Songs from Black Mountain: Bland Pop from Talented Rock Band
May 31 '06
Pros Er. Uh. It's short.
Cons Boring, repetitive, not in the least bit "rock and roll."
The Bottom Line What happened to Live
Full Review
Everybody has to have a “first album.” My first cassette tape was Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet. While that album helped shape my early years of music appreciation (long live hair metal!!!!) it is my first CD that has helped to shape my taste since. Live’s impeccable classic Throwing Copper which yielded a host of hits. It also was the first to grace my now enormous and obsessive collection.
Over the course of the last decade, Live has continued to create great music. While nothing has equaled the success of Throwing Copper the band has continued to be popular. I personally enjoy them because of their vaguely progressive sound highlighted by intricate melodic arrangements and artsy rock. Lead singer Ed Kowalczyk wields a unique voice that fits the style of the band perfectly. It’s got range and emotion and is thus appealing to me. Over the course of the last fifteen years, the band has released seven albums beginning with 1991’s heavily religious Mental Jewelry and wrapping up most recently with this year’s Songs from Black Mountain. In between we’ve been given Throwing Copper (1994), Secret Samadhi (1997), The Distance to Here (1999), V (2001), and Birds of Pray (2003).
Songs from Black Mountain, which Live recently slyly plugged alongside ousted contestant and dedicated fan Chris Daughtry on American Idol, is representative of the band’s attempt to continually evolve. Whether or not they’ve accomplished their goal is a matter of opinion. I personally am moderately amused by the release. That said, I also still yearn for the Throwing Copper era. The fact that I can’t get that out of my head is certainly indicative of inherent problems with Songs from Black Mountain. It lacks the verve and spark that made Live so special a decade ago and instead sounds rather like an older and less adventurous version of the band.
Kicking off with first single The River, Songs from a Black Mountain makes a decent first impression. Languid it begins with acoustic guitars and smacks of smart pop writing. I enjoy listening to the lovely song but it definitely lacks teeth. Live is less than lively—in fact they sound as if they are making a bid at the chart. The River sounds much too lighthearted and delicate to be the product of a band that formerly rocked so hard. I actually enjoy listening to the song.
The nice, innocuous and generally appealing pop direction continues with Mystery. The band sounds great but I miss the electric guitars and Kowalczyk’s dynamic vocals. He still can sing, but he has straight jacketed his voice. As the album continues I find myself seeking that one special rockin’ song. Get Ready isn’t it. In fact it is so slow, so much a ballad, and so very dry and without direction I’m annoyed. Not even the vocals prove appealing. Continuing forward yet only barely treading water, Live doesn’t do anything for me with Show until the refreshingly loud chorus. Unfortunately that energy is fleeting and Live returns to their “mature” sound as the song goes back to the chorus. My appreciation for the album is all too short lived. Wings and Sofia are also emotionally void and lacking power.
The next moment I’m impressed by Live is on Where Do We Go From Here? which begins slowly but the chorus picks up in energy. It is certainly not rock and roll but the pop goodness is well worth checking out. I also appreciate that the instruments are plugged in rather than acoustic and “pretty” as is the case across so much of this material. I really, honestly miss the band Live was a decade ago. I guess, though, that they felt the need to mature. It just seems unlikely that fans will follow them through the bowels of Songs from Black Mountain. As the album wraps up, I can’t say I’m impressed in the least. Home is boring, All I Need is annoying and repetitive, You Are Not Alone is so chipper and upbeat it sounds like another band entirely, and Night of Nights while an improvement with its dark and melodramatic sound is ill suited to the rest of the material.
If it seems like I’m glazing over the album, it is because I am. The problem I have with Songs from Black Mountain is that it is a wholly mediocre album. Even worse is that a band that used to have an identity and genuine energy now feels like a sorry generic MTV inspired nü metal (errr…pop) act. Instead of being a band that inspired others today to excel, Live languishes. The most fervent of fans will still love and defend Live but fair-weather pals won’t love this release—heck, they probably won’t even like it.
Rating: 2/5 stars
Track Listing:
01. The River
02. Mystery
03. Get Ready
04. Show
05. Wings
06. Sofia
07. Love Shines
08. Where Do We Go From Here?
09. Home
10. All I Need
11. You Are Not Alone
12. Night of Nights
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