"So Alive" is a song by British

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band Love and Rockets, released in 1989 as the second single from their self-titled fourth album. The song reached 1 in Canada and charted within the top 30 in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. In the US, it topped the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart for five weeks and was ranked No. 1 on that listing's year-end chart for 1989. The song's music video was directed by

Howard Greenhalgh Howard Douglas Greenhalgh (born 19 February 1963) is a British director of music videos and advertising. Biography Greenhalgh was born in Halifax, West Riding of Yorkshire and studied at the Royal College of Art, setting up the firm Why No ...

and produced by Pamela James.

Critical reception

'' magazine described "So Alive" as "delectable" as well as the "best T. Rex tune that

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted int ...

never wrote." Ned Raggett of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote that the song was the only track on the album capable of receiving airplay and also noted the T. Rex similarities.

Chart performance

The single was Love and Rockets' biggest hit in the United States, peaking at No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 1 on the ''Billboard''

chart, where it stayed for five weeks, as well as achieving a peak of No. 9 on the ''Billboard''

Album Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart. It was the most successful

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

song of 1989 in the United States, ranking in at No. 1 on the chart's year-end edition. The song peaked at No. 1 on Canada's ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Top Singles chart for two weeks, finishing 1989 as Canada's sixth-best-performing single. "So Alive" also reached No. 79 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, No. 24 on the

Australian Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

, and No. 16 on the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...

Track listings

UK, US, and Canadian 7-inch single :A. "So Alive" – 4:18 (4:15 in North America) :B. "Dreamtime" – 8:42 (8:40 in North America) European and Australasian 7-inch single :A. "So Alive" – 4:15 :B. "Bike" – 3:56 (3:46 in Australasia) UK CD single # "So Alive" – 3:48 # "Dreamtime" – 8:42 # "Motorcycle" – 3:32 # "Bike" – 3:46

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 1989 singles 1989 songs Beggars Banquet Records singles British dance-pop songs Funk rock songs Love and Rockets (band) songs Music videos directed by Howard Greenhalgh RCA Records singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Songs written by Daniel Ash