Artist: Live
Album: Throwing Copper
Released: April 26, 1994
Before I actually talk about the album, one bit of frustration with this band: It is really hard to search for them online. Obviously they named their band "Live" before the whole internet explosion, so this wasn't in their minds, but try going on YouTube or Google and searching for "Live Top" or "Live Stage" and you'll get tons of results that don't have anything to do with this album. Frustrating indeed.
But anyway I have to say that this is a really enjoyable album. It doesn't have many standout tracks, but it is consistently solid from start to finish. It was released around the end of the grunge era and at the very beginning of the post-grunge era, and seems to be stuck somewhere in between. It is even borderline heavy metal in a few spots. But despite not being neatly classified, Throwing Copper still manages to capture the mood of rock music 20 years ago.
If you had a radio on back in early 1995, you may have heard "Lightning Crashes" quite a bit. It quickly became a favorite of mine when I was 10 years old and remains so to this day. It was inspired by a high school friend of the band who was killed by a drunk driver and how her organs were later used to save others' lives; more generally, it's about the cycle of life and death. It's such a heartfelt song, performed perfectly; one of my all-time favorites.
That being said, it is not really representative of the rest of the album. Instead of being diverse from one song to the next, it rides in waves, more intense and polished rock in the middle with more light-hearted, raw emotion at the beginning and end. "The Dam at Otter Creek" at the beginning sets the tone for the album well, slowly building up throughout to an intense ending. I have to say, whenever I listen to this album, "Selling the Drama" always seems to get stuck in my head the most. I can't put my finger on it, but it's one of the most enjoyable tracks. "I Alone" still gets airtime today, but I don't like it as much.
It's decent, but a little repetitive not really their style.
My other favorite is "Pillar of Davidson". Songs that are almost seven minutes long usually don't make it on the radio, but I still think this would have been a great radio hit. I also think "Top" is an underrated track. "Waitress" is kind of a fun song, while they tried, with surprising success, to incorporate a little country with "Horse" at the end. I mentioned before that there aren't many standout tracks; indeed, "Iris", "Shit Towne", "T.B.D.", "Stage", and "White, Discussion" are all solid tracks that serve as more than just filler, even if there isn't a lot of diversity of sound. I gotta say that, to me, "All Over You" stands out like a sore thumb. You ever listen to a song that's only four minutes but just seems to drag on forever? That's the case here; it's just too repetitive and not distinctive enough to be a really enjoyable track.
Throwing Copper is certainly Live's best known album, though they did stay together for over a decade afterwards and have some more moderately successful hits. They temporarily disbanded a few years ago, and a nasty conflict between Ed Kowalczyk and the other band members led to his leaving the band and being replaced as singer. Like many other successful '90s bands that are still hanging in there, they will always be associated most with what they did years earlier.
Track #, Name of Song, Duration, My Rating
1. The Dam at Otter Creek (4:43) - 9/10
2. Selling the Drama (3:26) - 10/10
3. I Alone (3:50) - 8/10
4. Iris (3:59) - 8/10
5. Lightning Crashes (5:25) - 10/10
6. Top (2:42) - 9/10
7. All Over You (3:59) - 7/10
8. Shit Towne (3:48) - 8/10
9. T.B.D. (4:28) - 8/10
10. Stage (3:08) - 8/10
11. Waitress (2:49) - 9/10
12. Pillar of Davidson (6:46) - 10/10
13. White, Discussion (6:08) - 8/10
14. Horse (4:16) - 9/10
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