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.
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