“Still Alive” is the repackaged album from BigBang. It was released following the success of its predecessor, “Alive”. It was seen as a step up musically for all five members especially leader, G-Dragon, who produced and wrote all the songs along with in house producer, Teddy Park. T.O.P. also had a hand in writing a lot of the raps.

Good:

Every song was legitimately good. There absolutely was no filler unless you really don’t want to listen to the a cappella and instrumental versions of “Monster”. Pretty much every song did well on the charts even if it wasn’t promoted. Many songs don’t even sound alike which shows the musical genius of G-Dragon.

The addition of new songs really made it feel like a fresh album. “Monster” was a major hit while “Feeling”, “Round and Round”, and “Ego” helped give support to “Still Alive”.

Bad:

Although it was a repackaged album, it was missing two songs that would have made a difference. “Ain’t No Fun” wasn’t available and the Daesung solo, “Wings” was eliminated as well. It would have been nice to get all the songs without having to buy the other version.

Overview:

This album proved to be a major success not just in Korea but internationally as well. It charted high and gained success through several songs.

It also sparked the launch of the “Big Bang Alive Galaxy Tour 2012” aka the “Alive Tour”. The tour was sponsored by Samsung and was also promoted by Live Nation. The concert spanned 13 countries, 48 shows, and reached about 800,000 fans. They visited Japan, Hong Kong, China, the United States, Peru, and even England showing their major popularity.

Personally, this album was how I became a fan as I listened to “Fantastic Baby” and thought that it was something different compared to a lot of the cookie cutter boy bands because it showcased them as individuals and as a group. It enabled me to identify them based on image and musical styles. I then went on to listen to their other songs and became a VIP subsequently.

Overall rating: 4.5/5

Reviewed by: Mr. Timtastic

Music video for “Fantastic Baby”