CD Review by Doug Cornell

Wow, it's 1995 all over again!  The European garage rock scene hasn't happened yet, the world is mostly at peace, and Live is playing on the home stereo.  Earnest music lacking any sense of irony is reverberating through the house on a lazy Sunday afternoon.  Such is the world of Live - seriously wrought rock tunes with all sorts of lyrical imagery that transcends any current trend in the music industry.

Live were never a fun band to listen to, that wasn't the point ten years ago and isn't the point now.  It's been three years since their last release, Birds of Prey, but the band sticks to what they know best: Churning electric guitars, mid-tempo percussion, and the clear and emotionally charged singing from Ed Kowalczyk.  The band is on a new label (Epic).  Maybe they'll catch a break and re-emerge as a fan favorite.

From the albums opening with acoustic guitars and Kowalczyk's tenor voice, "The River" is cast in the formula that Live started all of those years ago.  The song is crammed with melody, but fails to make much of an impression even after several spins.  "Mystery" is also a pleasant listen, as strings glisten around a memorable chorus in what is ultimately a lightweight pop-rock tune.  You'd expect a track with a title like "Get Ready" to be a stompin' party track, but remember, Live doesn't do that sort of thing!  Instead you get a very nice acoustic guitar-tinged love ballad ("Get ready, the high tide of our love is here to stay").  Nicely textured keyboards give the intro of "Show" a lift, while slabs of electric guitar give the chorus a kick in the ass.

Songs from Black Mountain continues with a fairly standard progression of acoustic guitar strumming accompanied by occasional blasts of electric guitars.  Kowalczyk's voice is the centerpiece, and there is no extended solo musical passages.  There are pleasant up-tempo tracks ("Sofia") that kick up the energy, and there are more mid-tempo power ballads ("Love Shines," "Where Do We Go From Here").  Kowalczyk has never been afraid to tackle topical subjects, so he takes a stab at an anti-war theme in "Home," as he exclaims, "I'm a soldier on a field fighting for you, fighting for me.  You can see it on our faces, like how bullets leave traces you can feel it for real."  He also takes on social issues in the up-tempo rocker "You Are Not Alone" ("So many people die every day who lived every night without hope, spending their time just standing in line tugging at societies coat").  The album closes with "Night of Nights," which features beautiful electric guitar arpeggios, a slick tempo change, and a soaring vocal chorus.

Fans of Live who have been away for a while will certainly enjoy Songs from Black Mountain.  This is an album that makes no excuses for being completely drenched in the 90's.