what would have made V better? Options

[fearisnottheend]

Hey ya'll! I'm new to the board but i'm not a new fan. I've been hooked since 95. I saw them for the first time in Birmingham, Alabama in 97. I've seen them 9 times total. I used to post on the subculture of dreams message board. I was so excited when i found out about this board.


My least favorite LIVE album is V. I really feel like there are alot of good things about the album mixed in with a few things that just didn't work for me.

If i could change some things about V, i would start with taking out the keyboards and samples. No offense to Railo but i just didn't like it. It worked on TDTH but not on V (in my opinion).

I would completely remove Deep Enough, FMNBLE, and Ok. Just don't care for them at all. Also, Overcome wouldn't be on it either but more on that in a minute.

I would take out all the rap on the album. All the "puppy scruff", "write a song so good it make a midget grow", "bowh bowh everybody in the hotel", all that stuff. Ed is a great songwriter and frontman. He can and has done MUCH better than that.

Overcome would have the whole band on it instead of the piano and orchestra stuff. I heard a clip of LIVE doing this song at a Tibet House function years back. It was "haunting". Totally different sound from what they put out. I would have put it on TDTH. I met Ed a few years back after a show on the TDTH tour. I asked about Overcome and he said they were saving it for the next album. Wish they wouldn't have.

Anyways, I think V has some GREAT guitar riffs. It could have been a really strong album. I listen to it and try to ignore the lyrics.

What do ya'll think?

Most important

[mfitz804]

Its probably my least favorite Live album, but I do like it.

I've seen a lot of people on this board criticize it, but I think that you have to take it for what it is. If you sit down and overanalyze every note and every lyric, it does not compare to Live's other material. If you just kick back, relax, and listen to it, it is enjoyable.

I've seen people on the board say that it was a "rap rock" record, or that there is too much of a rap element on the album. While I agree that Ed has no business rapping, there's probably about 30 seconds worth of rap-like material on the whole record. It doesn't really offend me very much.

In fact, I wonder if the people on this board who hate SFBM also hate V. the main argument I have heard is too much "love" not enough rock. A lot of songs on V rocked pretty hard.

There were some bad lyrics on V. There are some bad lyrics on every Live album. Probably on every album. Big deal.

So, I view V as a departure from Live's usual material which they thought was a good idea but didn't quite pan out. As I said, its probably my least favorite of their albums. But its still there, it is what it is, and I listen to it and I enjoy it. There are times where I feel like listening to V over anything else.

Someone in this thread described it as weird and out there, and I think that is apt. And I think its ok to be weird and out there sometimes.