So Alive (2003)

So Alive is Love and Rockets' first proper live effort, an electric look and listen at select tracks from the trio's tours from 1987 and 1996. It's also a greatest-hits collection of sorts, well-suited to any loyalist and newbie. On record, Love and Rockets were much more strained and literate, but they were explosive and artistically experimental in a live setting. Daniel Ash's swagger as a performer and singer is perfectly frank. From the guitar blast of "Ball of Confusion" to the tragic love poem for an electronica ... Read More

So Alive is Love and Rockets' first proper live effort, an electric look and listen at select tracks from the trio's tours from 1987 and 1996. It's also a greatest-hits collection of sorts, well-suited to any loyalist and newbie. On record, Love and Rockets were much more strained and literate, but they were explosive and artistically experimental in a live setting. Daniel Ash's swagger as a performer and singer is perfectly frank. From the guitar blast of "Ball of Confusion" to the tragic love poem for an electronica enchantress (ex-Transglobal Underground vocalist Natacha Atlas) on "Natacha" to the dirty version of the band's only Top Ten hit, "So Alive," one cannot help but to be awestruck by such a dynamic arrangement. Relying on a heavy mix of guitars, synthesizers, and drums doesn't always call for a big production; however, Love and Rockets manage to pull things off without an extravagant system. The only thing pompous is Ash's attitude. Other highlights featured on So Alive are the campy "Sweet Lover Hangover," "No New Tale to Tell," and the seven-minute guitar haze of "Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven." ~ MacKenzie Wilson, Rovi Read Less