I honestly thought "the river" was a metaphor for a vagina..

If it is about spirituality then pretty much every single love song ever even down to Madness' awesomely cheesey "love love love" is very much spiritual..

This post has been edited by Pokey: Feb 12 2006, 8:56 pm

I've seen vagina's that can gush like a river!

interesting tidbit about commercial success on edkowalczyk.com

What I do remember, though, (that is, in addition to the Rangers winning the Stanley Cup and the release of the highly underrated Jean-Claude Van Damme epic Timecop) is Live’s “Lightning Crashes.” Man, that song was everywhere that summer: you heard it on MuchMusic, you heard it drifting out of the windows of cars driving past you as you biked to the Mac’s, you heard stoned teenagers playing it on guitar on beach, you even heard your Mom and Dad humming along when it came on the radio. It was just one of those simple, slightly overwrought, arguably derivative but ultimately classic rock ballads, the kind of song that probably gets played at weddings, funerals and high-school grads with roughly equal regularity; the kind of song that actually embeds itself in the unconscious of everyone who hears it. Seriously: try to sing it to yourself right now; you can probably get the chorus on the first try. At the time, about the only knock on “Lightning Crashes” was that it was so huge, its success so overwhelming, that the previously unknown band who released it would almost certainly collapse under the weight of expectations, turning up on VH1 as “those ‘Lightning Crashes’ guys” in a decade’s time.

Of course, Live turned out to be much more than a one-hit wonder, putting out four more studio albums (including the soon to be released Songs from Black Mountain) and numerous modern-rock hits, although none quite as huge as their aforementioned breakthrough. And while some acts would try to turn their backs on this kind of early success, petulantly refusing to play their signature hit for fans, Live have largely embraced the nostalgic appeal of their early catalogue.

“‘Lightning Crashes’ seems to be a song that has really affected people,” admits Live frontman Ed Kowalczyk, on the phone from his home in Southern California. “People will come up to me and tell me that that song is really synonymous with a point in time in their lives, even if they’re not really fans of our band.”

Far from being offended or taken aback by such revelations from total strangers, Kowalczyk acutely understands the response his songs provoke in listeners, mostly because, as a music fan himself, he knows what it’s like to have such a deep personal response to something as remote and inherently impersonal as a mass-produced, mainstream pop song.

“I can’t say that I ever expected some of my songs to connect with people the way that they did, but then again I put so much of myself into this music that it doesn’t surprise me that other people feel so strongly about it,” he explains. “I mean, I know how I feel about the music that has inspired me: when I hear ‘Where the Streets Have No Name,’ I am so deeply connected to that music that I feel like it’s so much a part of me that I almost feel like a participant in it, in some weird way. That’s the beautiful thing about music: people really do participate in your story because they find some aspects of it that coincide with their own story.”

It is, perhaps, because of his fan’s perspective that Kowalczyk is so willing to indulge listeners’ appetite for the Live back-catalogue. “I’m so tuned into the audience, and they’re having some much fun and enjoying hearing the older songs so much, that I just kind of tune into their happiness and enjoy that,” he explains, noting that, as a 34-year-old guy who has only ever had one real job (rockstar), just being able to continue to tour and record successfully after 15 years on the job is a rare blessing.

“We’re 15 years into this, and people are still really into what we’re doing—I have to pinch myself sometimes when I realize that people are still interested in us,” he enthuses. “There are so few bands that really stick to it and make a go of it, so we’re going to keep doing it as long as we can.”

Besides, it’s not like he’s sick of the gig just yet. “Why would I complain?” he says. Honestly, there’s nothing like singing ‘Lightning Crashes’ in front of 30,000 people and having them sing it back to you. It just doesn’t get any better than that.”

another quote (and last one)...says exactly what i thought about them sounding adult contemporary.

"Long-lived rock outfit Live has evolved from appealing to testy 15-year-old boys to speaking to an adult top 40 audience.

That is all good, considering that Ed Kowalczyk and company have always been a bit more cerebral than required by the average teen. 'The River,' the first single from Live`s seventh album ('Songs From Black Mountain,' due April 11) and Epic bow, is a bit more mainstream than the traditional Live single; singer Kowalczyk is less melodramatic than usual - perhaps disappointing to steadfast disciples - but the melody, as always, is memorable and the performance stellar. In 2006, Live sounds a bit more like Train than itself, but mellowing with age is a natural process."

i dont think the commercial success really matters, as long as i enjoy the album ill be happy

i hope they get some success out of this album.alot of music and bands out there sound like shit or the same and they get it just because a record company pushes there face and video clips. but hey as long as we all like it who gives a toss lol

I think commercial success isn't a very accurate gauge of what a band is all about, and I don't really care about it.

I'd like to see them have heaps of commercial success. It's natural to wish a band you've had some great memories with to do well.

If anything, just so that the concerts have a better atmosphere. Last time I saw them in Sydney, it was half-full for the 2nd concert. The entire second tier of seats at the Ent Cent. was draped down to hide the empty seats, and the GA area was about 1/3 full.

This is almost word for word what Geddy Lee said in a 1979 interview that is included with the recent R30 release. That's all that really matters for a truly great band and it's fans.

what ever happened to Chad saying LIVE was supposed to colaborate with Dr. Dre?
That may have been interesting...look what he did for Eminem...
you want commercial success, you go where the success is at the momment

In Lives case I became a fan because I fell in love with the sound, the lyrics and the way they make me feel, not because I was hearing them on the radio every hour or because everyone else was listening to them.
I will always be a fan of Live even if they're not being played on radio.
So, no it doesn't matter if Live are commercially successful or not, They're already successful.

Leigh.

I thought he simply met Dre, gave him a copy of Awake, and had a conversation that left him optimistic. I don't think anything was ever "supposed" to happen.

... and commercial success at the moment, for the audience they are trying to hit, is embarrassing. Do we really need another Santana album with Michelle Branch? Do we really need another Goo Goo Dolls album's worth of one chord progression? Do we really need another Maroon 5? blech.