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Live
Songs from Black Mountain
(Epic/Red Ink)
First Appeared in The Music Box, July 2006, Volume 13, #7
Written by Kirk
deCordova
With the release of Songs from Black Mountain, the boys from York,
Pennsylvania known collectively as Live are back with their first new studio
album since 2003’s Birds of Pray. The band’s re-emergence has been met
with mixed emotions from its fans, with some longing for the harder rocking fare
of its early ’90 outings, such as Mental Jewelry and Throwing Copper,
and others feeling satisfied just to have fresh material in hand, even if it
doesn’t reach the stellar heights of the group’s previous endeavors. In effect,
Live has mellowed over the years, and although it doesn’t pack as much of a
punch, the outing does contain all of the elements that attracted listeners to
its music: gripping vocals from Ed Kowalczyk; impressive musicianship from
guitarist Chad Taylor, bassist Patrick Dahlheimer, and drummer Chad Gracey;
solid production; good tunes; and the raw synergy that defines the ensemble.
Previously compared to U2 and R.E.M. and known for crafting idealistic and
overtly spiritual tunes that sound like anthems, Live took a lighter, more
acoustic-minded approach to its hastily recorded, seventh studio album Songs
from Black Mountain. While the music is good, its lyrics prove to be the
weak link that sometimes sinks the affair. A closer look reveals the set’s
mountaintops and its valleys. Some of its high points include The River,
Show, Wings, and Where Do We Go from Here?, the latter of
which, with its introspective lyrics, is probably the strongest selection on the
collection. All four of these songs are classic rockers that easily could find
their way to FM radio play lists. Nevertheless, it is difficult, at times, to
distinguish one selection from another. This is one of the chief musical flaws
of Songs from Black Mountain — too many of its tracks sound too much
alike. It’s a typical deployment of Live’s formulaic approach of vacillating
between loud and soft segments, and after awhile the uniform dynamics begin to
wear thin.
Some of the lyrics hit home, such as those on Where Do We Go from Here?,
though others seem to be trite (Mystery’s "My ammunition won’t load into
my gun"), predictable (Show’s "You take me straight to Heaven by going
straight through Hell"), and incongruous (Sophia’s "I need ya like a
junkie needs a vein"). In the case of Songs from Black Mountain’s religious allusions (Love Shines,
Wings), the lyrics seem a bit confusing and ill- fitting. The final three
songs on the album (All I Need, You Are Not Alone, Night of
Nights) produce nothing memorable and also seem to run together. Perhaps, if
the band took more than three weeks to record the project, these compositions
could have been reworked into a more polished form.
In the final analysis, Live’s latest effort Songs from Black Mountain
is a good, if not great, album that won’t persuade the non-committed to join the
party. Granted, the music can soar to new heights, but it also, at times, can be
terribly predictable. Both the musicianship and the production are first-rate,
but the oft-tired and clichéd lyrics prove
to be its Achilles’ heel. Although Live’s fans likely won’t be impressed by
Songs from Black Mountain, they almost certainly will enjoy it. For them, at
least, it’s worth a spin. 
Songs from Black Mountain is available from Amazon.com.
To order, Click Here!
For Canadian orders, please
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For UK orders, please
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2006 The Music Box
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