My review of the new Live album, "Birds of Pray," that I sent to Andrea and Barb already via email.

Most of the first half of the album has a very similar sound to "Throwing Copper," but more advanced...

After hearing "Heaven" on the radio, I was not impressed at first...because of the lyrics--I thought it was a Christian rock type song, and that made me gag...but then I listened closely and really like them because I think they apply to me, if I'm reading the song right (other than the daughter part, but you get the drift).

"She" and "The Sanctity of Dreams" are quite good..."Run Away" is a solid slower paced song...but not a knockout.

The next three songs are my current favorites. "Life Marches On" is a fantastic song in all facets. I love the guitar work--the rolling, buzz-like background stuff during the verses on "Like I Do" kicks ass. Plus, anytime Dalheimer (the bassist) drives a song, as he does here, it kicks major ass (see "Heropsychodreamer" off "secret samahdi").

"Sweet Release" is by far the most beautiful song I've EVER heard from Live, and it's currently my favorite on the album. It's so beautiful lyrically and musically...but it's got a great tempo on top of it. Plus, Ed's voice is fantastic, as is Chad's on backup for the refrain ("up to better times, sweet release"). It's an amazing song, and I hope they release it as a single, because I think people will eat it up.

The rest of the songs are very good, but I haven't listened to them as closely as the first seven yet. "What are We Fighting For?" I don't necessarily agree with, but it's a song for the times I guess...and it's pretty solid. If it was simply a terrible song musically, I'd probably hate it flat out. But musically, it's pretty decent. It concerned me when they briefly released it when the war started just "to make a statement." My thought is, shut the hell up--just because you're in a position to share your opinion, doesn't mean you have to. But the song's OK. "Bring the People Together" seems a bit basic, but it's OK. It actually seems to be a clone of "Stage" off "throwing copper", but I can't confirm that perfectly yet...

All right...enjoy. The album is definitely worth picking up if you haven't already.