Style: Revived grunge rock; compare to Collective Soul, Live, Vertical Horizon
Top tracks: “Grace,” “Drink (Everlasting Love),” “The Great Beyond”
For the past decade and a half, Ed Kowalczyk was lead singer of Live, the grunge rockers who racked up sales of over twenty million albums and five mainstream No. 1 singles. On at least half of this overtly spiritual solo debut, the veteran stays very close to the group’s charging guitars, anthemic choruses, and meditative lyrics (most notably, the Haiti-inspired “Grace”). But Alive isn’t always a paint by the numbers Live record thanks to “Drink (Everlasting Love)”—a modern rock co-write with Chris Daughtry—plus bits of blues, dance rock, and faith-on-sleeve lyrics in place of previously veiled messages.
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