11/15/09

Live - THROWING COPPER

(mini-review)

In 1994, Live was a mediocre post-grunge band that had a few hits clogging up MTV and all of the "new rock" radio stations. They annoyed the fuck out of me. In retrospect, Throwing Copper is actually a listenable album, provided that you skip "I Alone" and "Lightning Crashes." I never want to hear those songs again. Now, instead of writing the usual mini-review, I'm going to describe the songs that I think are worth writing about in a flurry of self-important adjectives. The deeper cuts remind me of a plaintive, less rancorous Pearl Jam. Ed Kowaldsyufchurd comes across as a more sociable Ed Veddar. Both frontmen are intellectuals with passionate voices, though the PJ comparisons end there. Alright, enough bullshit...

"Dam at Otter Creek" - Loungy and emotional. Terrific build-up.
"Selling the Drama" - The first single. It wasn't played to death, so I never got sick of it. A solid rocker with an infectious hook.
"Iris" - Love the soft/loud dynamics that this decade was known for. Intense finish.
"Top" - Superb melodies. It's succinct without feeling abridged or incomplete.
"Shit Towne" - Again, an infectious hook. Memorable chorus.
"Stage" - Maybe the heaviest, angriest song Live has put to tape.
"Pillar of Davidson" - Haunting, faintly progressive. This one has an R.E.M. vibe.
"White, Discussion" - The last single, if my memory serves me correct. A politically-charged riff whirlpool. Dig it.
"Horse" - A nice closer. It has country/western undertones, but don't let that frighten you off.

Overall, Throwing Copper holds up rather well, if you don't count the hits that have eroded from over-exposure. It's hard to listen to straight through, but that's just me yapping. Do pay a visit to Mental Jewelry, Live's mainly acoustic debut. Everything else they've done pales in comparison to their early material. Isn't that always the case?

4 comments:

  1. This was my first ever CD back in 1995 or something, and I loved it and I still do love it and I often go back and give it a listen. I've always been a fan of Live and I like their old and new stuff. I think this was definitely one of the better albums from the mid 90's and it had awesome cover art.

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  2. ONe of my favorite albums, the kind I like to listen to from beggining to ending. My favorite one I think is Shit Town and Waitress.

    Come on baby leave some change behind...

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  3. I remember this cover. There are two songs I really dig from Live. Truth be told I haven't heard most of the songs from this album, need to look them up.

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  4. This was from their anthemic/hatred towards authority phase. Everything post-Secret Samadhi celebrates life but their sales went down. And then their singer pulled out the rug from the other guys in 2005. Heard their in a lawsuit territory now. I bet the other guys relaunch the band and get a new singer 2-3 years from now.

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