Live

angryyoungman

going to see them tonite at the nokia theater in nyc. havent listened to them in a while but was listening to the greatest hits today to get into it and im diggin them at this moment. what do you guys think of them?

10_pearljam

love them...though not crazy about the new tune...sounds a little too "pop" for me...

Arabesque

What to say about Live...

It's a cliche to say that a band's early stuff rules and their new stuff sucks. Too many people rely on that criticism for too many bands. I avoid it in most cases. But in Live's case it's painfully true.

Live's first four albums were tremendous. Mental Jewelry is a strange record. I've never heard anything like it before or since. It's such a good CD. Then Throwing Copper is CLASSIC. It's got great song after great song. It's just an amazing disc. Secret Samahdi is an interesting, dark twist. It's my personal favorite Live record, it also has many great songs. The Distance to Here is a very good record. At the point of its release, it was Live's worst record, but it was still enjoyable.

HOWEVER, then we have V. V was an experiment that included some rap/trip-hop. While I respect Live for experimenting, it was a failed experiment. There are only a few decent songs on it and most of it is crap. After that, Live seemingly tried to go back to their old style but with putrid results. Birds of Prey is one of the most generic, soulless, awful CD's I've ever heard. It is so painful to listen to I had to get rid of it. I ended up getting rid of V as well. At least V was respectable though because it was an experiment, Birds of Prey was just embarrassing.

I haven't heard the new stuff yet, but because I still love Live's first four albums, I'll give it a shot. Hopefully they've gotten some feeling back and have written some interesting songs again.

pearljam0000

live is very good, i saw them last year at rolling rock town fair, they put on a good show

mookeywrench

go see Black Mountain live

Jammin909

mookeywrench wrote:

go see Black Mountain live

I get the sense that it is going to be too mellow for my liking. Your thoughts?

melodyman22

Live is a great band and kick ass in concert, all there albums are great some better then others. I cant wait for there new cd songs from black mountain.

mookeywrench

Jammin909 wrote:

I get the sense that it is going to be too mellow for my liking. Your thoughts?

Black Mountain live is never mellow, nothing but rocking

Pearljammin23

Live is pretty good, i saw them live and i was impressed for the most part, but disappointed when they didnt play the song "heaven." its such a good song and it kind of felt like something was missing when i left the concert.

Atomic Punk

Let us know how it is...
I was going to go to the show in NJ on Tuesday, but decided that over $40 a ticket (with charges) was not worth it. I have already seen them 10 times and after the Secret Sumadhi tour they have just been getting progressively less enjoyable. I am curious as to what kind of older material they are playing this time around, and how long their show is.
Also I got tired of Ed's preaching... just SING man!!!

Pearls&Stones

I love Live. Seen them 4 times. Here is what I say (my friends and i talk about Live a lot, so I have given this a lot of thought)...


The Good...

1. Even though Pearl Jam is, was, and will always be my favorite band, Live's "The Distance to Here" is my all time favorite record. I think "They Stood Up For Love" and "Run to the Water" are 2 of the most incredible songs ever, plus, "Dance With You" was my wedding song.

2. "Throwing Copper" is awesome. 'Lightning Crashes' is still one of my favorite songs. "Secret Samadhi" is also great, with songs like 'Gas Hed Goes West' and 'Freaks,' you can't go wrong.

3. "V," "Mentle Jewelry." and "Birds of Pray" aren't perfect, but have a lot of good songs.

4. They are a very talented live (sorry for the pun) band. They play really well in concert and rarely charge a lot.


The bad...

1. For every 2 amazingly deep, lyrically beautiful songs they write, they seem to write one awful one.

2. As good and inexpensive as their shows are, they are SO repetitive. They don't mix the sets up at all. And not just the same on one tour. They play a lot of the same stuff every night on every tour. While we're bitching because Pearl Jam plays everything on "Vs." except 'Leash,' Live never plays album cuts from any album but the new one. I didn't catch the Secret Samadhi tour, so 'Lakini's juice' is the only song from that album I've ever heard in concert. Three of the four times I've seen them were after that tour, so it would have been nice to get a song or two.

3. I've only heard 1 or 2 songs from the new album, and I am not impressed. That is fine, except, I think Live knows they have a stinker on their hands. All I've heard from downloaders is how bad it is and the band keeps pushing it back....not too confident.

But, all in all, Live really does deliver. You could probably fill 2 really good mix cd's for your car filled with Live songs and have hours of fun listening to them

Pearls&Stones

Atomic Punk wrote:

Let us know how it is...
I was going to go to the show in NJ on Tuesday, but decided that over $40 a ticket (with charges) was not worth it. I have already seen them 10 times and after the Secret Sumadhi tour they have just been getting progressively less enjoyable. I am curious as to what kind of older material they are playing this time around, and how long their show is.
Also I got tired of Ed's preaching... just SING man!!!

Really? $40? They played a headlining show in Pittsburgh in 2003 that was $13 after service charges. Jesus. Maybe I should rethink my statement about them being inexpensive

sickwillie

It almost pains me to say it, because I've been a fan of this band for close to 15 years now, but Live has officially lost me on this new album. It's like any trace of their former glory has been sucked out and replaced with a hollow, nauseating, overwhelming Creedness. Except, it's like a Creed that doesn't rock out. It's that mellow.

Don't get me wrong; I'm all for some quiet moments here and there ("Pillar of Davidson" and "Turn My Head" are among my favorites). But this album is SO subdued, SO lifeless... It makes "Birds of Prey" look like "Seasons in the Abyss".

To put it frankly, "Songs From Black Mountain" is one of the greatest disappointments I have ever experienced in my 20+ years of loving music.

Pearls&Stones

sickwillie wrote:

It almost pains me to say it, because I've been a fan of this band for close to 15 years now, but Live has officially lost me on this new album. It's like any trace of their former glory has been sucked out and replaced with a hollow, nauseating, overwhelming Creedness. Except, it's like a Creed that doesn't rock out. It's that mellow.

Don't get me wrong; I'm all for some quiet moments here and there ("Pillar of Davidson" and "Turn My Head" are among my favorites). But this album is SO subdued, SO lifeless... It makes "Birds of Prey" look like "Seasons in the Abyss".

To put it frankly, "Songs From Black Mountain" is one of the greatest disappointments I have ever experienced in my 20+ years of loving music.

So, do you all agree with me that Live knows this and that is why it was scheduled for release in November then pushed back a hundred or so times?

sickwillie

Pearls&Stones wrote:

So, do you all agree with me that Live knows this and that is why it was scheduled for release in November then pushed back a hundred or so times?

I think they kind of had to know the work was subpar. Personally, the fact that it was delayed so much makes it more disappointing. After the lukewarm at best reaction to "The River" when it hit in late December/early January, followed by the subsequent delays, I was kind of hoping that, having seen this, they were working at making changes. Turns out that, if that was the reason behind the wait, the changes were all for the worse.

With all of this said, though, I think I feel more sorry for Epic than anyone else. Here they had a multi-platinum selling act added to their roster, promising a new beginning. I'll bet the people at Epic were even thinking (even if it was subconsciously) that Live would help fill some of the void left by the departure of Pearl Jam. Well, when I compare sales at my store for Pearl Jam and Live's new albums over their first three days on shelves, Pearl Jam owns Live by a 45:1 ratio.

Bottom line: Live's new album needs a miracle to go gold, and somebody's ass is probably getting fired at Epic as we speak.

melodyman22

I love it how people are saying songs from black mountain is bad, get real people it may not be there best work but still a great cd, i cant wait to buy it.

AxlUlrich

melodyman22 wrote:

I love it how people are saying songs from black mountain is bad, get real people it may not be there best work but still a great cd, i cant wait to buy it.

yeh it's definitely a good effort.
there are some very good songs like "Where Do We Go From Here?", "Sofia", "Mystery" and "Night of Nights"
the next single "Wings" is good too
the album has such a uplifting and happy feel to it..it's a pleasant change.

angryyoungman

sorry i didnt get to get on here till today to report back (i was busy seeing this other little band called pearl jam on friday in albany. yeah, back to backers, it was great) i thought lives show was incredible. it was the 1st time i had seen them live, but they mixed up the setlist from all the albums, beauty of grey, selling the drama, pain on the riverside, lakini's juice, i alone, lighntning crashes opened up with rattlesnake, shittown(closer), turn my head, and the new songs they played sounded pretty good. now as i said this was the 1st time i had see them live so i dont know if they play the same set list every night (i also thought the 1st time i saw green day on the american idiot tour it was incredible, until i saw them again later in that tour and it was almost word for word the same show). . .as i had stated in my 1st post, hadnt listened to them in a while, didnt ever buy mental jewelry, didnt even buy the greatest hits until 2 days ago and still havent bought birds of prey. and it took me a while to appreciate V, but now i get it and enjoy it, though far from the two best throwing copper and secret samadhi. might have to go back and get the back catologue cause the show was awesome

Clifwith1f

I'm not too much of a fan. I was interested in them for a little while, but not anymore.

DCGARDEN

I was a Huge fan of Live untill Birds of Prey

Distance to Here is extremely underated and I actually liked V, but Birds Of Prey was Crap I just scratched my head at . Not expecting much from them going forward. They may be on the Bon Jovi path now, and that is completely nauseating.

mark arm

Live blows kids.
listen to the real thing .....

bladworth116

I'm all over "Songs from a Black Mountain" right now. Totally gets stuck in your head with repeat listens, for me anyways.

JustVisiting

Arabesque wrote:

What to say about Live...

It's a cliche to say that a band's early stuff rules and their new stuff sucks. Too many people rely on that criticism for too many bands. I avoid it in most cases. But in Live's case it's painfully true.

Live's first four albums were tremendous. Mental Jewelry is a strange record. I've never heard anything like it before or since. It's such a good CD. Then Throwing Copper is CLASSIC. It's got great song after great song. It's just an amazing disc. Secret Samahdi is an interesting, dark twist. It's my personal favorite Live record, it also has many great songs. The Distance to Here is a very good record. At the point of its release, it was Live's worst record, but it was still enjoyable.

HOWEVER, then we have V. V was an experiment that included some rap/trip-hop. While I respect Live for experimenting, it was a failed experiment. There are only a few decent songs on it and most of it is crap. After that, Live seemingly tried to go back to their old style but with putrid results. Birds of Prey is one of the most generic, soulless, awful CD's I've ever heard. It is so painful to listen to I had to get rid of it. I ended up getting rid of V as well. At least V was respectable though because it was an experiment, Birds of Prey was just embarrassing.

I haven't heard the new stuff yet, but because I still love Live's first four albums, I'll give it a shot. Hopefully they've gotten some feeling back and have written some interesting songs again.

I agree almost 100% with this. Its just so sad what happened to that band. On a related note, I find Ed Kowhatshisface to be a really annoying guy.

BluntManGuy

I'm going to see them this Friday in Denver. I haven't busted out any of their disc's in YEARS with the exception of Mental Jewelry here and there. This will be the 6th time for me...hope it's as great as all the others.

angryyoungman

mark arm wrote:

Live blows kids.
listen to the real thing .....

that being. . . what??

mark arm

angryyoungman wrote:

that being. . . what??

not Live of course ...

angryyoungman

mark arm wrote:

not Live of course ...

mudhoney?? por favor. . .

rrivers

I agree that The Distance to Here is a great record. My friend got tickets to their show at the New Orleans House of Blues in 1999 so I bought that record so I would know some of the new songs. Great album and great show!

mark arm

angryyoungman wrote:

mudhoney?? por favor. . .

well, they were the band that put Seattle on the map back in 1988 with "Touch Me I'm Sick" so therefore N***** and PJ exploted into the mainstream so therefore then crappy bands like this one started to hit on the mainstream so then more crappy band like Seven Mary Three and a few names that I cannot remember did the same. And so forth and so forth and so forth.

But in a way I can see that those bands hit on the mainstream, mainly because 98% of people's musical tastes suck.

And also you can figured it out why Ed, Stone, Jeff still hang out with the dudes on Mudhoney. They're great !


I think that's it for now.

angryyoungman

mark arm wrote:

well, they were the band that put Seattle on the map back in 1988 with "Touch Me I'm Sick" so therefore N***** and PJ exploted into the mainstream so therefore then crappy bands like this one started to hit on the mainstream so then more crappy band like Seven Mary Three and a few names that I cannot remember did the same. And so forth and so forth and so forth.

But in a way I can see that those bands hit on the mainstream, mainly because 98% of people's musical tastes suck.

And also you can figured it out why Ed, Stone, Jeff still hang out with the dudes on Mudhoney. They're great !


I think that's it for now.

so did soundgarden, screaming trees, green river, love bone, etc., etc. lets not make mudhoney out to be the beatles here, k? they're ok. just cause one band has been around a little longer than another doesnt make'em better. btw i dont think live sounds like any of those bands

mark arm

ok, but Soundgarden, Skin Yard, Blood Circus, Tad etc didnt break the scene as Mudhoney (hit it big (as big as you can get being a indie band back in 88') in UK. John Peel loved those guys ). Sure they're not The Beatles, more Velvet Underground or The Stooges I would say.

Live, on the other hand, made it big because of their radio-friendly songs that surely made me sick. oh well.