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Live
So, did you hear the one about the band that took itself too seriously?
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but these guys need to lighten up. Each song on this album is presented as if it’s a life or death situation, but nothing in particular seems to be happening in any of them. The rhythm section slams through heavy chord patterns as if it is embarking on a quest for life everlasting, while singer Ed Kowalczyk sounds as if he’s writhing in pain after being attacked by an extraterrestrial. It all sounds dark and mysterious, but the message is about as deep as a birdbath. In most cases, it’s a wonder that Kowalczyk doesn’t collapse in laughter at the gravity of his own verbiage, because Lord knows I did. Here’s a sampling of what I’m trying to relate here:
"Everybody’s here. Puke smells like beer."
If Green Day sang this, it would be a punk party anthem. In the hands of Live, it sounds like an existential crisis.
"Let’s go hang out in a mall, or a morgue, a smorgasbord…"
First of all, that’s a fairly artless way of portraying middle-class youth and the ennui of their presumably paltry existence. However, it could work if delivered with a bit of lightness. Instead, Kowalczyk sings it like he’s got a bad headache. Only Adam Duritz of Counting Crows could possibly put more gravitas into something so slight (and that is not a compliment). This album is an absolute misrepresentation of the power of music to convey real emotion, since everything sounds monstrously larger than it is, causing it to resound with phony sentiment and exaggerated expression; In the world of Live, if someone says they’re bored, you’d best hide the razor blades.
Look, life is tough enough without deliberately listening to a band that tries to make everything seem worse. Even that would be deal-able if they provided an answer, or even an insight, but that isn’t what this record is about. When the lyrics are decipherable, they are usually about wallowing in misery, and accepting hopelessness and confusion. I for one will leave them to it. Take this band. Please.
Grade: 
 
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