Rank The Album, Mental Jewelry Options

[Hoodstock]

Rank The Album

Premise: Take the songs from a Live album and rank them all from your favorite to your least favorite (1 being the favorite and the lowest number being the least favorite).

Simple Rules: There is one ranking slot for each track and there cannot be two songs listed in one ranking spot (if a album has 12 tracks your ranking has to go from 1 to 12 with not ties)

This thread is for Mental Jewelry.

Here is the track list (this is not my ranking):

Pain Lies On The Riverside
Operation Spirit
The Beauty of Gray
Brothers Unaware
Tired Of "Me"
Mirror Song
Waterboy
Take My Anthem
You Are The World
Good Pain
Mother Earth Is A Vicious Crowd
10,000 Years

You Can Copy This To Start:

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[Hoodstock]

1. Mother Earth Is A Vicious Crowd
2. Operation Spirit
3. You Are The World
4. Mirror Song
5. The Beauty Of Gray
6. Pain Lies On The Riverside
7. Good Pain
8. Take My Anthem
9. Brothers Unaware
10. 10,000 Years
11. Tired Of "Me"
12. Water Boy

[crazy1]

1. Good Pain
2. Brothers Unaware
3. Operation Spirit
4. Pain Lies On The Riverside
5. Take My Anthem
6. You Are The World
7. Mother Earth Is A Vicious Crowd
8. 10,000 Years
9. The Beauty Of Gray
10. Tired Of "Me"
11. Mirror Song
12. Water Boy

[LiveRoCkS77]

Not surprised that the uneducated and the brain dead youngsters rank the best song near the middle or bottom. I rank it number 1. It is easily just that on this album.

1. 10,000 years(Peace Is Now)
2. Pain Lies On The Riverside
3. Mother Earth Is A Vicious Crowd
4. Operation Spirit
5. Tired Of Me
6. Mirror Song
7. The Beauty Of Gray
8. Good Pain
9. Brothers Unaware
10. You Are The World
11. Take My Amnthem
12. Waterboy

[Pokey]

1. Pain Lies on the Riverside
2. Operation Spirit
3. Mother Earth Is A Vicious Crowd
4. 10,000 years(Peace Is Now)
5. The Beauty Of Gray
6. Waterboy
7. Good Pain
8. Tired Of Me
9. Mirror Song
10. Brothers Unaware
11. You Are The World
12. Take my anthem

[Badman]

1.Mirror Song
2.Tired Of "Me"
3.Mother Earth is a Vicious Crowd
4.Beauty Of Gray
5.Brothers Unaware
6.Good Pain
7.Waterboy
8.10000 Years
9.Take My Anthem
10.Pain Lies On The Riverside
11.Operation Spirit
12.You Are The World

Wow, our lists are all really different! I am baffled Mirror Song isn't on top of most lists... it is one of the greatest songs I have ever heard.

I also think the 2 songs that most of you liked (Operation Spirit and PLbtR) were pretty lackluster. OS has a weak chorus and horrible instrumental work, way more primitive than most other live songs. Pain Lies sounds straight out of DoaD. It needed more studio time because it had good lyrics, just kinda doesn't fit in this song.

[LiveRoCkS77]

1.Mirror Song
2.Tired Of "Me"
3.Mother Earth is a Vicious Crowd
4.Beauty Of Gray
5.Brothers Unaware
6.Good Pain
7.Waterboy
8.10000 Years
9.Take My Anthem
10.Pain Lies On The Riverside
11.Operation Spirit
12.You Are The World

Wow, our lists are all really different! I am baffled Mirror Song isn't on top of most lists... it is one of the greatest songs I have ever heard.

I also think the 2 songs that most of you liked (Operation Spirit and PLbtR) were pretty lackluster. OS has a weak chorus and horrible instrumental work, way more primitive than most other live songs. Pain Lies sounds straight out of DoaD. It needed more studio time because it had good lyrics, just kinda doesn't fit in this song.

Well man, you just proved my point so thanks. You should really quit talking about what is or isn't weak on instrumentals because you obviously have no clue. You think Transmit your love is good guitar work and that about says it all really.

PLOTR is right up there with White Discussion as the best instrumentals Live have ever done. The basslines and the drums are very well done, not to mention how well the song was written. It sounds nothing like anything from DOAD. To be quite frank with you, there isn't anything comparable from all of MJ to that album, with the exception of the actual production and recording sound. Quit mistaking that for similarities in the actual music.

A few friends and I have actually screwed around with PLOTR and Operation Spirit, neither of them being particulary "weak." As for the lyrics not fitting? Are you kidding man? I ask that question seriously. Because it fits PERFECTLY with the music. The end of the song where Ed sings, "put your soul in the water, join me for a swim tonight..yeah!" Followed by the fast paced alternative drumming, a sped up bassline with acoustic jamming is well, like I said, amongst the best work LIVE have ever created.

If Live created anything even half as good as PLOTR over the past ten years, their last three cd's wouldn't have tanked so bad. Not one single song on any of the last three cd's is as good technically nor lyrically. That's fact and purely objective. There are a few songs I like better, but there's a difference between liking and it actually being better music. Learn the difference.

This post has been edited by LiveRoCkS77: Mar 22 2008, 2:22 pm

[Merica]

1. The Beauty of Gray
2. Brothers Unaware
3. Mirror Song
4. Mother Earth Is A Vicious Crowd
5. Tired Of "Me"
6. Pain Lies On The Riverside
7. Operation Spirit
8. Good Pain
9. Waterboy
10. 10,000 Years
11. Take My Anthem
12. You Are The World

That was very difficult, and were I to do this list a week from now, it would probably be different. The only two I knew where to place immediately were the bottom two. Also, the top 10 are very very close together, all of them. Also, I don't believe my low placement of 10,000 Years is an indication that I am uneducated or in any way braindead.

This post has been edited by Merica: Mar 22 2008, 4:15 pm

[Tina]

1. Mother Earth is a Vicious Crowd
2. 10, 000 Years (Peace is now)
3. Good Pain
4. Operation Spirit
5. Pain Lies on the Riverside
6. Beauty of Gray
7. Mirror Song
8. Tired of Me
9. Brother's Unaware
10. Take My Anthem
11. You are the World
12. Waterboy

[mattbo]

1. Tired of Me
2. 10, 000 Years (Peace is now)
3. Operation Spirit
4. Pain Lies on the Riverside
5. Brothers Unaware
6. Mirror Song
7. Beauty of Gray
8. Mother Earth is a Vicious Crowd
9. Good Pain
10. Take My Anthem
11. Waterboy
12. You are the World

[Lester]

1. Mother earth is a vicious crowd
2. 10 000 days (peace is now)
3. Brothers unaware
4. Take my anthem
5. Pain lies on the riverside
6. Waterboy
7. Tired of"me"
8. You are the world
9. Operation spirit (the tyranny of tradition)
10. Mirrorsong
11. The beauty of gray
12. Good pain

[Existentialist]

1. Brothers Unaware
2. Operation Spirit
3. The Beauty of Gray
4. Good Pain
5. Waterboy
6. Pain Lies on the Riverside
7. Mirror Song
8. Mother Earth is a Vicious Crowd
9. Take My Anthem
10. Tired of Me
11. 10,000 Years (Peace is Now)
12. You Are the World

I think Mental Jewelry is without question Live's greatest work. Luke is right that this is their best effort instrumentally, and the lyrics are outstanding. I'm glad to see Live playing more songs from it lately. They've played five of these songs in the past year, the same they've played from TDTH and more than from SS. I wish they would play a few more of these songs, especially Brothers Unaware, because they're all brilliant and deserve a few more plays before Live rides off into the night.

[Badman]

You think Transmit your love is good guitar work and that about says it all really.

TYL rocks more than all of SFBM and the rest of V. Take it outside of those 2 worlds and it is trash. Really, live for me was never about the guitars, drums, or bass, it's all Ed. The great legends of classic rock would laugh at Chad's work on the guitar and tell him he needs practice. Chad is okay with the drums, I'll give him that but I'd like to see him play "Moby Dick" like Bonham or "Rat Salad" like Black Sabbath's Bill Ward.

We've seen what it looks like when live tries to write good lyrics to bad music (see What are we fighting for) it just doesn't work. I'm sure that song would be better if he slowed it down and took the "overcome" approach to it. I did not like overcome... but it was better than BTPT.

Sorry to attempt to derail this thread.

[LiveRoCkS77]

TYL rocks more than all of SFBM and the rest of V. Take it outside of those 2 worlds and it is trash. Really, live for me was never about the guitars, drums, or bass, it's all Ed. The great legends of classic rock would laugh at Chad's work on the guitar and tell him he needs practice. Chad is okay with the drums, I'll give him that but I'd like to see him play "Moby Dick" like Bonham or "Rat Salad" like Black Sabbath's Bill Ward.

We've seen what it looks like when live tries to write good lyrics to bad music (see What are we fighting for) it just doesn't work. I'm sure that song would be better if he slowed it down and took the "overcome" approach to it. I did not like overcome... but it was better than BTPT.

Sorry to attempt to derail this thread.

Heh, no problem. I have to disagree that What Are We Fighting For is good lyrically. I'd say it borders on horrible. My 12 year old writes much much MUCH better poetry and I'm being completely honest in saying that.

Instrumentally, Chad G is an above average drummer. He has fans from many bands including one of the worlds top ten drummers in Neil Peart from Rush. In my opinion, he is the most talented of the four. Ed used to be a very talented song writer, but lord only knows what happened to those abilities. He hasn't written anything that can even be considered average in a very long time.

Peace is now is one of my favorites for that very reason. It goes deeper than a message of peace. The line "for selfishness and separation have led me to believe that the world is not my problem, the world is not my problem and I am the world and you are the world," is utterly spectacular and extremely well delivered. That song speaks so much truth, it's mind boggling to me that a man in his early twenties wrote it. Top that off with the acoustic jamming at the end and the alternative style drums mixed in and that song is amonst the best Live have ever done in my opinion.

It's more baffling to me how a guy who wrote songs like that is writing the shit he is now. Something has happened and I think it goes a lot further than him "maturing" or him going in a different direction. That's bullshit, plain and fucking simple. Sure, maybe they've found the answers they posed questions to in their earlier music, but that doesn't mean the stuff they write now has to be candy coated bullshit.

Maybe the angst is gone, that's fine. Some people need to find their own answers in their search for happiness, to be at peace with themselves. But with that said, there are more relevant things to be writing about than "ewwww baby let my loving ease your pain," I mean what the fuck, have we not heard that exact same line written a million different ways by every dipshit pop artist on the planet?

Write about shit that's real and put some fucking effort into it for christ sakes.

[Existentialist]

Well, again I have to agree with everything Luke said, except that I think Pat is the most talented of the four. However, CAG is definitely a better than average drummer and a better talent than Ed. Still, despite better individual talents in the band, Ed is still the face of Live and it too boggles my mind how he could write such brilliant things 17 years ago and such shit now. I chalk it up to drugs honestly. The message of Live is still there, but man was it delivered so beautifully in the early 90s. I really wish I had been my age now back then so I could have appreciated it as much as I do now at the time.