They conclude a very positive review by saying that, "Ed Kowalczyk made a damn good first solo record, full with new classic rock songs." The Border Mail
The Border Mail
The Border Mail is a daily newspaper published in Albury-Wodonga, Australia, serving the twin cities and the surrounding region.The first edition was printed on 24 October 1903 by editor Hamilton Mott and his brother Decimus...
summarized the album as, "Passionate" and asserted that Kowalczyk "doesn’t stray too far from his former band’s signature sound."
Chart performance
| Chart | Peak | |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
42 | |
| Dutch Albums Chart MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
4 | |
| Belgium Flanders Albums Chart Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
27 | |
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
166 |