Birds of Pray

Birds of Pray is the seventh studio album by Live, released in 2003. The first single, "Heaven" became the band's most successful single in several years, reaching number 59 on the Billboard Hot 100. Birds of Pray was Live's final release on Radioactive/MCA. They signed with Epic in 2005.[2]

This article is about the album by Live. For carnivorous birds, see Bird of prey. For other references, see bird of prey (disambiguation).

Birds of Pray
Studio album by
Live
ReleasedMay 20, 2003 (2003-05-20)
RecordedThe Village, Los Angeles, CA;
4th Street Recording, Santa Monica, CA
GenreAlternative rock, post-grunge, hard rock
Length44:20
LabelRadioactive
ProducerJim Wirt
Live chronology
V
(2001)		 Birds of Pray
(2003)		 Awake: The Best of Live
(2004)
Singles from Birds of Pray
  1. "Heaven"
    Released: April 7, 2003
  2. "Run Away"
    Released: September 29, 2003 [1]
  3. "Sweet Release"
    Released: October 6, 2003

Background

Ed Kowalczyk's lyrics on this album return to the spiritual territory of The Distance to Here. Guitarist Chad Taylor explained that the tensions between Kowalczyk and the other three members that eventually caused the band to split from him surfaced in 1999, and had grown worse during the album's recording sessions. "I wasn't sure how our rocker fanbase would feel about the lyrics." He expressed his frustration with the album by adding, "Jim Wirt (producer) worked really hard to fashion a contemporary album, but it never felt like the Live I loved."[3]

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic50/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Alternative Addiction[6]
Blender[4]
Entertainment WeeklyC[7]
Q[4]
Rolling Stone[8]
Shaking Through[9]
Stylus MagazineF [10]

Birds of Pray debuted at number 28 on the Billboard 200, selling over 37,000 copies in its first week of release.[11] By August 2005 it had sold 273,000 copies in the US.[2] The album failed to reach gold status in the US, although it outsold 2001's V. The album received mixed reviews from critics and has a rating of 50 out of 100 on Metacritic.[4]

AllMusic disliked Kowalczyk's lyrics, claiming they were "Either too literal or bewilderingly obtuse" and said that the album was, "Still recognizably Live...big, big guitars, sweeping anthemic choruses, earnest ballads, mildly histrionic vocals...but it's a little more subdued and a little more serious and quite streamlined...The biggest problem with the record is that the eye is on the big picture...to the extent that the individual moments aren't all that memorable, clearly lacking singles as forceful as those that fueled Throwing Copper." AllMusic concluded by claiming that, "Live is growing up and settling down, turning into a solid thirty-something rock band."[5]

Shaking Through described the album's lyrics as, "Self righteous" and "Unintentionally humorous." It claimed that, "the songs are a procession of brittle riffs" and concluded by saying, "Birds of Pray just seems clueless, like a high school kid who doesn't realize that his strident need to seem interesting just makes him a joke."[9]

Track listing

All songs written by Ed Kowalczyk except where noted.

  1. "Heaven" – 3:49
  2. "She" – 2:40
  3. "The Sanctity of Dreams" – 3:33
  4. "Run Away" – 3:53
  5. "Life Marches On" – 2:53
  6. "Like I Do" (Kowalczyk, Patrick Dahlheimer, Chad Taylor) – 4:14
  7. "Sweet Release" – 3:02
  8. "Everytime I See Your Face" – 3:16
  9. "Lighthouse" (Kowalczyk, Taylor) – 3:08
  10. "River Town" – 4:09
  11. "Out to Dry" – 3:20
  12. "Bring the People Together" – 3:02
  13. "What Are We Fighting For?" – 3:21
British bonus tracks
  1. "Forever May Not Be Long Enough" (Egyptian Dreams Remix) – 4:07
  2. "Overcome" (Live from Philadelphia) – 4:23
Special edition bonus DVD
Live tracks recorded during the 2002 Pinkpop Festival in the Netherlands.
  1. "Selling the Drama"
  2. "Voodoo Lady"
  3. "Nobody Knows"
  4. "White Discussion"

Personnel
Live
  • Ed Kowalczyk – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, backing vocals
  • Chad Taylor – lead guitar, backing vocals
  • Patrick Dahlheimer – bass
  • Chad Gracey – drums
Additional musicians
Technical personnel
  • Michael Attardi – assistant engineering
  • Neil Couser – assistant engineering
  • CJ Eiriksson – digital editing
  • Femio Hernández – assistant engineering
  • John Ikuma – assistant engineer
  • Ted Jensen – mastering
  • Phil Kaffel – engineering
  • Okhee Kim – assistant engineering
  • Tom Lord-Alge – mixing
  • Jeff Robinette – assistant engineering
  • P.J. Smith – assistant engineering
  • Michael Wilson – photography
  • Jim Wirt – production, engineering
  • Jesse Wright – design

Charts

Singles
Song Peak chart positions
US US (M.R.) AUS BEL (FL) NED NZ
"Heaven"[27][28] 59 33 19 —[A] 30 16
"Sweet Release" — — — — — —
"Run Away"[29] — — — — 41 —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
  • A^ : "Heaven" did not chart on the Flemish Ultratop 50, but peaked at number 6 on the Ultratip chart.

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[30] Platinum 70,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[31] Gold 40,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[32] Gold 7,500^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Live singles".
  2. Chad, "Live Makes Epic Move". Alternative Addiction, August 29, 2005.
  3. "Chad Taylor posts a comprehensive Live recording history blog". allthingschadtaylorm July 19, 2010.
  4. "Critic Reviews for Birds Of Pray". Metacritic. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  5. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Birds of Pray - Live". AllMusic.
  6. Chad, "Alternative Addiction Review" Archived December 12, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Alternative Addiction.
  7. Greer, Jim (May 23, 2003). "Birds of Pray Review". Entertainment Weekly. p. 76. Archived from the original on December 16, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  8. Edwards, Gavin (May 6, 2003). "Live: Birds of Pray : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 16, 2007. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  9. Moreau, Kevin Forest. "Shaking Through Review". Shaking Through, July 27, 2003.
  10. Southall, Nick (September 1, 2003). "Live – Birds of Pray – Review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on May 9, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  11. D'Angelo, Joe "Staind Marked For #1 on Billboard Albums Chart". MTV News, May 28, 2003.
  12. "Australiancharts.com – Live – Birds Of Pray". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  13. "Austriancharts.at – Live – Birds Of Pray" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  14. "Ultratop.be – Live – Birds Of Pray" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  15. "Ultratop.be – Live – Birds Of Pray" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  16. "Danishcharts.dk – Live – Birds Of Pray". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  17. "Dutchcharts.nl – Live – Birds Of Pray" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  18. "Offiziellecharts.de – Live – Birds Of Pray" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  19. "Charts.nz – Live – Birds Of Pray". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  20. "Norwegiancharts.com – Live – Birds Of Pray". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  21. "Swedishcharts.com – Live – Birds Of Pray". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  22. "Swisscharts.com – Live – Birds Of Pray". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  23. "Chart Log UK entry for Live". Chart Log UK.
  24. "Live Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  25. "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2003". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  26. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2003". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  27. "Birds Of Pray > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". AllMusic.
  28. "Ultratop entry for Heaven". Ultratop.
  29. "Ultratop entry for Run Away". Ultratop.
  30. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2003 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  31. "Dutch album certifications – Live – Birds of Pray" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved April 28, 2022. Enter Birds of Pray in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 2003 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  32. "New Zealand album certifications – Live – Birds of Pray". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
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