Songs From Black Mountain by Live (CD, Jun-2006, Epic USA)

Live has always been one of my favorite bands from the days when they played the Chameleon Club in Lancaster , PA and only 10 people would should up to see them play. Then they went to NYC to play the legendary CBGBs for 19 Sundays in a row before getting signed.....the rest is history

While most of the "alternative" bands from the mid 90s have long gone away LIVE continues to grow and evolve as a band, musicians and songwriters. Though they will likely never see the success of "Throwing Copper" repeated LIVE is all about the music and is one of the best bands to see in concert as you might have noticed when LIVE played the American Idol Finale this season as Chris Daughtrey got to sing LIVE's newest single "Mystery" with his Idol Ed Kowalczyk and LIVE.

Songs From Black Mountain shows the maturity of this now mid 30s band. The songs are about Love, Life, Family , Beliefs , Relationships, Faith and Hope.....the words that Ed Kowalczyk writes are passionate and real. Chad Taylor is masterful on lead guitar , Patrick Dalheimer is one of the best rock bass players out there , Chad Gracey is one of the most underrated drummers in the music business but his quiet demeanor probably has a lot to do with that....also Adam Kowalczyk is a fine guitar player.


My personal favorite song on this CD is Track #7 Love Shines (A Song for my Daughters about God) ....but the whole CD is incredible. It has all ready produced 2 radio singles "The River" and "Mystery"


Buy the CD and go see their tour..... 5 Stars!!!!

I usually read reviews of albums after I have listened to them several times, to see if others have the same take on them that I do. I also enjoy reading reviews written by listeners who may have some inside information that may help gain a new appreciation or understanding, as well as those who absolutely don’t have a clue what they are talking about by stating historical inaccuracies. (more often than not, it’s the professional critics are guilty of this) “Songs From Black Mountain” probably has sparked more wide range emotions than any previous “Live” release. There’s nothing wrong with being a casual listener, who has only found 1 album by a band that they liked, but for those listeners to proclaim, “They haven’t put out a good album since Throwing Copper”, is a bit short sighted. Either the band is your cup of tea, or it isn’t. Leave well enough alone. For those listeners who are waiting for “Throwing Copper” again, you will be disappointed. For those who like the “softer gentler” side of “Live”, this is your album. For the diehard fan like myself, you’ll buy to be loyal regardless. I have been very understanding of the band’s matured and melodic sound, but this one, well, let’s just say, I’m glad I have it, and leave it at that. After the opening track, “Get Ready”, you realize right away this isn’t what you are accustomed to, and the feel pretty much remains through the following 2 tracks. (The River / Mystery) Basically, Live ballads. The band moves into 2nd gear with Show, Wings, and Sofia, and Love Shines is every bit melodically infectious as The River. The band finally makes it way to 3rd gear with Where Do We Go From Here & Home, but then start down shifting back to 2nd. With the balance of the album left, the band never up shifts or even comes close to reaching 5th gear. Missing is the punch and edge that most Live fans have come to expect. Songs From Black Mountain sounds more like a collection of songs, than an inspired body of work as in albums past. There are even a couple of occasions, that the lyrics almost seemed like they were just thrown in at the last minute. (You Are Not Alone is a good example of this) In closing, this is not a bad album, but having collected their entire library, it’s just not what I’ve come to expect. If I were to catalog my Live collection from least favorite to favorite, this would be the first album in the collection.

I "fell in love" with Live with Mental Jewelry and "got married" with Throwing Copper. I went to a concert in NY Nokia Amphitheater and they where promoting this new album and I loved it since the first song (The River), so as soon as the album came out, I bought it.