Customer Reviews

Distance to Here

5 star:		(257)
4 star:		(79)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

This record obviously marks a huge turning point for Live. It has HAPPY LYRICS! Who'd ever have thought of Live with happy and hopeful sounding lyrics? Not to mention the brilliant musical styles as well. Live pours out all it's emotion into this cd, making what Kowalczyk calls "Just a bunch of love songs." A band has to have good music to back up a title like The Doplhin's Cry, and they do. The brilliant emotion of Run To The Water has made it a favorite among many Live fans. Sparkle rocks the most I think. This album is the end of Ed's spiritual quest that he has been going through in the other albums, but just the beginning of his career. Dance With You sets a new standard for Live ballads, surpassing Turn My Head as a love song. The darker sounds of Voodo Lady sound as if they belong on Secret Samadhi, but just give the album a new twist and makes it even better. The string parts in Where Fishes Go elude to the gentle rolling of the waves, as Ed calls us out of the darkness to come dance in the light of love. In the very beginning of We Walk In The Dream Ed admits he was wrong about us not having a soul or spiritual self, as he said in his previous albums. Also, Ed's little brother Adam Kowalczyk takes adds his guitar parts to the new album as well. He's also been touring with Live and taking Ed's acoustic guitar parts so Ed is "Free to be a madman on stage." There is no doubt about it, The Distance To Here is a another hit record for Live, and may even challange Throwing Copper as the top Live album. This new explosion of emotion and peace together with brilliantly rocking music brings a new style into the music world as we enter the next decade.

Live has come up with the goods yet again. Edward Kowolsyck has penned an album full of inspiring lyrics that come to life with the help of Chad Taylor, Patrick Dulfelmier, Chad Gracey.

From the opening track The Dolpins Cry the listener is taken on a journey that will leave a lasting effect. Other highlights are Sparkle with it's powerful chorus, and the beauty of Run To The Water that is one of the bands best ballads. Where Fishes Go is a different track but displays the awesome power and ability of a band that is within their prime.

Another track that stands out is Feel The Quiet River Rage. This is a track that has a sense of power and beauty both at the same time. They Stood Up For Love is a trademark Live track that has all the makings of a new radio friendly Live hit to hit the airwaves.

The Distance is the most un-Live track on the album, but is a welcome change as it features a new sound and a different feel. The album has a new feel to it and captures the listeners attention, and takes you on a journey through lead vocalist Edward Kowowlsylck's thoughts and emotions. This is a welcome return for one of the worlds great bands. Other highlights are Dance With You and the intense Sun. Great effects are used throughout the album with superb effects from Chad Taylors guitar and the awesome work from the bass and drums. Voodoo Lady is a highlight of the album that has a rythmic feel and dynamic chorus. Edward's voice soars above the crunching guitars and pounding bass and drums.

Secret Samadhi was a great album but The Distance To Here goes the distance and is Live's best work to date. Five stars!

I own most of the Live catalog and this is the one that I always go back to. The Dolphin's Cry and Meltdown (especially) are my favorite songs by the band. There are only a couple of what I feel are "filler" songs on this record, but the blend in nicely and don't detract from the strength of this disc. If you lean more toward the Throwing Copper and Mental Jewelry style and less toward Birds of Pray and V you will enjoy this one, too.

I never really cared for Live until I heard the Dolphin's Cry on the radio. I loved it so much that I had to run out right away and buy the cd. Amazingly, all the other songs on it are just as good. I love their rythm and lyrics. The songs Run to the Water and They Stood Up for Love are expecially my favorite. This cd is getting better and better the more I listen to it and even want to go out and get Live's first cd!

The product is not up to the standards of the same product that I have purchased at department stores and even drug stores. The box and the bottle was cheaply made and is more like a product you would find at a perfume discount store. The spray doesn't smell like the Nina Ricci that I have used for more then 15 years and it doesn't last very long. The cap won't stay on the bottle. I will not purchase this product again except at the department store where I work or the drug store where I have purchased itwith complete satisfaction. I made sure it was the exact same thing before I purchased it.

It's rare that I come across an album that makes me feel like someone ripped my heart out and held it in front of me like a mirror. This is one of those albums. I've only heard it once but I'm impressed, to say the least.

The Distance took a few listens to grow on me. The melodies are rich and there's not a dud in the lot. Standouts include Dolphins Cry, The Distance, Run to the Water, and the underrated sleeper Voodoo Lady. The distance is my favorite track here where Ed sings a beautiful melody with a funky beat. Hell if you like to dance, you can dance to this song. Songs like Sun, Where the Fishes Go, and Meltdown rock out with intensity while maintaining a melodic darkness. Some songs are catchier than others and I don't listen to this album much. When I actually do, it sounds fresh, almost like I am hearing it for the first time. This is their most talented release and by artistc growth their most complete. I still like Mental Jewelry and Throwing Copper more, but the Distance is a great record in terms of the band's progression. This would be the last great record live would record until proven otherwise. This is also the last one to be produced by Jerry Harrison and that is a shame. If you are a live fan or not, check this album out. You won't be disappointed!

The fourth album from Live is an excellent example of a great rock band showing that they can still rock out. Some of the songs on this album will absolutely blow you away including the first single "The Dolphin's Cry," and the epic "Run to the Water." Both of these songs are examples of the brilliance of the bands ability to tie in passionate vocals with great guitar work. On the whole though, the album is simply above average. A great feat for most bands, but a dissapointment for a band that gave us hits like "Lightning Crashes" and "I Alone" which are some of the greatest rock songs around. On the whole, it is a great CD, but I doubt they will ever live up to "Throwing Copper." The songs are lyrically some of the best you will find around, and the passion that comes through on each of the vocals with a tight harmony with guitars make it a fine addition to my collection. On a side note it gets double bonus points for using a harpsicord very well to add to the rock song "The Distance." This album is a must for all true Live fans and those that wish that true Rock would return.

I agree with EddieK; this is the best LIVE album. A lot of people (read: critics) slam the band for,(A) having an 'inconsistent recording history', or (B) being from the grunge era.

My rebuttal to (A) is: Too many folk in the music business can't seem to get past the biggest selling album disease; they compare all later efforts to the one that broke the charts. I personally wouldn't have remained a LIVE fan of this degree throughout the years if all they had done was release a 'Throwing Copper' clone every couple of years. I happen to LIKE the fact that LIVE gives the money-driven industry the finger and goes on growing and evolving--and letting their music evolve WITH their lives and ideas--without regard to trying to duplicate the public success of their best known effort. This rather punk ethos (for a solid rock band anyway) is called 'not pandering to the moneymen' and 'artistic integrity over public consumption'. The subsequent albums have sold well, though they haven't had the lucky timing that 'Throwing Copper' had to fit so well into what was happening in popular music at the time. Only jaded critics who care only about numbers would call these modest successes 'failures' only because they weren't 'Throwing Copper's with different covers. Far too many bands and artists have been murdered by their labels forcing or pressuring them to recycle, rerecord, and play the same stuff that won them accolades in their breakthrough efforts, regardless of whether they had since grown or changed; in the process losing that edge of anger or wonder or whatever it was that first captured the public imagination. LIVE has chosen to be comfortable with the fans that 'get' them rather than allowing someone to force them into an artistically stultifying mould for the sake of sales alone; this is called 'not selling out', and for that I applaud them.

As for (B): Though they happened to have emerged into the public eye in the same era as Nirvana and Pearl Jam, et al, LIVE never really fit the grunge model with anything but a tendency to ignore the interview and paparazzi angle of business (ie they refused to [...] themselves out to the media, instead preferring to concentrate on the MUSIC, shocking though that may be!), and a wonderful sort of ambivalent anger at the socio-religious status quo. This anger was the reason many folk loved 'Throwing Copper', and dislike later albums, in which the anger has faded to a message of Hope and Unconditonal Love. If consistent anger without growth is what these folk are looking for, then obviously a band that grows and changes is not for them. And for those who call lead singer Ed Kowalczyk a Kurt Cobain wannabe; they have obviously never listened for a moment to the lyrics and melodic spirit of his songs anyway.

Which brings me to another main criticism of LIVE. Some folk are turned off by the overt spirituality of Ed's lyrics, calling it 'preachy'. Critics also slam LIVE for their lyrics, saying "if we wanted preaching, we'd go to church". But EddieK is not preaching; he neverdoes. What he is doing is sharing the most intimate moments of his life: the moments when the Spirit touched him and made him whole; and in knowing how that feels, how uplifting it is in a moment of confusion, I find these lyrics inspiring.

As a long-term Live fan, I find them life-altering; and in fact, this fourth album, 'Distance to Here', quite literally saved my life. Many I've spoken to feel the same way; for though Live as a band name is hard to 'google', the FriendsofLive are out there and being uplifted daily by the work the band, and EddieK with his lyrics in particular, do. They make the world better just by being in it...and by being willing to SHARE! If communication and understanding can save the world, then Live are right on the avant guarde, with U2, the Indigo Girls, and a few others.

So all I can say for those critical minds who find Live's lyrics 'pretentious and sentimental' and 'drippy softcore preachery'... for them I can feel only pity, for as far as I am concerned, the message of Love is one for everyone, if we can but let it in. If the lyrics don't speak to these people, fine; but they do speak to some of us; so deeply that they bring tears to our eyes. So the fact that these critics are arrogant enough tell everyone they meet not to bother listening long enough to make their own decision/connection (or not) with the music, to me, is a sin. Just because they got nothing out of it, doesn't mean we are all alike...thank God! Yes, we are all different...but Love is Love.
Thank you EddieK and Live, for lifting me up.

I just love this album. It still hasn't gotten old for me. I like the melodies and the earnest lyrics, but the clear production puts it over the top (and I mean that in the good sense). There really isn't a bad song on here; Voodoo Lady is probably the "least good." Going track by track . . .

1) The Dolphin's Cry (a good hard rocker--the bridge is outstanding)
2) The Distance (I love the synth harpsichord solo)
3) Sparkle (nice mid-tempo beat with good guitars and great lyrics)
4) Run to the Water (a great power ballad)
5) Sun (a great up-tempo rocker--it could have been on Throwing Copper)
6) Voodoo Lady (weird lyrics, but a cool melody)
7) Where Fishes Go (positive lyrics; I can see how the earnestness can turn some people off, but I think it's great)
8) Face and Ghost (good lyrics, good slide guitar, and some cool experimentation with a vocal filter)
9) Feel the Quiet River Rage (solid lyrics with a good arrangement)
10) Meltdown (the best arrangement on the album -- the guitars really shine)
11) They Stood Up For Love (this song has the best lyrics on the album: "We spend all of our lives / going out of our minds / looking back to our birth / forward to our demise," and I love the organ featured here)
12) We Walk in the Dream (a solid rocker)
13) Dance With You (another great ballad; it's much more mellow than Run to the Water)

The one drawback of talking about music is that you can't really describe to someone else what it sounds like. They have to hear it for themselves. I hope my review is descriptive enough for you to check out this album, because it's just an amazing piece of work. It's alt rock at its best.