New Live album is surprisingly decent
darthvedder81
Posts: 688
Didn't really expect much from it but I got it anyway because it was cheap at Target (9 bucks) and I have everything else they've ever done so what the hey.
It's their least pretentious work since "Throwing Copper" and probably their mellowest record since the "Mental Jewlery" days. That's actually a good thing since the worst Live songs are the ones where they try to sound like a hard rock band.
Their last album wasn't altogether terrible either and certainly a step in the right direction away from the piece of sh*t that was/is "V".
"The Distance to Here" will always be my personal favorite but if you're a moderate Live fan "Black Mountain" is worth picking up.
It's their least pretentious work since "Throwing Copper" and probably their mellowest record since the "Mental Jewlery" days. That's actually a good thing since the worst Live songs are the ones where they try to sound like a hard rock band.
Their last album wasn't altogether terrible either and certainly a step in the right direction away from the piece of sh*t that was/is "V".
"The Distance to Here" will always be my personal favorite but if you're a moderate Live fan "Black Mountain" is worth picking up.
So this life is sacrifice...
6/30/98 Minneapolis, 10/8/00 East Troy (Brrrr!), 6/16/03 St. Paul, 6/27/06 St. Paul
6/30/98 Minneapolis, 10/8/00 East Troy (Brrrr!), 6/16/03 St. Paul, 6/27/06 St. Paul
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Backwards - cuz NIGHT OF NIGHTS is the best track on the CD - and just a plain great fucking song:
Track 12: Night of Nights - sounds like it should have been on Secret Samadhi or TDTH. An excellent, driving song of devotion from one person to another. Musically and vocally the best song on the album... and the lyrics have a cringe factor of zero - an excellent tune... best song they have produced since Overcome.
Track 11: You are Not Alone - bad. Skip it every time. Nothing memorable about it - cheesy lyrics. Catering to top 40 radio, but thay might not even play this song.
Track 10: All I Need - better than track 11, but not by much. Catering to Top 40 radio... Top 40 would play this song.
Track 9: Home - Excellent song with a drum beat that sounds like an army march. Similar to Pearl Jam's Army Reserve in subject matter, but with +LIVE+'s signature sound. A soldier's desire to see his wife and child again after being away on duty...
Track 8: Where Do We Go From Here - Do not turn this song off after the first verse... it gets much better. Chorus is catchy and the song is genuine +LIVE+. Typical subject matter about love and relationships, but above average.
Track 7: Love Shines (A Song to My Daughters About God) - I'm not going to rip on a guy for writing a song to his daugthers about God. It's just not my favorite song. Belongs somewhere else.
Track 6: Sophia - 2nd best song on the album. The live recording I heard months ago is much more of a "rock" song - but this is a pretty good tune. Sophia is the Goddess of Wisdom - a fitting subject given the recent fervor over The Da Vinci Code and the sacred feminine. Generally though, it's a song about the power women have over men. Temptresses, one and all... great tune.
Track 5: Wings - ech, it's O.K. Nothing special or memorable though.
Track 4: Show - Another great track - a little more funky than any of the other tracks on the album. Maybe should be a single... would have been a more fitting single to rock radio, which has given +LIVE+ it's career, rather than catering to Top 40.
Track 3: Get Ready - Sounds like another campfire song at the beginning, somewhat cheesy lyrics, but it grows after awhile.
Track 2: Mystery - Like I said, get past the first verse and it gets better...lyrics improve, too...
Track 1: The River - They were really going for the "easy listening song of the year" award with this song. The video is awful. All together, it's not an awful song, but it's something my mom would more likely listen to than me.