Jerry Harrison says TDTH had too many songs, big mistake "The Distance" wasn't a single. Options

[mfitz804]

Actually at my first Live concert in Hershey in 2000, Live explained that he wrote the Distance while on a tour bus in the desert. He was surrounded by nothingness, and the song just fit.

The Distance not being doable, I feel is very relatable. In Ed's case in the desert, and in many cases in my own life.

Still not sure it is a hit, but I always loved the song.

You can find meaning in it, but in terms of what the general, non-Live fan public would relate to, in 1999 considering what the other "hit" singles of the time were, The Distance just wasn't it.

I actually enjoy the song very much, other than the aforementioned falsetto issues.

[mfitz804]

Funny that in my head, like a few other songs on TDTH I think The Distance is one which could have been reworked with a darker vibe to fit SS more. A little like how they reworked Operation Spirit on the SS tour

I think that's pretty accurate. I'd like to hear that version.

[alexou]

Some people are right, in 1999 it was Mambo stuff or nu rap metal like Limp Bizkit or Korn. Live was really out of there, in fact Ed arrived way too late with some songs on V. Where Fishes go could have been a single choice. It is by far my personnal favorite, but my tastes aren't good. I wanted Insomnia to be a single before Turn my head in SS era.

This post has been edited by alexou: Nov 6 2016, 8:15 pm

[Fool_By_The_River]

but my tastes aren't good. I wanted Insomnia to be a single before Turn my head in SS era.

Insomnia and the Hole in the Universe is bad ass, your tastes seem fine.

[vivapokey]

Some people are right, in 1999 it was Mambo stuff or nu rap metal like Limp Bizkit or Korn. Live was really out of there, in fact Ed arrived way too late with some songs on V. Where Fishes go could have been a single choice. It is by far my personnal favorite, but my tastes aren't good. I wanted Insomnia to be a single before Turn my head in SS era.

Your tastes and what should be a single are two things I'd not put hand in hand. Like I say, I love The Distance, but it wouldn't be my choice for a single, let alone lead single. WFG wouldn't be either and again I loved that. I thought the TDTH single choices were, for the most part, pretty spot on. Live did about the best they could have done at that time. The only thing they could have done better would be to have had some of the songs which didn't make TDTH (like Don't Wait) be on the album. I don't think that would have necessarily made it more successful, just a better album. But again, down to taste.


V is weird, some people say it came a bit too late but I don't think it would have made any impact had it been released when TDTH was. If anything it did better where it did sadly because of its connection to 9/11. I actually like V a lot more than a lot of people on the boards do. I have a soft spot for it. I know it's utter trash but it has personal sentimentality to it, almost like no other album ever has weirdly enough. But I'm not sure why people think it could have done well slightly earlier as yeah Ed was trying to mimmick what was popular at the time but he was doing a horrible job at it. It felt so unnatural and so not who they were that it just translated so poorly. I mean I hate Limp Bizkit and Korn, but the music they made, that was their music. It wasnt Live'a realm and I don't think anything could have saved that.

[figure8]

I personally dig V. I think it is definitely better in comparison to anything they've made after. I mean the cool thing about the first 5 albums is that all of them are different. Yes, V may not be as great as some of their previous work, but it is still Live. They should have kicked ass on album number 6 but instead they have delivered half hearted albums like BOP and SFBM.

[Hoodstock]

So I was in college when this album came out and I recall how the situation played out pretty well. Making The Dolphins Cry the lead single really did damage to Live's rep and hurt this album. Nobody made the connection between the lyrics and sex. That song took Live from an edgy band to pansy for a lot of people. A few comments I recall hearing more than once were "that song is gay" or "who the hell sings about dolphins / crying dolphins?". It was a metaphore that just didnt connect. Really, you're listening to that dolphins crying song?

That song, specifically the refrain, killed that album and hurt the perception of the band. I actually like the song but I remember hearing it only twice on my favorite radio station. It didn't get played on there after the first week.

With that being said, the album still did well and so did the song. It was new from Live and they were still main stream and huge at the time.

Dolphins Cry, if it were going to be a single though, should have been a 3rd or 4th single off that album. It might have worked in Europe (I don't know) but it didn't translate well to the masses and the casual fans here. TDTH needed to be established with a few other songs for that single to really resonate with their target age group at the time.

A better lead single at the time would have been The Distance or Sparkle, but I personally think They Stood Up For Love would have been The best choice to launch in the US. Sure, you can argue some of these are not singles today, but in 1999 they would have worked.

I like talking tracks because I actually think this album has one of the two the most botched songs in Live's catalogue, Sun. This song is a rocker, and if done right, could have carried this album as the lead single. Problem is the band fucked it up.

What was wrong?

sun sun merciful one
sun sun
sun sun won't you lay down your light on us
sun sun

Is this a song for the Aztecs? Totally cheesy and sounds bad. They could have just edited that part out and I think they have a huge rock 1999 song on their hands.

TDTH was a good album that did well but I always wonder how big it could have been had they reorderd the release of singles and not ruined Sun.

[SJN1279]

So I was in college when this album came out and I recall how the situation played out pretty well. Making The Dolphins Cry the lead single really did damage to Live's rep and hurt this album. Nobody made the connection between the lyrics and sex. That song took Live from an edgy band to pansy for a lot of people. A few comments I recall hearing more than once were "that song is gay" or "who the hell sings about dolphins / crying dolphins?". It was a metaphore that just didnt connect. Really, you're listening to that dolphins crying song?

That song, specifically the refrain, killed that album and hurt the perception of the band. I actually like the song but I remember hearing it only twice on my favorite radio station. It didn't get played on there after the first week.

With that being said, the album still did well and so did the song. It was new from Live and they were still main stream and huge at the time.

Dolphins Cry, if it were going to be a single though, should have been a 3rd or 4th single off that album. It might have worked in Europe (I don't know) but it didn't translate well to the masses and the casual fans here. TDTH needed to be established with a few other songs for that single to really resonate with their target age group at the time.

A better lead single at the time would have been The Distance or Sparkle, but I personally think They Stood Up For Love would have been The best choice to launch in the US. Sure, you can argue some of these are not singles today, but in 1999 they would have worked.

I like talking tracks because I actually think this album has one of the two the most botched songs in Live's catalogue, Sun. This song is a rocker, and if done right, could have carried this album as the lead single. Problem is the band fucked it up.

What was wrong?

sun sun merciful one
sun sun
sun sun won't you lay down your light on us
sun sun

Is this a song for the Aztecs? Totally cheesy and sounds bad. They could have just edited that part out and I think they have a huge rock 1999 song on their hands.

TDTH was a good album that did well but I always wonder how big it could have been had they reorderd the release of singles and not ruined Sun.

I disagree totally about The Dolphin's Cry. I feel it was the best choice for single on the album, and I still think the song holds well today. It was also played nonstop on K-Rock in NYC, and I believe it reached #2 on the charts.

[Shared Belief]

voodoo lady should have been the single. that or fishes followed by run to the water or stood up for love.

that is how you bridge from ss to tdth. voodoo lady would have hit immediately with the ss crowd instead of blindsiding them with something as soft as dolphins cry, which isnt a bad song or anything just not anywhere near ss.

anyway, the distance is a great song but not a single. that song is a journey that needs to be taken many times.

[Hoodstock]

I disagree totally about The Dolphin's Cry. I feel it was the best choice for single on the album, and I still think the song holds well today. It was also played nonstop on K-Rock in NYC, and I believe it reached #2 on the charts.

Like I said, it did well but I'm telling you Live lost a ton of people with it. I know the song did well but it lost a lot of air play on rock stations. It did well on soft rock channels. People made fun fo it. Live especially lost fringe males who loved songs like Lakini's Juice or Freaks off of SS.

The album did well but it could have done better if it came out later as a single. People still bought the album, but not because of that song. It was because Live was still a hot band.

I was on campus. My brother was in high school. I'm telling you the reaction. It was catchy but it wasn't cool to be rocking out to that song.

Live lost a ton of rock cred with it. You can disagree and site numbers, no matter what Live put out at the time it would do well. I'm telling you what actually happened.

V bombed out of the gate. The Dolphins Cry had an impact on that.

This is coming from someone who really likes the song.

BTW, Where The Fishes Go was never single material. It was a good album song, that's it.

This post has been edited by Hoodstock: Nov 7 2016, 10:25 am

[Shared Belief]

vine street maybe should have been the single lol

or dont wait

This post has been edited by Shared Belief: Nov 7 2016, 10:32 am

[mattyeagles]

vine street maybe should have been the single lol

or dont wait

dolphins cry was a fine first single, vine street wouldve crushed as a second single, meltdown would've been a hit on rock radio. still dont understand how RTTW wasn't more successful on radio

[alexou]

dolphins cry was a fine first single, vine street wouldve crushed as a second single, meltdown would've been a hit on rock radio. still dont understand how RTTW wasn't more successful on radio

RTTW did well in Canada, particularly in Quebec. But for some who already thought that The dolphin's cry was a letdown because of its poppy alt-rock anthem, well RTTW was likeva confirmation, at least in the US, that Live was becoming more pop than rock, so it didn't chart.

And I love RTTW, else than the snare sound.

This post has been edited by alexou: Nov 7 2016, 12:05 pm

[Costakoui]

So I was in college when this album came out and I recall how the situation played out pretty well. Making The Dolphins Cry the lead single really did damage to Live's rep and hurt this album. Nobody made the connection between the lyrics and sex. That song took Live from an edgy band to pansy for a lot of people. A few comments I recall hearing more than once were "that song is gay" or "who the hell sings about dolphins / crying dolphins?". It was a metaphore that just didnt connect. Really, you're listening to that dolphins crying song?

This is the first time i am reading such interpretation about TDC. I completely disagree. TDC was the best choice as the lead single and it was a hit. TDTH singles were generally ok. Live’s big mistake was not with TDTH singles but with SS’s. Lakini’s Juice was a bad choice as a lead single because it was such a great departure from TC sound. It should be the last single, not the first one. It is like having White Discussion as the lead single instead of Selling the drama. SS’s singles, IMHO, should be: 1. Insomnia, 2. Herospychodreaner, 3. Gas Hed, 4. Ghost of Lakini’s Juice.

[fandelive]

Voodoo Lady was quite the shit, but not radio friendly enough.