Who Did the Art Cover of Mental Jewelry by Live Tina France
Why the York, PA band's auspicious 1991 classic deserves as much appreciation as its multiplatinum successors
York, Pennsylvania rockers Live seemingly appeared out of nowhere at the end of 1991 with their album Mental Jewelry, released on December 31st.
Live would brand a proper noun for themselves over the next two years, first past appearing on a Spring 1992 120 Minutes bundle tour with Blind Melon, Large Audio Dynamite II, and Public Image Limited. They would spend the next twelvemonth and a half touring regularly backside moderate alternative stone hitting singles, "Pain Lies On The Riverside" and "Operation Spirit (The Tyranny of Tradition)."
But Live had been around for several years before the earth knew nigh them. The group was formed in 1984 past iv high schoolhouse friends, atomic number 82 singer Ed Kowalczyk, guitarist Republic of chad Taylor, bassist Patrick Dahlheimer, and drummer Chad Gracey. They kicked around a few dissimilar names before deciding on Public Affection. They would play around the New England region quite regularly, edifice up a name for themselves on the college stone and alternative circuits. Upon graduating from High Schoolhouse, they decided to requite Public Affection a serious, full-fourth dimension push, aiming for a record deal. That deal would come in 1991 when they would be signed to Radioactive Records. I condition: a proper noun modify, and soon they were known equally Live. (Several decades later, Kowalczyk was asked if, had known about search engines, would they accept chosen the proper name. "Probably not," he laughed.)
When the ring went into the studio, they were matched upwardly with Talking Heads' Jerry Harrison. They would go to work crafting their new album; in August 1991, they released their debut for Radioactive, the EP Four Songs , which featured the single "Functioning Spirit (The Tyranny of Tradition)," which would prove to exist a minor hit, thanks in part to what would become a common image in the band's video; a skinny, shirtless Kowalczyk writhing effectually for the camera. The EP would prove a low-cardinal simply meaningful introduction to the world of the immature band and their forthcoming album.
Sound: Public Amore Death of a Dictionary
It should be noted that Mental Jewelry is non the debut album from Live. Information technology is their 2d album; their debut came in 1989 with The Decease Of A Dictionary , released under their name Public Amore. That album takes cues from the college rock/roots rock sounds you'd hear from R.E.M., Toad The Wet Sprocket, or 10,000 Maniacs; information technology's an interesting listen, albeit somewhat derivative, and while one tin can understand why they left that behind with the name change, information technology'southward not without its charms. Give it a heed; you lot'll be surprised at how good information technology is for such a young band.
For those whose introduction to Mental Jewelry came from Throwing Copper, the opening track "Pain Lies On The Riverside" deftly connects the dots. A baking rocker with a combination Eye Eastern groove and a potent bass line, it's as powerful every bit whatsoever of the songs on Throwing Copper. But heed to it closer; that electrifying number that hints at the potent guitar stone of Throwing Copper is, in fact, an audio-visual rock number. It's a testament to Kowalczyk'southward increasingly powerful singing voice that one doesn't discover the organisation is stripped down. "Functioning Spirit" and "The Beauty of Grey" may tone down the album opener'southward intensity, only they're equally powerful rock numbers.
We should also annotation that Mental Jewelry was initially pushed as a funk album. As hard equally it may exist to believe, information technology'southward absolutely true. The stripped-down acoustic-way arrangements brought the bass front and center on many of the tracks, almost distractingly then on the softer numbers. But man,Mental Jewelrycertainly proves that bassist Patrick Dahlhamer can hands give Flea and Fishbone's Norwood Fisher a run for their money.
While Mental Jewelry is an enjoyable album, information technology, unfortunately, suffers from one major flaw; after the get-go few numbers, a sonic monotony begins to prepare in. Not that the numbers are bad; one can just handle mid-tempo, earnest acoustic funk-based roots stone in 1 sitting. Kowalczyk'south lyrics are deep and meaningful, and though far from preachy, songs about earth peace, the relationship 1 has with the rest of humanity, and the temporal nature of life can tire you out. For a young band indebted to and inspired by R.E.Grand., these little Michael Stipe-isms are understandable, even if they tend to get a scrap insufferable.
Not surprisingly, the 1991 Gulf War looms large over Mental Jewelry . It's an anti-war anthology that's cloaked in Eastern spiritualism and philosophy. Afterward all, the album'southward first line is "I accept never taken life, while the album'southward championship comes from a line in "Mirror Song," ("Flags and mental jewelry'southward all I know") which discusses the blinding nature of patriotism. Kowalczyk'southward songwriting besides reminds united states of america to remember that those in foreign lands are indeed our fellow man ("Brothers Unaware") and that we should strive for peace and understanding ("ten,000 Years (Peace Is At present)").
(Thankfully, Kowalczyk's songwriting would blossom tremendously, and he would excel at couching his penchant for philosophy with straightforward metaphors, such as the circle of life in the class of two women in the same emergency room , the destructive nature of religion crouched inside a super radio-friendly alt-rock jock jam , or having the realization of the importance of meaningful dearest while getting a blowjob from a random groupie he kind of likes.)
Another reason Mental Jewelry slipped into obscurity is that the band simply outgrew information technology. Looking at their setlist history helps confirm the theory. Upward until 1994, they performed nigh of the anthology's 12 songs. After the release of Throwing Copper , they performed fewer Mental Jewelry numbers—a not surprising concession whatever band would make in the wake of a multiplatinum album. Past 2000, they rarely performed more than than two Mental Jewelry numbers a night, rotating betwixt four primal tracks: "Pain Lies On The Riverside," "Operation Spirit," "The Beauty of Gray," and "Mirror Vocal," all 4 of which are considered the album's finest, non to mention the album's iv singles. As the music on Throwing Copper found the band warping beyond the relatively simplistic arrangements of Mental Jewelry , it'southward inevitable that the niggling underdog "debut" would quickly exist outgrown.
Mental Jewelry might pale in the shadow of its predecessor, but it's still a lovely tape. It'due south the audio of a young ring in its determinative years, yet trying to figure out who it wants to be and how it wants to audio. In 1994, drummer Chad Gracey credited that to producer Jerry Harrison: "The main matter he brought to us for Mental Jewelry is system. Putting the songs together and making them as strong as they could be on a tape. And he understands that because he's made plenty of them."
In later on interviews, they would credit working with Harrison as being a two-part process. For Mental Jewelry, it was near learning to build powerful arrangements that would transform in the live setting; for Throwing Copper , information technology was about taking what they'd learned from their twelvemonth and a half of touring and figuring out how to apply it to their new material.
What was that realization they came upward with? Their songs needed electric guitars.
And boy, would that lesson they learned prove extremely lucrative for them the next time effectually…
VIDEO: Live "Pain Lies By The Riverside"
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Joseph Kyle is a contributing writer for RockandRollGlobe.com. Follow him @TheRecoup.
Source: https://rockandrollglobe.com/rock/this-is-not-a-black-and-white-world-lives-mental-jewelry-turns-30/
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