Live reveal new EP title - "Local 717" Options

[swami]

Live
Local 717
Review by John Benson


*SPOILER ALERT*

It ain't great. But to stop there would not make for a very satisfying review, now would it? Surely not. But honestly....where to start? I guess with a bit of history, for context.

Casual listeners will remember Live for a somewhat brief, but very prominent career in the alternative rock world in the 1990s. Their breakthrough 1994 album "Throwing Copper" was by any measure an absolute masterpiece which shot them into international stardom, producing hit single after hit single to a dizzying extent. Any kid born in the early 1980s has memories of awkwardly slow-dancing to "Lightning Crashes" with their 6th grade crush as the song gradually increased in tempo to the point where you were ready to let go of your partner's waist a minute before the song's natural end because it was starting to feel inappropriate. That song and the album it came from eventually went on to sell 79 billion (with a 'b') copies which were cherished and spun for roughly 6 years until the band lost focus and went a bit squirrely. The band enjoyed moderate success with the moody and edgy 1997 album "Secret Samadhi" which proved to any and all doubting Thomi that they were not one-hit wonders. 1999's "The Distance to Here" saw a departure from the dark and sexy direction they'd taken, but satisfied the die-hards with a relentlessly uplifting and colourful album which was generally met with critical acclaim. This record had the historically interesting effect of ushering in a completely new wave of Live fans who had the distinct privilege of joining the scene just as it was about to take a sharp decline. Unfortunately, the seventh-inning stretch for Live turned out to be the bottom of the ninth. They would go on to release 3 more albums over the next 7 years with the original vocalist Ed Kowalczyk, with each successive release veering further from their roots, but not in the fun and rejuvenating way you'd hope a band would progress. With the exception of a meager few songs from their 6th album "Birds of Pray", the 2000s were a relentless dry ass-fucking to the devoted fans they'd amassed throughout their earlier works. After their criminally shallow 7th album "Songs From Black Mountain", which was essentially a gospel record commandeered by Kowalczyk which, I can only assume, was suffered through by the other band members with the aid of heavy sedatives, they finally disbanded ungracefully with Kowalczyk becoming the black sheep. This divided fans for the next 10ish years while the different factions pursued separate musical endeavors. Kowalczyk would go on to preach God to his daughters through lullabies disguised as albums and the other 3 members would try to recapture the spirit of genuine rock music that they contractually abandoned over the past decade. Neither venture would see a serious degree of recognition outside their already-established pockets of lemmings, as a once-unified fanbase now effectively functioned to polarize the discussion at every turn. So, we'd all accepted that Live's swansong "Songs From Black Mountain" was going to drown unceremoniously and the playground-style breakup of the original four would stain their reputation and prevent any chance of a successful reunion. But then 2016 happened, the year of Trump, and they announced that they'd reconciled their differences and they were going to make Live great again. Din' happen. What we got instead was a nearly 2-year vacuum of (ironically welcome) silence and finally in June of 2018 a studio recording of a new song, Love Lounge. This song was subject to more mixed reviews than competition salads in a special edition of Mixed Greens Quarterly. What? Nevermind.

Enter Local 717, the long-awaited 5-track EP that the previous run-on paragraph earnestly attempted to prepare you for. First of all, after nearly 2 years of promised new material, it wouldn't have been a stocking full of coal to receive a full-length album, but I'll excuse them that, especially after having heard what half an album sounds like. The EP kicks off with Love Lounge, which I can say after several dozen listens to the whole fucker at this point, is probably the best choice to open the record with. It's by no stretch of the imagination a great song, but it IS catchy and fulfills that desire to hear more, if only out of morbid curiosity. Sadly, the rest of the material teeters cautiously between actually rocking out and staying safely behind the shield of mediocrity. If credit is due anywhere, it's in sending this one to the front to represent the resurgence of Live. The predominant criticism of this EP is its lack of originality or persona. At least Love Lounge takes a risk. It ultimately fails, but it takes a risk. I can't help but imagine how different the collective view of this EP would have been if Ed wasn't permitted to throw the fucking ridiculous and distracting line "Shoot that fear!" into the chorus of the lead single. It is arguably a solid track if you just omit that grating nuance.

"Well, imagine it without the dumb line in it. Isn't it perfect now?"

Man, I wish you were onto something, but you're not. One seriously unforgivable oversight on this EP was the lack of production it went through. And I'm not talking just to audiophiles here. This EP suffers greatly from a terrible mixing job. Every track that endeavours to rock is loud beyond reason. More than half the whole EP feels more like an assault on the senses than it does a legitimate musical offering. Honestly, songs like "Be A Giver, Man" and "Brother" hardly deserve independent scrutiny because they're so depressingly middle-of-the-road. They're essentially interchangeable. Constantly loud, uneventful, uninspiring barrages of misguided direction. Both tracks are lyrically and musically unimpressive, the mix is overwhelming and muddy, and they leave you pondering quite what the fuck this band has been up to for the last two years. At best, these tracks pass for b-sides to albums the general population doesn't care to remember.

"But they're loud and abrasive tracks that rock hard without letting up, and that's what Live fans have been calling for!"

No it isn't. Unlistenable posturing as a replacement for the feeble half-assedness of the mid-2000s Live is not a compromise we were willing to make. Nobody agreed to this. In fact, the band themselves specifically disagreed to it by breaking up when the going got bad in a last-ditch attempt to salvage any semblance of respect they'd earned. Yet, the result of two years of uninhibited musical collaboration, Local 717, has only served to push them further into a creative corner. There are two other tracks on the EP which I haven't touched on yet. The closer is a cover of "Venus In Furs" by The Velvet Underground, which is a passable rendition, but ultimately not something by which I want to grade the EP. It's essentially a bonus track, but the focus is on the original material here. Pop a few Xanax because we're about to discuss the final track (not chronologically, but in terms of artistic merit) - Waterfall.

Gee willickers and boy howdy, does this one ever interrupt an already vapid listening experience and outright rape you aurally (...see what I did there?). No Live release would be complete without some reference to water, but WHY this hot mess? Listening to Waterfall flares up the PTSD that exists in all of us who sat through this band's demise. This song is apparently a recycled and slightly modified version of a song Ed Kowalczyk had written for his solo work during their separation. And man, it sure as shit reeks of that banal drivel. Did the rest of the members lose a bet? It's unconscionable that this track made the cut. It represents the precise sound that got hundreds of thousands, if not millions of former fans to jump ship. You just know in your heart of hearts that this was a last minute compromise brokered out of necessity to keep the peace.

In summation, I know I've been scathing in this review, and if I don't get lynched by Live fans who knew me and respected my devotion to the band in their formative and celebrated years, I'll consider that a personal victory. Local 717 is not entirely unlistenable. It has its moments, but finding them is about as enjoyable as fumigating head lice from your upholstery. This band...this same band is capable of so much more. I am not expecting them to return to the sound that saw them gracing the top of music charts across the globe. Those days are gone, and music has changed, but I'd like to see a bit more effort. If this handful of songs is seriously the peak of their creative ability after two years back together, then I am deeply disappointed. If Local 717 was a homework assignment, I'd make them repeat the grade.

I like the artwork though.

RATING: 2.5/10

[SinfulEyes]

Live
Local 717
Review by John Benson
*SPOILER ALERT*

It ain't great. But to stop there would not make for a very satisfying review, now would it? Surely not. But honestly....where to start? I guess with a bit of history, for context.

Told ya.

This post has been edited by dangum: Oct 17 2018, 2:33 am

[Lakini's Juice]

Live
Local 717
Review by John Benson
*SPOILER ALERT*

It ain't great. But to stop there would not make for a very satisfying review, now would it? Surely not. But honestly....where to start? I guess with a bit of history, for context.

Ouch! Alas, i can't say i disagree.
Nicely written by the way!

This post has been edited by dangum: Oct 17 2018, 2:33 am

[Merica]

"But they're loud and abrasive tracks that rock hard without letting up, and that's what Live fans have been calling for!"

No it isn't. Unlistenable posturing as a replacement for the feeble half-assedness of the mid-2000s Live is not a compromise we were willing to make. Nobody agreed to this. In fact, the band themselves specifically disagreed to it by breaking up when the going got bad in a last-ditch attempt to salvage any semblance of respect they'd earned. Yet, the result of two years of uninhibited musical collaboration, Local 717, has only served to push them further into a creative corner.

Good words.

[Costakoui]

Honestly, songs like "Be A Giver, Man" and "Brother" hardly deserve independent scrutiny because they're so depressingly middle-of-the-road. They're essentially interchangeable. Constantly loud, uneventful, uninspiring barrages of misguided direction. Both tracks are lyrically and musically unimpressive, the mix is overwhelming and muddy, and they leave you pondering quite what the fuck this band has been up to for the last two years. At best, these tracks pass for b-sides to albums the general population doesn't care to remember.

It is puzzling why Be a giver, man and Brother are presented as of similar quality. Brother is a superb song compared to the other 3 songs on EP.

[Bremang]

It is puzzling why Be a giver, man and Brother are presented as of similar quality. Brother is a superb song compared to the other 3 songs on EP.

I think Brother is way overrated on this board. It's not that good and is on par with the rest of the tracks.

[SJN1279]

Live
Local 717
Review by John Benson
*SPOILER ALERT*

It ain't great. But to stop there would not make for a very satisfying review, now would it? Surely not. But honestly....where to start? I guess with a bit of history, for context.

In the days of tweets, who is going to read a 10 paragraph review?

Reviewer is a bit full of himself.

This post has been edited by dangum: Oct 17 2018, 7:40 am

[Merica]

In the days of tweets, who is going to read a 10 paragraph review?

Reviewer is a bit full of himself.

Review for Live's new EP.

https://crypticrock.com/live-local-717-ep-review/

3.5 out of 5 Stars.

A dozen years have passed since the original Live lineup released new music, but that gap is about to close with Local 717, a brisk twenty-minute EP due out Friday, October 12th through Kavalry Records.

Highly anticipated amongst fans, Local 717 contains four new tracks before ending with a cover of “Venus in Furs,” originally written by the Velvet Underground for their 1967 debut, The Velvet Underground & Nico. The EP also marks the first time founding members Ed Kowalczyk (vocals, guitar), Chad Taylor (guitar, backing vocals), Patrick Dahlheimer (bass), and Chad Gracey (drums, percussion) have recorded together since Songs from Black Mountain in 2006, an album which capped almost two decades of recording success. So, does their return as a unit to the studio live up to expectations?

Before answering that question, let’s briefly look at three decade plus history of Live that has led to this point. Originally performing under the name Public Affection, the band switched to the more familiar Live moniker and released a strong debut, Mental Jewelry, in 1991, but as everyone knows, it was their 1994 sophomore album, Throwing Copper, that would land them massive mainstream success, selling in excess of ten million records. Its two immediate follow-ups, 1997’s Secret Samadhi and 1999’s The Distance to Here, each sold millions more.

Several albums followed, each with limited success, before the band agreed to take a hiatus in 2009. Kowalczyk went on to release his debut solo album, Alive, in 2010, followed by an EP, The Garden, in 2012, and a second solo album, The Flood and the Mercy, the following year. The break soon became effectively permanent, and in the wake of that change, Taylor, Dahlheimer, and Gracey combined forces with Kevin Martin and Sean Hennessy of Candlebox to form The Gracious Few, which released an eponymous debut in 2010. In 2014, those same three members announced they had recruited vocalist Chris Shinn to record a new album of Live material, an effort which materialized in 2014 as The Turn. Fast-forward to the fall of 2016, with a few legal hassles set aside, the four original members began meeting again to discuss live shows and new material.

Which leads us to today where Live is eager to release some new music. Interestingly enough, Local 717 takes its name from the telephone area code which once covered most of eastern Pennsylvania and still covers York, the band’s beloved hometown. Giving fans a sample of the new material, Live has already released two singles from Local 717, “Love Lounge” and “Be a Giver, Man,” with video content to match.

“Love Lounge” is an opener in the truest sense of the word; it was the first single, the first track on the EP, and it is a roaring Rock-n-Roll trip forcefully announcing the opening of the band’s return. The bright wailing guitar riffs almost bring the Cult to mind. This is while the lyrics make subtle suggestion that while the band is back together with positive vibes and a long outlook, things should still move a bit slowly. That said, the call of “shoot that fear!” leaves little doubt that the band is back on solid footing. Furthermore, Taylor’s guitar work is impressively subtle here, and it is clear his time, like that of the other members, was wisely spent in the interim.

“Be a Giver, Man” may have an obvious message, but that is essentially the point – no one seems to want to live by this small, important, almost trite credo. Here, Kowalczyk belts, “I believe / that what you give / is what you receive,” leading into a spaced-out refrain book-ended by calls for decency from Kowalczyk and more impressive guitar from Taylor. Additionally, the track also features an appearance from Drummer Stephen Perkins of Jane’s Addiction.

Moving forward, “Waterfall” is a song dominated by the rhythm section, particularly the drumming of Chad Gracey, as Kowalczyk continues his old habits of near-awkward rhyming and singing patterns. This song slows the rollicking pace of the EP a bit, but perhaps the short rest is necessary. Patrick Dahlheimer moves a little out of the background for “Brother,” taking his distinct bass sound to the forefront for the rhythms behind both the verses and the chorus. Overall, the track picks up the speed again, and closes the original portion of the EP with aplomb.

Finally, the closing cover of “Venus in Furs” feels almost out of place for the band. While this song has been covered by dozens of artists in multiple genres, the execution goes well enough, and the mere choice to cover it is enough to be unique. Kowalczyk has a voice that adapts well to the varied pace of the track, while the rest of the band manages to contain themselves from speeding the tempo as compared to the rest of the EP.

Overall, the four original songs on Local 717 contain more than enough material to get excited about, and the out-of-character cover work as well. That is why CrypticRock proudly gives the return EP from Live 3.5 out of 5 stars.

[Voodoo Lady]

Listening to Waterfall flares up the PTSD that exists in all of us who sat through this band's demise

OMG, yes! PTSD!

[Possum Kingdom]

OMG, yes! PTSD!

That's great.

[swami]

Merica, you kill me

[Hoodstock]

Brother is a superb song compared to the other 3 songs on EP.

What are you talking about - "Child"?

This post has been edited by Hoodstock: Oct 17 2018, 2:44 pm

[Hoodstock]

OMG - Hilarious!

[swami]

This post has been edited by swami: Oct 17 2018, 7:11 pm

[Bremang]

In the days of tweets, who is going to read a 10 paragraph review?

Reviewer is a bit full of himself.

Need to be more subtle as a shill if you dont want Ed to fire you.