Live

Most bands gradually acquire a sense of self-importance. Not Live. By its second album, the commerical breakthrough Throwing Copper, the York, PA, quartet appeared convinced of the righteousness of its mission -- postgrunge anthem rock informed by philosophical, vaguely Eastern lyric themes -- and as a result was hailed by some as the next coming of U2 and derided by others as self-important blowhards with a messiah complex.

The Live rhythm section -- guitarist Chad Taylor, bassist Patrick Dahlheimer, drummer Chad Gracey -- began playing music together in middle school as First Aid and by high school had teamed up with singer and songwriter Ed Kowalczyk, who in the years since Live's emergence has carefully followed the Bono/Michael Stipe playbook, embracing the role of lead singer/spiritual seeker/cryptic interview subject with aplomb.

After kicking around the Northeast original-rock circuit in the late '80s, Live eventually landed a deal with Radioactive Records, and had Talking Head Jerry Harrison produce its uneven 1991 debut Mental Jewelry. Three years later came Throwing Copper, again produced by Harrison. Much more disciplined than its predecessor in terms of songwriting, the album's stately processionals ("Lightning Crashes") and ferocious rock declarations ("I Alone") became staples of Modern Rock radio; the album stayed on the charts for months, and in the course of several dogged tours the band went from playing clubs to headlining arenas.

The Live story post-Throwing Copper has been one of disappointment and a slow crawl back to artistic redemption. The heavy-handed Secret Samadhi found the band using turgid, foreboding prog-rock accompaniments to prattle on about modern moral quandries. The Distance to Here got the band back on the radio -- "The Dolphin's Cry" was a minor hit -- but was even more erratic. Sacrificing its metaphysical meditations in favor of pedestrian discussions of romance, Live begged for reconsideration with They Stood Up for Love, but it was only with the comparatively breezy V that the band hit its stride: Here, the rhythm section roared with a lean efficency that was missing from its previous outings, and Kowalczyk managed to slip wry (and sometimes bitter) observations on life into his songs without turning them into hectoring screeds. And, amazingly, there were genuine vocal melodies -- the fervent "Deep Enough" walloped as hard as anything on Throwing Copper, and "Overcome," which was used in an oft-seen video surveying the devastation of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, was as beautiful as anything the band has recorded. Still, the album failed to galvanize the faithful, much less expand Live's audience.

Birds of Pray, issued in 2003, met the same fate: Though the lyrics offer more personal insights from Kowalcyzk -- he mentions his young daughter on "What Are We Fighting For" and others -- the high-pomp anthems end up seeming like a pale U2 rehash. (TOM MOON)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide