• Voto:
Siamo nell'ottobre del 1999 ed i Live, gruppo originario di York (Pennsylvania), e composto da Ed Kowalczyk (voce), Chad Taylor (chitarra), Pat Dahlheimer (basso) e Chad Gracey (batteria), pubblicano questo "The Distance To Here". Si tratta della loro quarta release,che viene dopo il debutto "Mental Jewelry" (1991), "Throwing Copper" (1994) l'album del successo e dell'affermazione;ed il controverso "Secret Samadhi" (1997), dove il gruppo aveva virato verso un sound più duro e grunge, con canzoni dal minore appeal commerciale. Con questo lavoro i Live cercano forse l'affermazione definitiva, mettendo un pò in secondo piano la carica grunge e hard che aveva contraddistinto canzoni come "Iris", "Stage", "I Alone", "Waitress" e "Top" (da "Throwing Copper"), e diversi momenti di "Secret Samadhi"; e strizzano spesso l'occhio a sonorità di più ampio respiro e più commerciali,con un maggiore utilizzo dell'elettronica.
L'opener "The Dolphin's Cry" si rivela una song di apertura davvero riuscita, come lo erano state le precendenti "The Dam At Otter Creek" e "Rattlesnake"; dopo un inizio calmo e rilassato, la canzone riesce a far coesistere con successo una certa carica hard con le nuove sonorità più pop, presenti soprattutto nel ritornello,comunque davvero trascinante. Questo sound hard rock lo ritroviamo anche in canzoni come "Sparkle" e "Sun" che, nonostante siano due pezzi tutto sommato riusciti, non hanno però quella freschezza che si ritrovava negli album precedenti. Non si può assolutamente dimenticare "Run To The Water", secondo singolo dell'album, song molto furba, dove i Live strizzano l'occhio a certe sonorità più tipiche di band come i Creed, ma la canzone è comunque molto bella e sicuramente una delle mie preferite del gruppo, quasi una rivisitazione di "Lightning Crashes" in versione moderna, almeno per l'intensità e la passione che Ed riversa nel cantato.
A canzoni come questa, però, purtroppo ne seguono altre, come "Voodoo Lady", "Where Fishes Go" e "Feel The Quiet River Rage", che non mi hanno mai entusiasmato e convinto fino in fondo; mentre "Face And Ghost (The Children's Song)" è un pezzo anche carino, nonostante sia in parte rovinato da un uso eccessivo dell'elettronica nelle strofe, con l'inserimento della voce filtrata. Invece "Meltdown" e "The Distance" sono tutto sommato due brani discreti, anche se l'ultimo ha una vena un pò troppo pop. Un discorso a parte va fatto per le tre canzoni conclusive: "They Stood Up For Love", ultimo singolo, inizia con un riff a metà tra il funk e il reggae (nella versione suonata nel concerto"Live At The Paradiso" c'è anche spazio per una strofa di "No Woman No Cry"!) e presenta però un ritornello "epico" e riuscitissimo, che resta stampato nella mente; è bellissimo anche lo stacco prima dell'ultimo ritornello.
"We Walk In The Dream" è una bella canzone che rimane a metà strada tra una ballata e una rock song; ed infine chiude "Dance With You", forse il vero capolavoro dei Live: è una ballata semplicemente perfetta, che racchiude un'interpretazione molto sentita di Ed, con un canto quasi sommesso,ed un testo meraviglioso che evoca scenari davvero suggestivi, in particolare nel finale, mentre Ed canta "I wanna dance with you,I see a sky full of the stars that changed our minds,and lead us back to a world we would not face", e la chitarra di Chad scandisce un ritmo pacato e inebriante, che trasmette sensazioni uniche. Forse bisogna davvero ascoltarla seduti in riva al mare all'alba di un giorno d'estate per capirla fino in fondo.
Bene, quindi finisce qui questo "The Distance To Here", forse l'ultimo grande disco dei Live, anche se non tutti i pezzi sono all'altezza; infatti poi seguiranno "V" nel 2001, che ho trovato orribile; "Byrds Of Pray" (2003), che contiene almeno un'altra grande canzone da ricordare, "Heaven"; ed infine "Songs From Black Mountain" (2006), che aveva delle buone canzoni, anche se tendenti un pò troppo al pop. E questo rischia di essere anche l'ultimo lavoro del gruppo, almeno inteso come formazione storica; infatti stando alle (poche) notizie presenti in rete, sembra che il singer Ed Kowalczyk non faccia più parte della band dal 2009, e anzi pare che farà uscire un album solista durante la prossima estate. Spero comunque in una riappacificazione, perchè sinceramente io non riesco neanche immaginare i Live senza Ed, altrimenti mi consolerò con la loro ultima canzone ufficiale, quella "Forever"(tratta dall'album "Live At The Paradiso" del 2008), che per fortuna è davvero una gran bella canzone, anzi che ci faccio ancora qui, vado subito a riascoltarmela!
Tracklist:
- "The Dolphin's Cry"
- "The Distance"
- "Sparkle"
- "Run To The Water"
- "Sun"
- "Voodoo Lady"
- "Where Fishes Go"
- "Face And Ghost (The Children's Song)"
- "Feel The Quiet River Rage"
- "Meltdown"
- "They Stood Up For Love"
- "We Walk in The Dream"
- "Dance With You"
Elenco tracce testi e video
01 Sun ()
let the world be the world
let the dream unfurl
let it run its own game
let it dance with itself
I didn't put it here
gonna let it ride
gotta master, crazy on the other side
wakin' me up
I ain't got no brains
I can't trust my eyes
what good's a beautiful day
if you can't see the light?
I can't find my fate
well then I must be blind
with the force and fire of love
that's takin over my mind
wakin' me up
obligin' me to the sun
obligin' me to the sun
sun sun merciful one
sun sun
sun sun won't you lay down your light on us
sun sun
let the world be the world
let the girl be the girl
let her beauty move ya
let her dance be your guide
let your hunger grow
but don't eat the fruit "too low"
keep climbin' for the kisses on the other side
wakin' me up obligin' me to the sun
obligin' me to the sun
sun sun merciful one
sun sun
sun sun won't you lay down your light on us
sun sun
all we need is to come into the sun
we've been out in the dark for so long
all I need, all we need, all I need, all we
need! yeah!
02 The Dolphin's Cry ()
The way you're bathed in light
Reminds me of that night
God laid me down into your rose garden of trust
And I was swept away
With nothin' left to say
Some helpless fool
Yeah I was lost in a swoon of peace
You're all I need to find
So when the time is right
Come to me sweetly, come to me
Come to me
Love will lead us, alright
Love will lead us, she will lead us
Can you hear the dolphin's cry?
See the road rise up to meet us
It's in the air we breathe tonight
Love will lead us, she will lead us
Oh yeah, we meet again
It's like we never left
Time in between was just a dream
Did we leave this place?
This crazy fog surrounds me
You wrap your legs around me
All I can do to try and breathe
Let me breathe so that I
So we can go together!
Love will lead us, alright
Love will lead us, she will lead us
Can you hear the dolphin's cry?
See the road rise up to meet us
It's in the air we breathe tonight
Love will lead us, she will lead us
Life is like a shooting star
It don't matter who you are
If you only run for cover, it's just a waste of time
We are lost 'til we are found
This phoenix rises up from the ground
And all these wars are over
Over
Over
Singin' la da da, da da da
Over
Come to me
Come to me
Yeah la da da da, da da da
Come to me
Love will lead us, alright
Love will lead us, she will lead us
Can you hear the dolphin's cry?
See the road rise up to meet us
It's in the air we breathe tonight
Love will lead us, she will lead us
Life is like a shooting star
It don't matter who you are
If you only run for cover, it's just a waste of time
We are lost 'til we are found
This phoenix rises up from the ground
And all these wars are over
They're over
They're over
They're over
Love will lead us, alright
Love will lead us, she will lead us
Can you hear the dolphin's cry?
See the road rise up to meet us
It's in the air we breathe tonight
Love will lead us, she will lead us
Love will lead us, alright
'Till it's over, she will lead us
Love will lead us, alright
Just remember, love will see us
Love will lead us, alright -fade out-
03 Run to the Water ()
Oh desert speak to my heart
Oh woman of the earth
Maker of children who weep for love
Maker of this birth
til your deepest secrets are known to me
I will not be moved
I will not be moved
Dont try to find the answer
When there aint no question here
Brother let your heart be wounded
And give no mercy to your fear
Adam and eve live down the street from me
Babylon is every town
Its as crazy as its ever been
Loves a stranger all around
In a moment we lost our minds here
And lay our spirit down
Today we lived a thousand years
All we have is now
Run to the water
And find me there
Burnt to the core but not broken
Well cut through the madness
Of these streets below the moon
These streets below the moon
And I will never leave you
til we can say,
This world was just a dream
We were sleepin now we are awake
til we can say
In a moment we lost our minds here
And dreamt the world was round
A million mile fall from grace
Thank God we missed the ground
Run to the water
And find me there
Burnt to the core but not broken
Well cut through the madness
Of these streets below the moon
With a nuclear fire of love in our hearts
Yeah, I can see it now lord
Out beyond all the breakin of waves
And the tribulation
Its a place and the home of ascended souls
Who swam out there in love!
Run to the water
And find me there
Burnt to the core but not broken
Well cut through the madness
Of these streets below the moon
With a nuclear fire of love in our hearts
Rest easy baby, rest easy
And recognize it all as light and rainbows
Smashed to smithereens and be happy
Run to the water (and find me there)
Run to the water
04 Sparkle ()
I'm gatherin' up my friends today
and those who recognize the face
as the vision that changed my mind
from hate to faith
was as simple as grapes to wine and sweet as
I'm gatherin' up my friends today
all these hookers and soldiers and swine
and would-be saints
all alone in their rooms that sparkle in their eye
play a song that they'll come outside
to see if
love will overcome
if this love will make us men
love will draw us in
to wipe our tears away
the day that I was so sweetly sung
by the wind and the thunder moved by
"someone"
the feelin' of being lived was so strong
the giver became the gift, all one
the day that I was so sweetly sung
the wind seemed to whisper softly, "oh son,
don't wait for the seas to part or
messiahs to come
don't sit around and waste this chance, to
see it!"
love will overcome
if this love will make us men
love will draw us in
to take our fear away
LOVE
LOVE
LOVE
LOVE, hey, yeah
love, this day now, this day that I was so
sweetly sung, I know, I know that
love will overcome
love will overcome
if this love will make us men
love will draw us in
to take our fear away, wipe our tears away
love!
and all my friends are here
in the city I sing my song
in the face of the hooker, the soldier, the
swine
I found it, I found it, I found love!!!!!
love will, love will, love will,
overcome
over come
05 Feel the Quiet River Rage ()
Always fighting the storm
Afraid to suffer the wound
All praise to that conscious one
Who always suffers the wound, child
Suffers the wound, child
Hey!
Suffers the wound!
Never turns from love
Give it up
Always try to explain
Afraid to lay naked in the sun
He's crazy, she dances in the light
The crowd jeers, they won't put up a fight
Hey!
Suffers the wound!
Never turns from love
Give it up
Until my heart is free to roam
She won't never leave me alone
Saved by the river now
Saved
Always fighting the storm
Buildin' shelter to house our lack of love
We're only here for a while
Tear it down and suffer the wound
Hey!
Suffers the wound!
Never turns from love
Give it up
Until my heart is free to roam
She won't never leave me alone
Saved by the river now, saved
(Never turns from love, never turns to hate)
Until my heart is free to roam
She won't never leave me alone
Saved
(Never turns from love, never turns to hate)
Always suffers the wound, never turns from love
Never turns to hate
Saved by the river now
Always suffers the wound, never turns from love
Never turns to hate
An invisible Mississippi, Ganges or a Nile
I can feel the quiet river rage
Forcin' my lips into a smile
Don't believe that the world is empty
Just too noisy to hear the sound
I can feel the quiet river rage
And I'm fallin' down
Saved by the river now
Saved
08 They Stood Up for Love ()
Naked lovers feel the blood beneath their veins
electric nerves communicate
with tiny explosions through our brains
who is this energy that never left or came?
give rise to passion the only glory
of this human story
I'd give my heart and soul to the one
we spend all of our lives goin' out of our minds
looking back to our birth, forward to our demise
even scientists say, everything is just light
not created, destroyed but eternally bright
masters in everytime lord in everyplace
those who stood up for love down in spite of the hate
in spite of the hate
who put the flower in the barrel of that gun?
who lit the candle that started the fire,
burnt down the fortress, the throne?
who could house all the refugees in a single shack
or a lonely bungalow?
who lives in a different dimension, free from the
struggles we know?
I'd give my heart and soul to the one
we spend all of our lives goin' out of our minds
looking back to our birth, forward to our demise
even scientists say, everything is just light
not created, destroyed but eternally bright
masters in everytime lord in everyplace
those who stood up for love down in spite of the hate
we spend all of our lives goin' out of our minds
they live in the light
we made it to the moon
but we can't make it home
waitin' on some rescue to never come
made it to the moon
but we can't make it home
maybe home is where the heart is given up
to the one
to the one
we spend all of our lives goin' out of our minds
lookin' back to our birth, forward to our demise
we spend all of our lives goin' out of our minds
they live, they
they stood up for love
stood up for love
stood up for love
they stood up for love
stood up for love
stood up for love
we spend all of our lives goin' out of our minds
masters in everytime
we spend all of our lives goin' out of our minds
stood up for love
09 The Distance ()
let him come into the city
let him find his lucky penny
let him put it in his pocket and shake it all around
I've been to pretty buildings, all in search of you
I have lit all the candles, sat in all the pews
the desert had been done before, but I didn't even care
I got sand in both my shoes and scorpions in my hair
I saw that...
oh the distance is not do-able
in these bodies of clay my brother
oh the distance, it makes me uncomfortable
guess it's natural to feel this way
oh, let's hold out for somethin' sweeter
spread your wings and fly
my car became the church and I
the worshipper of silence there
in a moment peace came over me
and the one who was beatin' my heart
appeared and....
oh the distance is not do-able
in these bodies of clay my brother
oh the distance, it makes me uncomfortable
guess it's natural to feel this way
oh, are we locked into these bodies?
let's hold out for somethin' sweeter
spread your wings and fly
oh, are we locked into these bodies?
are we anything at all?
let's hold out for somethin' sweeter
spread your wings and fly
this distance is dreamin'
we're already there tonight
14 Meltdown ()
like himaalan cold winter
these jaws of kali yuga
yeah it's a crazy kind of cold
a lifeless slumber in a stranglehold
yeah tibet, she can't even touch this
I'd rather freeze in her forests
we're in a spiritual winter
and I long for the one who is
Fire!
amongst the dreamers
you are in my heart
like the sun on the icecaps
my only friend in the prison
the long lost meaning to the story, story
the divine and ancient wisdom
how could it be that you've graced my night?
like a pardon from the governor
like a transplant from the donor
like a gift from the one who is
Fire!
amongst the dreamers
you are in my heart
Fire!
amongst the dreamers
you are in my heart
in a place where everything dies
it's you I follow
see by the fire
of my darlin', yeah!
Fire!
amongst the dreamers
you are, you are
in my heart
like a pardon from the governor
like a transplant from the donor
like a kiss, like a kiss, from my darlin'
yeah!
Carico i commenti... con calma
