Songs From Black Mountain - Live

[intedomine]

Live, the American band who delivered the timeless Throwing Copper and Secret Samadhi amongst other enjoyable albums, have just released their 7th studio album Songs From Black Mountain.

Rather dissapointingly, it's pretty much a re-hash of Birds of Pray. Some immensely enjoyable and uplifting tunes, but rather bland and derivative.

You can't help but see many songs as sequels or rehashes of previous tunes:

The River = Simple Creed
Love Shines = Heaven
Home = What Are Fighting For?
Night of Nights = Overcome
You Are Not Alone = Life Marches On

Nevertheless, whilst the album is lacks musical progression (which seemed like a possibility if we consider the left-field experimentation of V and the release of 2004's Greatest Hits compilation), the tunes have a sweet feel-good factor to them, and sometimes that is all you ask for.

Night of Nights features a intriguing, but seductive change of beat, whilst Home is one of those Live tracks that has one of those irresistable sing-along choruses. Get Ready will go off live, whilst You Are Not Alone asks questions that we've all heard before, but have left us puzzling for answers.

Show and Where Do We Go From Here? are Live at their most excruciatingly ordinary, whilst Love Shines is cringeworthily a "song for my daughters about God".

It seems Ed Kowalczyk, whilst his vocal still mesmerises me, is so content with life that he is struggling for lyrical inspiration. It's nice that he is at peace with himself and the world, but there is no real bite in the album lyrically (which is a shame considering the cryptic yet reverberating messages that were delivered in Secret Samadhi and Distance To Here).

Anyway, this thread is for discussion on Live and Songs From Black Mountain...

 

[IWasBored]

horrible, horrible album. i thought birds of pray was boring, that album sounds fantastic compared to this. i like "the river" because i'm a sucker for anything like the "la da da da" part, but the rest makes me want to shoot myself in the ears.

i'm pretending that they broke up after V. i downloaded this a couple weeks ago, deleted the files immediatly after listening to them, and will not be buying the album.

The River = Simple Creed

huh? explain.

 

[intedomine]

I meant to say The River = Heaven, I don't know why i put doen simple creed. Must've been thinking about it at the time.

The album is not HORRIBLE, it is just that the album fails to manifest anything different. Some of songs are quite enjoyable.

 

[IWasBored]

the river = heaven, that i totally see. especially since those are the only two songs i really like off each respective album.

i really do think it was horrible. both the river and heaven were the lead singles, and everything else is boring, lame-ass filler. that's the definition of a bad album. don't get me wrong, i love everything from mental jewelry through V. hell, i even thought the public affection dictionary stuff was awesome. but this fiasco of a record makes me not so sad that i'll be missing them when they play in boston in may.

 

[intedomine]

Fair call, and although the album might indeed be packed with lame-ass filler, but I still think it's the album Live wanted to make.

Ed just wants to write uplifting songs, and it would be nice if he could tackle some more pressing issues and do something a little audacious, but he seems real content with life and content to just continue writing standard pop-rock songs.

It's seems highly unlikely that we'll ever hear obscure-ish Live songs like Gas Hed Goes West, TBD or Herospsychodreamer ever again. That phase has passed.

The album would probably be better appreciated by people who are unfamiliar with the brilliance that Live conjoured up prior to Birds of Pray.

It's a real shame really

 

[IWasBored]

yeah, he does seem happy with making that kind of music from what interviews i've read/heard, so i'll give him that much.

i've got nothing against uplifting songs. the distance to here had plenty of that stuff. "they stood up for love" is one of my favorite songs the band ever recorded. in the past they've done dark, they've done uplifting, they attempted ass-kicking on V (which i thought worked, even if i was a little too naiive in believing that was the direction they were taking), and all that worked. if kowalczyk wants to write uplifting, that's great. if he's happy, awesome. good for him, really. but the uplifting stuff isn't uplifting after 12 of the same "show your love to me!!!!!" tracks. it's not just lyrically, it's musically. the lead single gets the good hooks, and the rest get zilch. using the new album as an example, the river stuck in my head, those damn la da da da's, the first time i heard it. the only other thing i remember from the one time i listened to the entire cd is that song about god for my daughter thing, and i only remember the title because it was so damn cheesy.

 

[intedomine]

Lyrically, most of the songs are cheesy.

But I'll honestly say that you might actually enjoy the rest of the songs from the album if you listened to them a bit more frequently. That's not to say that you have to listen to it. It might be better if you just try and ignore the album altogether. But whilst the songs aren't masterpieces, they are fun to listen to, and sometimes, thats all some people (like me), ask for.

 

[u2valleygirl]

Like you, I have been a Live fan forever. My heart is broken by this new album. It's just too poppy for my taste. I am still waiting for a masterpiece like Secret Sadamhi. I was hoping to get part two.

Ed is so damn talented. WTF!! I guess he is getting older.

I am still a fan. I am going to see them May 24 in LA. I know they will comepletely rock out in concert. I have never seen a bad LIVE show.

I guess what Bono said is right, two sucky albums and your out. People give up on you. I have given up. I do not believe they will ever have a dark, edgy, weird lyrics, type of album again.

They are now more of a nostolgic awsome band for me vs. the raw cutting edge force that they used to be.

I will always love LIVE for the music that they have brought to me. It is engraved in my heart. But I know, it's time for me to move on. I know I sound so serious...but it's sad for a huge fan to find out that one of their favorite bands, is now conformed.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

Heh, I thought this thread was about Black Mountain performing live.............instead, it's about some band that hasn't released anything halfway decent in ten years.

 

[IWasBored]

oh snap. you're, like, so funny!

 

[Angela Harlem]

thanks for the discussion, inte and wubee.

enjoyed your dissections.