I tried... Options

[Voodoo Lady]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrthPx5nhqE

Today I tried listening to Shinn. I mean, I really tried. I just didn't listen to this White Discussion link. I listened to just about an entire show. Sorry, but this dude just sucks. You have to feel your music. You can't tell me he feels it. He hasn't lived those lyrics. He's just up there going through the motions/playing rock star. I am so annoyed by him right now.... I mean, his haircut even seems like a pathetic attempt to be cool, he uses the megaphone way too much, and it looks like he wears the same outfit to every show.

And before you all start getting pissed off at me, please know that I miss the old Ed so much that it hurts. "Eddie K." is horrible, embarrassing, and I can't stomach his new crap either. At least when Vince Neil left Motley Crue, Vince's solo album was freakin' awesome.

I guess my question is, how can you guys get all excited over Shinn covering Ed's songs? I WILL say that I have listened/watched Live's new songs. Those are.... okay. Maybe they should just stick to new stuff.

Help me accept Shinn singing the likes of Beauty of Gray. I don't know how y'all do it. Thanks for letting me vent.~ You have my respect.

[obykya]

Listen to his UT/EIE and solo stuff-One Less, Taste of the South, The Rest of My Life/Real Easy, Dragon Fly, Fin....This guy is the real deal and just what this band needs.

[Hoodstock]

Thanks for the link. It definitely doesn't have the sound that Ed used to give Live, but even he can't bring that anymore. I think it's OK, and I can't really say that it's worse than how the band sounded with Ed at the end of their run.

On the flip I think the musicians playing behind Ed right now sound terrible at times. His live performances with the band do not compare at all to the original sound of Live, but I would still prefer that over a solo acoustic show.

I think on that WD performance when Shinn is screaming the ah ya parts he actually reminds me less of old Live and brings back memories of Kurt with Nirvana, which was never their sound.

[Live4Life]

I agree with this..the guy does not have any stage presence either at all. . He just does not feel these songs and he is not just what "the band needs"
I tried as well and i just can't like him. I want too but i just can't. I really think they should have just kept going on with TGF. I enjoyed that so much more. Anyyywayzzz.

[Bremang]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrthPx5nhqE
Help me accept Shinn singing the likes of Beauty of Gray. I don't know how y'all do it. Thanks for letting me vent.~ You have my respect.

I think you might accept Shinn's vocals only while being present at a concert. I agree with everything else here. I accept that I should expect Live as a basic rock outfit where CCP showcase their catchy songwriting and playing skills, and Chris is a working vocalist with maybe some writing input.

[sellingthdrama]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrthPx5nhqE
I WILL say that I have listened/watched Live's new songs. Those are.... okay. Maybe they should just stick to new stuff.

I've only heard one "new song" - are there more out there? I'd love to hear more.

[sellingthdrama]

You can't tell me he feels it. He hasn't lived those lyrics.

I get that sense, too. CS can't ever bring the life to old Live songs for exactly the reason I quoted. Though I think he brings more passion than "Eddie K" does. So while I'm pleased to hear the improvement from Eddie K, I still very much miss old Ed who did it best.

Though, if you check out some of Ed's 2014 performances, he's sounding better. Better than I've heard in many hears.

[dangum]

I've only heard one "new song" - are there more out there? I'd love to hear more.

Live performed two new tracks last month at the Indy 500.

Videos of both tracks can be found in this thread:
Indianapolis, IN (Indianoplis Motor Speedway), May 17, 2014

[LiveForNow]

Live performed two new tracks last month at the Indy 500.

Videos of both tracks can be found in this thread:
Indianapolis, IN (Indianoplis Motor Speedway), May 17, 2014

Here's my perspective on Shinn:

I became a Live fan in 2008. I was 18 at the time and living in DC. That summer Live was headlining the DC101 Chili Cook off, so the radio station hosting it played a lot of Live songs. I thought they were a new band and asked my friend about them. He said they'd been around forever and loaned me CDs. I was hooked.

I didn't attend the Chili Cook Off but planned on seeing them the next time they rolled through. Unfortunately the breakup occurred before that ever happened. Talk about a shitty time to be introduced to the band.

Since the breakup I've desperately wanted a reunion. It's heartbreaking to have a favorite band that you can never really see, even though the members are all alive and cranking out stuff.

I saw Ed in 2010 in a revved up acoustic show. It was him, a bassist, and a drummer I think. Very solid show but the songs definitely felt stripped down. I saw Ed with a full rock band in 2011 and was underwhelmed. The timing wasn't great and the backing band felt detached from the music. Ed alone felt more like Live than Ed with band. There just wasn't any energy to speak of. I saw Ed again earlier this year, solo acoustic. He was singing with more passion than I had seen in previous concerts, but again, it felt stripped down and not like Live.

I saw Live with Shinn in 2013. Shinn tonally sounded much more like Throwing Copper-era Ed than Ed sounds now, but his voice doesn't quite stack up. As someone who never saw original Live in concert, 2013 Live with Shinn felt more like Live than Ed alone, because of how well CCP play together. Ed's backing band cannot match the synergy it takes to make songs like All Over You work. While Shinn is no classic Ed, a Live with Shinn concerts felt to me like Live. And while Shinn didn't add much, he wasn't a distraction.

As someone deprived of the original lineup who has to deal with trying to get a Live fix, I'm happy that Live is performing with Shinn. Live with Shinn lets me feel the music. He's tonally there and I'm able to excuse his voice because the music feels like Live. So to answer the question "how can you guys get all excited over Shinn covering Ed's songs?" it's that it's as close to Live as I can get, and I really feel it could be a lot worse if it wasn't for Shinn. He's not a distraction the way Ed's backing band is.

With that said an Ed show and a Live with Shinn show each have different things to offer, and to have twice as many opportunities to hear my favorite Live songs is better than only having the Ed solo option.

FYI Shinn also sounds better in concert than recorded.

Maybe if I had been a Live fan since 94 my perspective would be different, but I take what I can get and Shinn holds me over. I am looking forward to the new album.

[zmanpga]

Shinn is the real deal, great pipes and personable
out with the old in with the new
kid has been a rock star since he was a teenager
just wait

[obykya]

I agree. I wasnt a LIVE fan(till recently anyways) but I understand the feelings of the fans towards a new guy coming into the mix. These guys, admittedly were beat down by Ed and werent even allowed in the writing process.
Chris has already had such a huge positive impact on this band and Ill think they will be better than ever. I think youll see this will be a more involved album too.

[alexou]

So far the impact has been clear...like it or not. I for one love the 3 songs we heard, but the music speak for itself, it rocks more. Guitars, drums and bass are really proeminent in this new record.

[zmanpga]

I refuse to listen and have had a few chances

[SJN1279]

Here's my perspective on Shinn:

I became a Live fan in 2008. I was 18 at the time and living in DC. That summer Live was headlining the DC101 Chili Cook off, so the radio station hosting it played a lot of Live songs. I thought they were a new band and asked my friend about them. He said they'd been around forever and loaned me CDs. I was hooked.

I didn't attend the Chili Cook Off but planned on seeing them the next time they rolled through. Unfortunately the breakup occurred before that ever happened. Talk about a shitty time to be introduced to the band.

Since the breakup I've desperately wanted a reunion. It's heartbreaking to have a favorite band that you can never really see, even though the members are all alive and cranking out stuff.

I saw Ed in 2010 in a revved up acoustic show. It was him, a bassist, and a drummer I think. Very solid show but the songs definitely felt stripped down. I saw Ed with a full rock band in 2011 and was underwhelmed. The timing wasn't great and the backing band felt detached from the music. Ed alone felt more like Live than Ed with band. There just wasn't any energy to speak of. I saw Ed again earlier this year, solo acoustic. He was singing with more passion than I had seen in previous concerts, but again, it felt stripped down and not like Live.

I saw Live with Shinn in 2013. Shinn tonally sounded much more like Throwing Copper-era Ed than Ed sounds now, but his voice doesn't quite stack up. As someone who never saw original Live in concert, 2013 Live with Shinn felt more like Live than Ed alone, because of how well CCP play together. Ed's backing band cannot match the synergy it takes to make songs like All Over You work. While Shinn is no classic Ed, a Live with Shinn concerts felt to me like Live. And while Shinn didn't add much, he wasn't a distraction.

As someone deprived of the original lineup who has to deal with trying to get a Live fix, I'm happy that Live is performing with Shinn. Live with Shinn lets me feel the music. He's tonally there and I'm able to excuse his voice because the music feels like Live. So to answer the question "how can you guys get all excited over Shinn covering Ed's songs?" it's that it's as close to Live as I can get, and I really feel it could be a lot worse if it wasn't for Shinn. He's not a distraction the way Ed's backing band is.

With that said an Ed show and a Live with Shinn show each have different things to offer, and to have twice as many opportunities to hear my favorite Live songs is better than only having the Ed solo option.

FYI Shinn also sounds better in concert than recorded.

Maybe if I had been a Live fan since 94 my perspective would be different, but I take what I can get and Shinn holds me over. I am looking forward to the new album.

Ed's band has improved dramatically with the addition of Zak Loy on lead guitar in 2013.

[Frasbul]

I sort of like the new songs, but I don't regard them as LIVE songs. Maybe it's because I am a hardcore everclear fan, but for me the person who writes the songs and sings them basically is the band. You can't just replace the songwriter and still be the same band.

However I am most certainly giving this new record a chance.