Well, not as dark as, say, Korn, but Live's sound definitely started to sound somewhat jaded after their mega-hit album, Throwing Copper. While songs like "I Alone," "Waitress" and "Pain Lies on the Riverside" were hardly teenybop sing-alongs, there were at least hooks that guaranteed that they would have some singles from those albums.

This time around, though, there isn't the arena-rock shouting simple chorus of "I Alone" or "Selling the Drama." The sound isn't as catchy, immediately memorable or easy to get into as Live's music had been before this. While they did little to depart from their normal sound other than darken it a bit and cut any signs of hope in half, the change is definitely noticeable. It is also probably the only reason this album got plenty of negative reviews upon its release.

So why the hell did I give it a 10? Because it's Live's best album yet, and it would be a classic had it come out in, say, 1993 and not 1997. The music here is more adventurous than its predecessor. Live evolved from the anthem-rock of Throwing Copper into something more beautiful, at least for this album: a raging, roaring, sometimes preaching, always powerful band. Even when you're not quite sure what the song is about.

Take, for example, "Lakini's Juice." "Inside the outside, by the river used to be so calm/used to be so sane/I rushed to the ladies' room/took water from the toilet/washed her feet and blessed her name." Yeah, Ed. Still, the track manages to be a standout because of the guitar work, somewhat subtle string arrangements and sheer intensity.

Also, when I said Live didn't really write hooks for this album, that didn't mean there are no moving melodies. "Turn My Head" is an excellent ballad with a power and sincerity that blows away about half of Throwing Copper, and nearly everything Live has done since then. "Graze" also has a vocal melody and, as with every song on here, the music to back up Ed Kowalczyk's sometimes odd lyrics.

Speaking of odd… "Freaks" is one of the strangest songs to be released since Prince's "Sister." The weirdness, intensity, composition and arrangements give the song a level of creativity unseen by Live before. Working as a five-minute moment of "What the hell," the song is one of the best on the album.

Then again, the entire album is Live's best songs (or at least a decent fraction of it). From the rocking power of "Heropsychodreamer," "Rattlesnake" and "Gas Hed Goes West" and the gentle subtlety of "Turn My Head," and the Indian flavor of "Merica," Secret Samadhi is simultaneously Live's best effort and its least accessible (which is the only thing keeping it from a "Classic" rating).