SOULIVE — Soulive (review)

SOULIVE — Soulive album cover Live album · 2003 · Funk Jazz Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
darkshade
A band with the word 'live' in their name would have to mean that they are great live, right? You couldn't be more correct when talking about Soulive. This band knows how to groove, and in the live setting, they are phenomenal. The great thing about this album is that it sounds like a studio album, if not for the crowd noise at certain moments. The production is so clear and open. Another great thing about this live album is the inclusion of tunes that I believe are not on any of their studio albums, like "Aladdin", with the most wah'ed out guitar and wah'ed out Hammond B-3 organ; which by the way, is all over this album, giving the album a unique quality unlike their studio albums.

This is one of those live albums that is just as essential as the band's studio albums.

The tunes played from the band's repertoire at this point in time (2002) are even better than their studio counterparts. The energy is so high on every track, the band is just laying it down every time. This is some of the most in-the-pocket stuff you'll ever hear in this lifetime. Eric Krasno plays great licks left and right, but it's his rhythm work that gets me every time. Besides comping the best chords, he has a wah pedal going a lot of the time, which is not heard often on the studio albums, or even at their shows nowadays, but with the wah'ed out organ, it's wah-wah city.

Speaking of the organ, let us not forget that there is no bass player in this band. Neal Evans provides the bass with his foot pedals from his organ, all the while playing virtuosic, wild parts and comping funky riffs. I gotta say, Evans has to be one of the best Hammond B-3 organ players alive. Brother Alan Evans also tears it down on drums, as always, and really holds the band together. His beats are some of the funkiest, but he has restraint. And he knows how to lay back, along with the rest of the band, like on the real soulful and laid back cover of Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Lenny". This is some of the most intimate music, and shows why Soulive might possibly be the best soul/funk-jazz band in the business.

Any fan of Soulive should have this live album. Any fan of soul-jazz or funk-jazz will explode at how awesome this band can be. Enjoy.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Jazz Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Mikolaj Trzaska, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten, Paal Nilssen-Love : The Last Temple vol.3 Avant-Garde Jazz
MIKOŁAJ TRZASKA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Mikolaj Trzaska, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten, Paal Nilssen-Love : The Last Temple, Vol.1 Avant-Garde Jazz
MIKOŁAJ TRZASKA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Mikołaj Trzaska / Ingebrigt Håker Flaten / Paal Nilssen-Love : The Last Temple Vol.2 Avant-Garde Jazz
MIKOŁAJ TRZASKA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Sustain Avant-Garde Jazz
AALY TRIO
Buy this album from MMA partners
Sunset Park Post Bop
TOBIAS MEINHART
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

FASCINATING RHYTHM - The Amazing Keystone Big Band feat. Neima Naouri
THE AMAZING KEYSTONE BIG BAND
snobb· 1 day ago
Alicante
RENAUD GARCIA-FONS
js· 1 day ago
She's Forty with Me
WILTON CRAWLEY
js· 1 day ago
Tall Tillie's Too Tight
WILTON CRAWLEY
js· 1 day ago
Rhoda Scott Ladies and Gentlemen - special guest : David Linx
RHODA SCOTT
snobb· 1 day ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed