pt-paratroopa's Full Review: The Distance to Here by Live
Far too often in the music industry, acts can go from being household names to virtual unknowns overnight. Alanis Morissette sold sixteen million copies of Jagged Little Pill in 1995, but in 2008 you almost never hear about her. This actually isn't that uncommon: many acts who hit it big in the early/mid-90's often recorded challenging and/or experimental follow-up albums that killed a lot of their commercial potential. Alanis did this with Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie. The Cranberries did it with To the Faithful Departed. Smashing Pumpkins had Ava Adore.
What does any of this have to do with York, PA's Live? Well, a lot, actually. Live was just another one of those 90's alternative acts that had a handful of huge radio hits, had their most popular album (1994's Throwing Copper) explode to sell millions, and then released their follow-up (1997's Secret Samadhi) and saw their commercial momentum evaporate due to one album. Since then, each Live album has gone on to sell fewer copies than the last (except 2003's Birds of Pray, which sold a few thousand copies more than its predecessor V). And all of this is really unfortunate for 1999's The Distance to Here, because it has all of the best things about Live gathered into a thirteen-track album.
"Run to the Water" has been my favorite Live song since winter 2006, as it was their first song that really spoke to me. When I first heard it, I was a college Honors freshman juggling nineteen credits, clubs, community service and more. Eventually my body broke down under the pressure and I spent a week in bed with strep throat and an ear infection. When I had gotten better, it was days before finals and, hard as I was trying to catch up, things seemed hopeless. But then these lyrics hit me from out of nowhere:
Run to the water and find me there
Burnt to the core, but not broken
We'll cut through the madness...
...Rest easy baby, rest easy
and recognize it all as light and rainbows
Smashed to smithereens and be happy.
Now, I don't perform well under pressure at all. I think this song played a big role in getting through that stressful time. I mean, it emits a bright, positive vibe which made me think, "It'll get better." And, on that bridge, when Ed sings in love!, "love" is stretched out to this soaring high note and it sounds like you're flying. When I need uplifting music, this is still the first song that comes to mind, two years later.
Now that I've spent two-hundred words gushing over one single song, what else is there on this album? Well, I'm happy to report that the feelings of positivity and personal enlightenment recur throughout much of the album. This is most noticeable on "The Distance," which seems like a straightforward rock song until, once again, you hit that bridge, Ed hits that high note while singing "Spread your wings and flyyyyyyy!" and you take off with the aid of a downright beautiful, thrilling harpsichord solo. Upbeat third single "They Stood Up for Love" finds the band experimenting with keyboards (which would be featured more prominently on their next album, V) and ethereal vocal layerings that, if nothing else, are lively, entertaining and at least give me great joy.
The album hits a gray patch midway through, with tracks six through ten all sounding very dark and moody, but all being great songs anyway. "Voodoo Lady," a personal favorite, is a mysterious and sensual slow-burner which finds Ed seemingly entranced with somebody he knows is wrong for him (and who among us hasn't been in this situation before?). "Where Fishes Go," the angriest song, as well as one of the most hypnotizing and passionate, is another standout that will appeal to anybody who has difficulties with blind followers of modern religions. "Face and Ghost," one of the more atmospheric pieces (and that's saying a lot on this album), is a chilly ballad with some nice vocoder effects on the bridge to capture that feeling of a lonely spirit. As for "Feel the Quiet River Rage," well, just read that title. It captures this song perfectly. The verses are soothing and restrained but then the choruses have loud guitars, vein-popping beats and Ed singing "She won't never leave me alone SAVEDBYTHERIVERNOW!!!" in a frenzy.
Indeed, the thing that separates Live's great and decent albums is Ed's passion. "Dance with You" is a love song and it's clear that Ed's words mean a lot to him because lines such as "The stillness in your eyes convinces me that I don't know a thing" sound completely believable; the song also benefits from the band toning things down. "Sparkle" is another one of those upbeat, spiritual songs with a nice melody and great musicianship, but it's really Ed's cries of "LOOOOOVE WILLLLLL OOOOVERRRCOOOOOME!!!!" that makes the song truly great and memorable. Similarly, after a friend commented on the cheesiness of the pro-"love and peace" lyrics of lead single "The Dolphin's Cry," I was turned off to the song for awhile. But eventually I came around. How can you ignore something with music this fierce and hard-hitting or with vocals this stirring and inspired just because there's a cliche, though heartfelt and well-meaning, message?
And if you like straight-up rocks, we got some of that! "Meltdown" is in the aforementioned "dark/moody" section of the album, but you really get to hear and feel Live's Chads (Chad Gracey the drummer and Chad Taylor the guitarist) show off their underrated musicianship. Capped off with some of Ed's more versatile vocals, it's a great song to space out with. "We Walk in the Dream" fakes you out with a slow, quiet opening but eventually chugs into one of the better rockers on the album with Ed's nice vocal control on the chorus, combined with some great rapid-fire delivery, as the lyrics seem to tackle the idea of "spirituality" with a more literal interpretation of "spirit": "I was wrong; we are not these bodies alone in a dream with a mind of its own." Finally, "Sun" is the shortest song on the album and rocks out the hardest. It's an infectious, chugging number with a fire in its belly and some nice Eastern influences, both sonically and lyrically, and makes great ear candy.
I think the best thing about this album is that it really shows Live's growth as a band. A little bit of their three previous studio albums finds their way into this one, whether it be Mental Jewelry's inspiring percussion, Throwing Copper's cathartic writing and performances, or Secret Samadhi's dark moodiness that puts the listener into a trance. All the while, this album is far more upbeat in lyrical and musical tone than previous works, Ed Kowalcyzk is in top form as a vocalist, and some experimentation even sneaks in with the presence of the keyboards. There's a nice mix of rockers, mid-tempos and ballads and, though the dark section in the middle might get tedious to some, I think the fact that the album is broken up into "light," "dark" and "light" again sections really works with that recurring theme of spirituality.
Not a single song on this album is anything less than "good" to me, and that's after fifty or sixty spins of this thing over the course of two years. It all adds up to a five-star album, as well as my favorite album by one of my favorite bands. If you were a fan of Throwing Copper who was scared off by Secret Samadhi, it's still not too late to give this one a try!
Great Music to Play While: Meditating in your dark bedroom after midnight.
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