The Distance To Here turns 20!, Love will lead us. Two decades later. Options

[swami]

"The Distance To Here" by Live was released 20 years ago today. TWENNNY FUCKING YEARS!!! Bill Clinton was president. The towers were alive and well. Not a single one of you was texting a Goddamn thing. Where HAS the time gone? Sadly, this would be the last decent record this band would go on to produce.

If you remember it at all, it's for the songs "The Dolphin's Cry" and "Run To The Water"...but most of you won't. This was a solid record by the band, but it definitely exemplifies in no uncertain terms the loosening of the fabric that made this band so exceptional in their earlier years. The Distance To Here was a very strange entry in Live's then relatively short catalogue, although to some degree that judgement could be assigned to its predecessor "Secret Samadhi".

Secret Samadhi had the distinct privilege (and ominous task) of being the band's response to the album that brought them fame ("Throwing Copper"). Secret Samadhi was a raw, dark, mysterious and sexy album by all accounts. It was the last album I can honestly say was still fully invested in by the whole band. An appropriate follow-up to worldwide success. Its debut single "Lakini's Juice" can remove the undergarments of just about anybody without much effort. Live wasn't fucking around with this one. ....And then after a few years of tapping into people's freaky side they close off the millennium with The Distance To Here - a complete 180 from Secret Samadhi in absolutely every way. The album artwork alone could tell you that. The Distance To Here was swirly, ultra-colourful, playful.....Secret Samadhi was, well, black. But much more important is the musical direction this album foretold. If I could have predicted the eventual resale value of the band's collectibles in 1999 I would probably have 6 figures in the bank today. But, hindsight is 20/20.

This isn't meant to be a review, but a retrospective. The Distance To Here was, and still is, after having listened to it again this morning on its 20th anniversary, a solid record. It's very upbeat and positive, which I think reflects the sentiment of the time. Technology was advancing quickly, and the world was on edge wondering what would happen when the clock ticked into the year 2000. The future was uncertain, but we treated it like a blind date. Not really sure where it would take us, but open to endless possibilities. The Distance To Here will always be that record for me. The record of endless possibilities. The record that risked it all because the end was in sight. The Distance To Here was, in a word, brave. Sadly for the band, they could not hold it together after this record and would never be able to collectively rediscover their roots or amicably move on to some non-existent next phase. It all went downhill after The Distance To Here, and that's a shame, but I cherish this record and what it represents both in my personal life and in the life of this once-formidable force of music.

A solid and unquivering 10 out of 10 from me here, 20 years later. ❤️







This post has been edited by dangum: Oct 5 2019, 7:21 pm

[Bremang]

Awesome swami.

Jerry Harrison had to figure out a way to produce Ed's voice which had been mauled by all the rocking performances of the 90's. He did a good job, but without that crisp, cool, edgy strength in the vocals, Ed knew he needed to release softer material in order to keep touring relentlessly, and that's why this was Live's swan song.

[stuker]

Great summary. The Distance To Here was the album that made me a die-hard fan, and what prompted me to seek out "something more" on the interwebs at the time. I've been lurking in the corners ever since. My musical tastes went in a different direction ever since, but I'd like to think it was in some part thanks to this album that opened me up to the infinite possibilities of connecting to great music.

[SecretInsomnia]

Great post.

For me it was the album that got me into their music as well. Can’t believe it’s 20 years ago!

[san_sao]

Easily my favorite album, by Live, and one of my top 5 of all time. I can't believe it's 20 years old, but I sorta can't believe it's only 20 years old, too. I remember driving around Phoenix listening to TDC on the radio and it being the first time in quite a while I was truly anxious for an album to be released. And it totally changed my whole life. Guess I know what I'm listening to tonight. Thanks Swami!

[swami]

Easily my favorite album, by Live, and one of my top 5 of all time. I can't believe it's 20 years old, but I sorta can't believe it's only 20 years old, too. I remember driving around Phoenix listening to TDC on the radio and it being the first time in quite a while I was truly anxious for an album to be released. And it totally changed my whole life. Guess I know what I'm listening to tonight. Thanks Swami!

It got its fair share of spins up in this guy's apartment today too, I assure you

[mattyeagles]

It got its fair share of spins up in this guy's apartment today too, I assure you

Absolutely incredible album. Can’t believe 20 years old. Live’s last perfect album and nothing has come close since.

[Voodoo Lady]

"The Distance To Here" by Live was released 20 years ago today. TWENNNY FUCKING YEARS!!! Bill Clinton was president. The towers were alive and well. Not a single one of you was texting a Goddamn thing. Where HAS the time gone? Sadly, this would be the last decent record this band would go on to produce.

If you remember it at all, it's for the songs "The Dolphin's Cry" and "Run To The Water"...but most of you won't. This was a solid record by the band, but it definitely exemplifies in no uncertain terms the loosening of the fabric that made this band so exceptional in their earlier years. The Distance To Here was a very strange entry in Live's then relatively short catalogue, although to some degree that judgement could be assigned to its predecessor "Secret Samadhi".

Secret Samadhi had the distinct privilege (and ominous task) of being the band's response to the album that brought them fame ("Throwing Copper"). Secret Samadhi was a raw, dark, mysterious and sexy album by all accounts. It was the last album I can honestly say was still fully invested in by the whole band. An appropriate follow-up to worldwide success. Its debut single "Lakini's Juice" can remove the undergarments of just about anybody without much effort. Live wasn't fucking around with this one. ....And then after a few years of tapping into people's freaky side they close off the millennium with The Distance To Here - a complete 180 from Secret Samadhi in absolutely every way. The album artwork alone could tell you that. The Distance To Here was swirly, ultra-colourful, playful.....Secret Samadhi was, well, black. But much more important is the musical direction this album foretold. If I could have predicted the eventual resale value of the band's collectibles in 1999 I would probably have 6 figures in the bank today. But, hindsight is 20/20.

100% how I felt about the album at the time, as I much more prefer “raw, dark, mysterious, and well, black” (lol), and so it quite bummed me out. After 38 previous songs by Līve, it was the first time I had ever hit the skip button for one of their songs. This was a huge deal for me! Even though this album does contain such absolute gems here and there, such as Dolphins Cry and Voodoo Lady, I could definitely tell this was the point our beloved band started unraveling. 1999... my life was changing at that time, the world was changing (Y2K!!) , the times were changing, and then on top of it, my favorite band was changing... almost too much.

This isn't meant to be a review, but a retrospective. The Distance To Here was, and still is, after having listened to it again this morning on its 20th anniversary, a solid record. It's very upbeat and positive, which I think reflects the sentiment of the time. Technology was advancing quickly, and the world was on edge wondering what would happen when the clock ticked into the year 2000. The future was uncertain, but we treated it like a blind date. Not really sure where it would take us, but open to endless possibilities. The Distance To Here will always be that record for me. The record of endless possibilities. The record that risked it all because the end was in sight. The Distance To Here was, in a word, brave. Sadly for the band, they could not hold it together after this record and would never be able to collectively rediscover their roots or amicably move on to some non-existent next phase. It all went downhill after The Distance To Here, and that's a shame, but I cherish this record and what it represents both in my personal life and in the life of this once-formidable force of music.

Wow, you are a great writer. Deep stuff. I really like and appreciate this take of yours about the album. After 20 years, instead of looking at the album as the point in which Līve started to fall apart, this gives me a whole new perspective in which to look at TDTH. I thank you for that. Really enjoyed your post. Cheers.

[+Ed+]

Best fucking record in the history of music.

[+Ed+]

That deserved a separate post.

Now closer to the sentiments. This makes me understand I have been listening to the band for 20 years. Wow. Tdc changed my view on music when I saw the vid and the damned TV did not write the name of the band


In a couple of weeks I went to a tiny record store to ask about the bald guy singing about fishes. The assistant gave me a fake polish tape without an inlay.

That day my life changed forever.

This post has been edited by +Ed+: Oct 6 2019, 5:15 am

[Bremang]

i just noticed swami literally stamped his own seal of approval. must come in handy

[swami]

i just noticed swami literally stamped his own seal of approval. must come in handy

I made the stamp in Photoshop LOL But yeah, I do use it on occasion. I also made one that looks like a hot wax stamp, but it's not as good.

[LiveFan92]

I remember fans on AOL freaking out because SS was “so different” and then TDTH really threw them for a loop, with many proclaiming it just awful... I’ve always loved the album and it’s been fun to watch opinions change over the years... A lot of people now rank it as a fav, which is really cool. And some of their best “lost” tracks come from this one, in my opinion.

[san_sao]

I remember fans on AOL freaking out because SS was “so different” and then TDTH really threw them for a loop, with many proclaiming it just awful... I’ve always loved the album and it’s been fun to watch opinions change over the years... A lot of people now rank it as a fav, which is really cool. And some of their best “lost” tracks come from this one, in my opinion.

All of the outtakes are light years above anything they've released since then.

[Voodoo Lady]

I remember fans on AOL freaking out because SS was “so different”

In college, I made sure to get a ride to the mall to get the SS CD when it dropped. It was cloudy and freezing cold that day, which added to the darkness of the album experience for me. I vividly remember opening the CD... I can even remember the smell of the booklet & reading those lyrics as I listened to each track, and I was absolutely freaked out because they had somehow reached a whole new level of coolness!! They were then in a sense, creepy to me. Then to top it off, they blew the roof off SNL with Lakini’s and Heropsychodreamer... Ed with his crazy eyes, all black outfit (albeit white socks lol), mysterious symbol on the back of his shirt... Pat’s leopard pants... Ruby Lou... OMG, I couldn’t stop talking about that album, and them for weeks and weeks.

TDTH, I didn’t think was awful, and still don’t. Just not that same experience as SS, which was scary, cool, and sexy. I did have Dolphin’s Cry in a constant loop in my car, and I remember yelling out the window at one point, “I love this song!!!” I was actually in Phoenix at the time, too. I haven’t lost my marbles for Līve since.