Published on Oct 12, 2005
Yeah! Live has found its bearings again!
The band created a grunge icon with
Throwing Copper, and then followed it up with the dismally
spiritual
Secret Samadhi. The members realized this mistake of theirs
(thanks to some criticism from their avid fans), mended their ways
— or rather their ‘style’ of music — and created one of the most
fan-pleasing albums any band could release,
The Distance To Here. The fans loved the album so much that
Kowalczyk and crew took this love for granted and created a
concoction of unforgivable tunes, noises and sounds, packaged them,
and labeled the package
V.
History repeated itself, and when irksome fans showed strong
disapproval for another Live album, the band again decided to mend
its sound and has come up with a very friendly
Birds Of Pray; and we are happy again.
But did the band really disappoint us in the first place? Nah.
Actually, the disappointment and the dismay should come from the
other side. Live’s phases, though not necessarily always embracing,
are what have kept them alive as one of the few remaining talented
hard-rock bands, now that most of their earlier comrades have
conveniently decided to quit, and almost all of their newer
associates sound no different from each other. Live’s different
transitions show the versatility of this great band.
Like every other Live album,
Birds Of Pray finds the band dexterously adding another
charming style to its ever-changing moods, but this time, unlike
most of the other instances, they has decided to be much less deep
(or anguished) and adventurous.
Birds Of Pray is the least complicated of all Live records
and also the least profound of the group’s catalogue. Apart from
Kowalczyk’s humbling and haunting voice, the album is driven by
simplicity in its power-packed guitar-driven music. With 13 songs,
and just below 45 minutes of playing time,
Birds Of Pray is an album of singles. Every number is
uncomplicated and is neatly adorned with a beautiful chorus.
Though
Birds Of Pray is not one of their intricate albums, it has
all the band’s passions still intact, which is so inherent to its
nature. This LP is a mixture of both
Distance To Here and
V, with a little of
Distance‘s sensitivity and a pinch of
V‘s machismo. “Heaven” could be Distance’s “Dolphins Cry”
and “Life Marches On” could be
V‘s “Simple Creed.” “Lighthouse,” “Everytime I See Your
Face” and “River Town” are any other Live album’s punch-tracks, and
Bird‘s finest.
Unlike other records by the band,
Birds is relatively easy-going on the lyrics. This goes very
well with the straightforwardness of the album: simple words like
“I hope she lights that candle; I hope she gives me everything” on
“Sweet Release” and “Everytime I see your face / It’s like heaven
opens up her gates” on “Everytime I See Your Face” say I love you
in the simplest way. However, on the downside, the oversimplified
becomes treacly on the subject of war on “What Are We Fighting
For?,” (sample lyrics: “The world got smaller but the bombs got
bigger / Holocaust on a hairpin trigger.”
Though Live has gone through a lot of unnecessary skepticism for
the two previous albums from its fans, this one should be
reasonably accepted. On
Birds, Live is just a bunch of four guys making a rock album
straight out of their jam sessions without any complications added.
The band hasn’t tried any stunts here — or maybe paradoxically,
this is what the stunt is!
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