Agree with me no. I never said that. That’s how it was misinterpreted by you. I was merely pointing out how SFBM was given positive reviews after the reviewer dissed Live’s earlier work like TC, SS etc. and Ed’s vocals.
Also, I would take this opportunity to point out to you that its now Ebert and Roper. Siskel died. And, I’ll let you know that I’ve disagreed with their past reviews for several films, yet I still read/watch their reviews for insight on a movie. However, critics are not the deciding factor for me whether I not I see a movie.

the new flyers for Wal-Mart, Target, and K-Mart this weekend didn't have Songs From Black Mountain listed as a new release for June 6.

the music section of E-online has the c.d. being released June 13th in the upcoming reviews section.

haven't read a review in Rolling Stone or Blender yet.

wonder if the c.d. will be mentioned on the new music page of the Life section of USA Today tomorrow.

Maxim gave SFBM a bad review in a little snipet last month. Didn't surprise me. They always do. It was in last months edition so they musta still had the May release date.

It pisses me off when reviews compare Live to U2. They sound nothing like them.

Ed said on the Awake DVD that Bono is one of his biggest lyrical influences.

So 'U2-fueled' isn't so far off...

This post has been edited by beau99: Jun 5 2006, 5:43 pm

that explains some of his fucked up lyrics. maybe ed should listen to less bozo...er, bono. bono = ass

Eh, Bono is my role model

sorry, he is just way too political for me. i actually do like some early u2, but i have not liked anything they've put out in years. but that's just me, you certainly have a right to your opinion and i respect that.

This review in York Daily Record, ydr.com, really ticked me off. I wrote a fairly long e-mail telling him that I disagreed with his review and that with friends like him in Pennsylvania, it's a wonder Live has been as successful as they have.

But 'Songs from Live Mountain' plays it awfully safe
By JASON COX
Daily Record/Sunday News

June 5, 2006 — Live has been a bit shifty as of late - and we're not just talking about its new album's release schedule. First set for release in April, "Songs from Black Mountain" was pushed back to May, then June 13. Shortly after the band's "American Idol" appearance on May 24, the release date moved again, this time to today. But will the shiftiness pay off?

There's little argument that Live doesn't have as big a pile of chips at the musical card table as they did in the '90s. What do you do in that position - Go all in and try to bluff your way to a win or simply check your hand? With "Songs from Black Mountain, " Live chose the latter.

The first indication of this is the song length of each track on the album. Every song is between 2:58 and 3:54 in length - prime radio-friendly time. No more six-minute "White, Discussion" or "Pillar of Davidson" here.

The album opener, "The River," is also the first single off the disc. It's happy - guitar-playing-hippies-on-the-beach kind of happy - with soft guitars and "la-la-las" and "oooo babies" that'll make all the pre-teens swoon.

But what is there for the fans of yore?

It's not the cheesy, tug-at-your-heart-strings "Home," with sentimental bring-our-troops-home lyrics that sound like they were written for a seventh-grade creative writing class. And it's certainly not the mellow "Get Ready," which has frontman Ed Kowalczyk answering his own calls in the song. It's almost in the lyrically awful ("I need ya like a junkie needs a vein") "Sofia," which comes closest to their earnest sound of yesterdecade.

Perhaps your best bet in hearing the Live we know and love is in the almost anthem-rocky "All I Need," which drops in a just-funky/catchy-enough electric keyboard hook to keep me interested for the whole track. Also give a listen to the steady-paced "Show," which is one of the only songs to not feature Kowalczyk wailing away in his forced falsetto.

Right about now, you're asking "what about the guitar riffs?" And to that I respond, "What guitar riffs?" They're present, but bland through and through. The band members have ceded a lot of sound territory to Ed and they've suffered because of it.

There's simply not much bad to say about the album, but not a whole lot of good either. At this rate, however, someone is sure to raise the pot on Live soon, and at that point, it'll be up to the band to meet the raise or fold.

This post has been edited by livefan1999: Jun 5 2006, 11:36 pm

This one just came through. USA Today in the "Listen Up Music views, news and reviews" section. Guess three stars is the best a reviewer can give.

The heading at the top of the site for Live is:

> Idol-revived rock: Chris Daughtry's faves Live "haven't lost the pop savvy that made their pensiveness palatable in the first place," says Elysa Gardner

This is her review:

Live, Songs from Black Mountain (* * 1/2) Who says they don’t make earnest, brooding guitar-rock like they used to? Just weeks after Pearl Jam’s much-ballyhooed return, another ’90s throwback — recently back in the spotlight via a duet on the American Idol finale with fan/finalist Chris Daughtry — returns with a collection that teeters on the precarious line between unabashed yearning and bombast. Luckily, more buoyant tracks such as The River (not the Bruce Springsteen classic) and You Are Not Alone (not the R. Kelly-penned Michael Jackson hit) prove that frontman/songwriter Edward J. Kowalczyk and his bandmates haven’t lost the pop savvy that made their pensiveness palatable in the first place. — Elysa Gardner

"frontman/songwriter Edward J. Kowalczyk and his bandmates haven’t lost the pop savvy that made their pensiveness palatable in the first place"


haven't lost the pop savvy? eh, they're just beginning to have it.

If you all want to see my review, click the link in my signature, as I'm not allowed to repost it anywhere.

Just don't read the other two reviews on that site, because they're rather scathing.

I know what you're saying. The thing that has always fascinated me about fine arts/music is how each person can have such differing interpretations. Maybe the reviewer for the USA Today review isn't that familiar with Live's earlier works. Then again, that might be the way she's seen their music in the earlier releases? Just like now, there are many different reviews and some like the cd and others think it's bad, etc. Whatever.........just am hopeful that for the band that their cd is a success in the United States. If it is, that maybe will mean more tour dates stateside.

Amen to that, and worldwide too.

four stars is best they can give.
i'll take 2 1/2. would have liked 3 or more.

i'll be going for my copy over lunchtime.

The title in the actual paper (USA Today) in big bold letters is "Toussaint, Costello take dip in 'River'; Live lives, rocks on".

When I opened up the paper today, I wasn't expected to see a review, and even when I saw "Live lives, rocks on", I thought it must mean something else, but then saw "Live, Songs from Black Mountain".