Track Listing
1. Rattlesnake
2. Lakini's Juice
3. Graze
4. Century
5. Ghost
6. Unsheathed
7. Insomnia and the Hole in the Universe
8. Turn My Head
9. Heropsychodreamer
10. Freaks
11. Merica
12. Gas Hed Goes West
| Details | | Contributing Artists: | Jennifer Charles | | Distributor: | Phantom Import Distributi | | Recording Type: | Studio | | Recording Mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | n/a |
Album Notes
Live: Chad Taylor, Patrick Dahlheimer, Chad Gracey, Edward Kowalczyk.
Additional personnel: Jennifer Charles (vocals); John Carin (keyboards).
Recorded at The Hit Factory, New York, New York in 1996.
All tracks have been digitally mastered using HDCD technology.
The Asian tour-only edition includes an additional disc with five tracks.
The members of this Pennsylvania foursome have been playing together since high school, and it shows in the empathic communication that exists between them; fans may hear SECRET SAMADHI as simply a followup to the 1994 pop smash THROWING COPPER, but it has the strength of years of music-making behind it. Bass, drums, guitars and vocals operate in perfect conjunction with each other, creating a wholly interdependent web of sound. This is music as sincere as '90s rock gets. While singer Ed Kowalczyk's heart-on-a-sleeve vocals are slightly more subdued here than on previous albums, the overall approach is still earnest enough to avoid the pratfalls of alternative rock postmodernism that mire so many contemporary guitar bands.
The songs on SECRET SAMADHI utilize a stripped-down approach that features Kowalczyk's voice prominently, with guitars alternating between moody folk-rock jangle and overdriven grunge. Throughout the album, drummer Chad Gracey and bassist Patrick Dahlheimer work together to provide a ferocious, primal rhythmic assault that prevents even Kowalczyk's headiest lyrics from getting too introspective.
Editorial Reviews
3 Stars (out of 5) - ...the band sounds stronger than ever....for all the band's aural bombast, the tone is never judgmental....they exude a rootless sincerity fueled by genuine passion...
Rolling Stone (04/03/1997)
6 (out of 10) - ...on SECRET SAMADHI, [Kowalczyk's] bandmates are providing some context. Instead of frantically building every groove, they actually let the songs build and breathe....Live finally seem to have learned a basic spiritual lesson--you don't always have to come and go in such a heated rush.
Spin (04/01/1997)
3 Stars (out of 5) - ...SECRET SAMADHI....takes no easy options, with a number of bleak, difficult songs, both musically and lyrically...
Q (05/01/1997)
6 (out of 10) - ...on SECRET SAMADHI, [Kowalczyk's] bandmates are providing some context. Instead of frantically building every groove, they actually let the songs build and breathe....Live finally seem to have learned a basic spiritual lesson--you don't always have to come and go in such a heated rush.
Spin (04/01/1997)
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