Listen to sample clips from Live's new album Options

[drewgood]

first off, thank you dan for alerting us to this. i was very curious about what the album sounded like, and now i've got a pretty good idea.

um, i don't know what to say. with the exception of ed's voice (which had a bit of a mental jewelry with a less raspy tone to it) on the songs, it does not sound like live at all. even after they got weird with V. and even when they started to get poppy with some of the songs on BOP. i'm still going to buy it. the clips of Wings, All I Need, and Night of Nights sound interesting. but i don't expect to really ever GET INTO this album like i did for some of their other records.

in the cd booklet for Awake, Ken Wilbur talks of how when he was writing his book, he had a special mix he listened to... how truly great bands got one or two songs, yet how he put four off throwing copper alone on there (don't quote me directly on this, i haven't read it in awhile).

i highly doubt another live song will ever make his awesome mix... and from the sound of things, it really shouldn't either.

[SJN1279]

The strings in Mystery are horrible.

Dan,

I luv ya man, but I have to disagree a thousand times over. The strings add a lot of depth to the song, and it will definitely be the second single. I know a lot of people on here are into mainly rock and alternative music, but I am big fan of Hot A/C. Mystery fits perfectly into that format. If Epic starts pushing The River harder and then follows with Mystery, Songs from Black Mountain will become a huge hit for the band. They are both singles that could become mainstream hits. I don't remember the last time LIVE released an album with two great radio singles on it after Throwing Copper.

I listened to all the clips, and not sure what to think yet. It is really hard to judge a song based on a thirty second clip. The songs I knew sounded great, but the songs I never heard before, I just couldn't gauge without hearing the whole flow of it. I am really excited for May 9th though.



This post has been edited by SJN1279: Mar 18 2006, 10:22 am

[edstipe]

Yeah, it's been mixed and such, and I think it sounds much better than the strings version. I'll have to listen to the full strings version once the album is released though.

Another note - atleast 2 of the clips that I have listened to so far sound different then what I've already heard. I wonder how many times the lyrics and mixing was changed around.

Interesting. I thought that I had heard the "final" version, but some of the clips sound different on the Sony Music site from the ones I had heard as well. I wonder if they actually have a final version yet, or if they are STILL tweaking it.

Have to say that I am liking the clips, though, now that I have a chance to play them over and over again at my own pace. Night of Nights is pretty much my runaway favorite, and I am glad that the song hasn't been changed (at least from the 30 second clip) from the full song that I have heard. I hope they release Love Shines as a single, despite some other people's misgivings. That song is catchy as fuck.

[SJN1279]

I hope they release Love Shines as a single, despite some other people's misgivings. That song is catchy as fuck.

The River, Mystery, and then Love Shines as a third single would work really nicely I think. I love trying to think as a record exec

[livefan86]

The strings on mystery sound really good in the chorus but i think they should have ekpt them out of the verses.

[J.Sax]

Totally agree with you on that one.. oh my God.. the raw demo version wasn't that bad in my opinion.. but woah.. and there is one song more where they've added some strange sounds that don't impress me at all..

It was Sofia.. hmm sounds like Kylie Minogue was in the studio as well.. hearing Live record and said to them, wouldn;t it be nice if you add a little bit of this and a little bit of that to the song....too bad because the songs weren't that bad if they kept it simple..

Those background sounds in the verse were in the original demo that we got back in the summer, if that's what you're talking about. Nothing new.

I left Adam a comment on MySpace a few days back that said he should play the keytar in concert for "All I Need." I was surprised he approved it since the album's not out yet.

This post has been edited by J.Sax: Mar 18 2006, 11:12 am

[jimandkrit]

After listening to each clip, most of my thoughts mirror those that others already wrote...I must say that I wasn't expecting what I heard, but I'm not sure yet whether that is good or bad, I'll withold judgement until I hear the whole album...

1) The level of "production" was very surprising, a lot more background vocals and strings than I was expecting (unfortunately so far I dislike the strings added to Mystery)
2) The songs that we've heard live so far sound sped up slightly on the album clips
3) The River does not appear to be the 'guitars up' verison, sadly...

I'm trying to think why I had this initial reaction after listening to the clips and I've only been able to come up with the fact that I first heard most of these songs live in concert (and bootlegs from concerts thanks to the internet age) rather than the album first. So I heard their harder, raw, stripped down live versions before the produced cuts...backwards from the norm for me. But thinking back, this is typical for LIVE, taking softer album versions and rocking them up in concert (TSUFL is a great example), and only reasonable to expect logistically as production cannot be duplicated on stage in a live performance.

In general, I can appreciate LIVE trying to appeal more to the AC market, but I was hoping they could do it without all the "la da da da's" and Ed's apparent "license to falsetto" (Mysterrrrrry et al...).

[LiveattheOasis]

I love the guitar at the end of the "You are not Alone" clip. I think Night of Nights will be great, and Get Ready, if it stays simple throughout, could be an excellent song. I like Sofia, Show and Mystery, though I have yet to come to a decision on the strings. I think they should probably be saved for the end of the song, third chorus or something. Wings, Where Do We Go From Here, Home, not that great. Here to Stay is interesting, I'll withhold judgment. I think they made the right choice going with the River as the first single though.

Thanks Dan

I do wish they could stick to the way they are going with Get Ready, Night of Nights and maybe You Are Not Alone. I think if they go in this direction, they will turn over a leaf we all could be real excited about.

[livefan86]

All this just prves that Live is no longer a studio band. They are a live band. After hearing all the clips, i can bet money that all the songs will sound a million times better at a show.

[MetsOwnYou]

All this just prves that Live is no longer a studio band. They are a live band. After hearing all the clips, i can bet money that all the songs will sound a million times better at a show.

If you guys like Nights of Nights best based on a 30 second clip, wait until you hear the whole song

[MetsOwnYou]

If you guys like Nights of Nights best based on a 30 second clip, wait until you hear the whole song

I only heard it once but I'm seriously ranking it up there with some of my favorite Live songs.

[swedeguy]

I only heard it once but I'm seriously ranking it up there with some of my favorite Live songs.

Well I honestly must say that this album will be ranked pretty high for me. It won't touch TC or TDTH of course but it may very well be my third favorite album.
I'm not that big a fan of SS you see.
But we'll see when I hear the whole album but it looks promising.

Definately it's better than their two last efforts and MJ, no doubt about it.
But hey, that's just my opinion

[SJN1279]

Well after a full morning of listening to the clips, I have started to really enjoy the new material. I liked Birds of Pray, but found many of the songs to be very manic. These songs are better paced and the lyrics are very flow well. This could be one of Live's strongest albums to date in my opinion. It is different from anything the band has ever done before, and I really like it.

[beau99]

I was totally not expecting this.

These sounded so much better than what Dan described in his review... but has Live gone country? I can see a few of these getting airplay on country radio.

[digthetones24]

I think that some of the songs standing alone are pretty nice. My initial reaction from listening through all these clips (once) is that they are all really similar. They don't vary much rhythmically, and even the chord structures are all pretty similar. I don't know how much I like the overall picture. Again, that's just one listen to 30 seconds from each clip.
I like the strings in Mystery. I think they are just enough to add density to the vertical structure of the tune, but don't distract from anything.
As far as Ed's voice goes, it has changed again. Those of you who complain about his falsetto should note that he is waiting until higher in his range to flip to falsetto. This should mean less falsetto until he gets older and needs it to hit those high notes. I have made the observation in earlier threads that his tessitura has gotten higher over previous albums, and it appears that trend has continued. Again, that may be a quick judgement to make from these clips.
I think the thing that bothers me the most is the production of the album. I think the mix is good, certainly better than previous versions we have heard. It's more the overall sound. It's too clean... overly produced, if you will. This is a problem I have had with more and more of the albums produced lately, including some big band jazz albums. It may just be technology and I clashing.
I am a loyal fan of the band, and have enjoyed every one of their albums (TDTH being my favorite), so I will wait and see. I like some of the individual songs, and I am sure most if not all will grow on me.