FILE UNDER: Live Lite.
CORPORATE LINE: The band came together with producer Jim Wirt (Incubus, Hoobastank) at a studio in Santa Barbara in May 2005 for what became a whirlwind session. In just three weeks, Kowalczyk says, the multi-platinum band recorded all 12 of the album’s songs in a frenetic burst of creativity that surprised everyone. “We haven’t recorded that quickly since Throwing Copper,” he says. “When we got in the studio, we all slipped into the zone. We were working hard, but we were completely at ease, open to each other and in the flow. Everyone was awestruck by not only how fast we were recording, but also by how good it sounded.”
The first song the band recorded, “Love Shines (A Song for My Daughters About God),” is a song about spirituality Kowalczyk wrote for his young daughters. “I have to teach them about God one day and I don’t want to take them to some boring church. This is their catechism,” he explains. “It’s a simple lyric about awareness and how it’s shining all the time. It’s something you can take refuge in. No matter what happens in life, it’s always there. No matter what faith, there’s a presence – whatever name you give it – that’s always there as an internal refuge. I thought that was a beautiful message for kids to learn.”
The album’s title, Songs from Black Mountain, is connected, Kowalczyk says, to the song “Mystery.” Mine eyes have seen the glory of a love that does transcend/Mine eyes have seen the worst inside of man
“Black Mountain is a place near my house in California where the oak trees are so thick that it’s dark there all the time. It has this mystical aura that reminds me of what it feels like to write a song. You’re traveling down a path without knowing where you’re going, but guided by something unknowable the pushes you along. There’s no linear meaning to this song. It’s about using melody to bring people to a place that is beautiful and open to individual interpretation.”
THE GOOD:
Nothing.
THE AVERAGE:
“The River” – Could be confused with a boy band. It sounds silly and tepid compared to what fans have come to expect from Live.
“Mystery” – Is more nonsense. There is no soul. It’s Kowalczyk singing the “mystery” in a falsetto that he’s used from day one. There is nothing new here.
“Wings” – Overblown, overdramatic nonsense.
“Where Do We Go From Here?” – Not really a ballad nor does it really rock. Live has lost their edge.
THE BAD:
“Sofia” – “Sofia/ I need her/ like a junkie needs a vein.” Enough said.
“Home” – A war song that has its heart in the right place and yet it’s intolerable to listen to Kowalczyk sing as if with a lisp.
“All I Need” – Sort of pop with an overwrought chorus.
FRANKLY: Maybe we expect too much from Live. Ever since the brilliant “Lightning Crashes” we’ve expected Live to move into legendary status. Now we realize that was their peak. Live’s Songs From Black Mountain is tiresome. By the third track, “Get Ready,” they are already into filler. Songs From Black Mountain sounds like an album produced by a pop producer looking more for a hit than good tracks and turns out what is Live’s worst album yet.
+ Rae Gun
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