Live:
Throwing Copper
(1994)

Genre: Alternative Rock.
Produced By: Jerry Harrison & Live.
Record Label: Radioactive.

It took me some time to really explore Live and figure out how important they have actually been in developing my taste in music the last couple of years. "Secret Samadhi" was the album that totally devoted me to live, but "Throwing Copper" was my first encounter with the band. To this day, it is the album everybody credits as their best, even though I personally like "Samadhi" just a little better (see notes to that album). Anyway, "Throwing Copper" is a totally tough rock album with so much energy and emotion at the same time. Live are masters of the difficult art of being able to write a dynamic rock song without losing the delicate touch that just makes the song grow on you with almost no stopping it. On this album, "Shit Towne" is great example of this. The song just has a winning chorus you can't help but to sing along to...Somewhat inspired by R.E.M., Live just has that extra amount of energy that makes them possess qualities you do not find in R.E.M. A critic once called Live "R.E.M. on acid". Well....yeah....Anyway, this edition of "Throwing Copper" also includes "Four Songs", the first E.P. released by the band. It contains four songs, where two of them are also on "Mental Jewelry".

Overall Rating (on a scale from 1 to 10):9

Better Than Ezra, Grant Lee Buffalo, Nirvana, R.E.M., Toad The Wet Sprocket.