Hailing from York, Pennsylvania, the group is comprised of Ed Kowalczyk (lead vocals & guitar), Chad Taylor (lead guitar), Patrick Dahlheimer (bass) and Chad Gracey (drums). Since approximately 1999, Live has toured with Ed’s younger brother, Adam Kowalczyk as a rhythm guitarist, and, previously, British keyboardist Michael “Railo” Railton.
Kowalczyk, Taylor, Dahlheimer, and Gracey first came together for a middle-school talent show in the Pennsylvania blue-collar town of York. The group remained together throughout high school, going through a handful of band names and new-wave covers before settling on the moniker Public Affection and recording a self-released cassette of originals, The Death of a Dictionary, in 1989. Frequent trips into New York to play at CBGB helped net the band a deal with Radioactive Records in 1991. With the new name Live, the band entered the studio with former Talking Heads keyboardist Jerry Harrison that year and began recording the EP Four Songs. The single “Operation spirit (the tyranny of tradition)” went to #9 on the Modern Rock chart, and paved the way for the band’s Harrison-produced, full-length debut, 1991’s Mental Jewelry (#73). The album lyrics, penned by Kowalczyk, were heavily inspired by Indian guru Jiddu Krishnamurti.
Fueled by heavy touring (including billing at Woodstock ‘94 and Peter Gabriel’s WOMAD tour) and a string of hit singles (“I Alone”, “All Over You” and the #1 Modern Rock hits “Selling the drama” and “Lightning crashes”), their next album, Throwing Copper, went to #1 in 1994. It is their best-selling, and often most highly regarded by fans and critics, album to date. The band was even asked to perform on Saturday Night Live where they performed their hits “I Alone” and “Selling the Drama” and to this day, they are the only band to receive a standing ovation at the party after the broadcast.[citation needed]
The momentum continued long enough to help 1997’s Secret Samadhi (coproduced by the band and Jay Healey) debut at #1. Deriving its name from a state of Hindu meditation, the album spawned four Modern Rock hit singles, but failed to match its predecessor’s success, with sales topping off at 2 million. The band performed “lakini’s juice” and “Heropsychodreamer” from this album on NBC’s Saturday Night Live.
Harrison came back on board as coproducer for 1999’s The Distance to Here, which debuted at #4 and featured the minor US hit single “The Dolphin’s Cry.”
In September 2001, the more experimental V (originally scheduled to be titled “Ecstatic Fanatic”) was issued to mixed reviews, preceded by “Simple creed” as the first single. However, with the events of 9/11—which occurred a week before V ‘s release—the melancholic “Overcome” began receiving significant airplay, superseding “Simple Creed” and becoming V’s selling point. Unfortunately, Live’s commercial stock—compounded by their petering radio airplay—had fallen further since The Distance to Here, with V merely reaching #22 at home, failing to reach gold status.
Birds of Pray appeared in May 2003, bolstered by the unexpected success of “Heaven”, Live’s first US Hot 100-placing since “The Dolphin’s Cry.” Reaching #28, Birds of Pray ultimately outsold V, although it too received mixed reviews and failed to reach gold status.
In November 2004, Live released Awake: The Best of Live, a career-spanning compilation that included “We deal in dreams”, a previously unreleased song from the Throwing Copper sessions, and a cover of Johnny Cash’s “I Walk The Line”, as well as Birds of Pray’s “Run Away”, re-imagined with Shelby Lynne on co-lead vocals.
In 2005, Live signed with Sony BMG Music Entertainment’s Epic label, and released a new album entitled Songs From Black Mountain in June 2006, preceded by “The river” as lead single. Thus far, while the album has achieved international success, it has proven Live’s lowest-seller yet domestically, only reaching #52 in the US before quickly disappearing from the charts.
While Live remain only moderately popular in terms of record sales in the United States, much of their current sales come from places in Europe, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Ed Kowalczyk has said that “Holland is the center of the Live universe” [citation needed].
The group made news in January 2006 as three band members (Chad Taylor, Patrick Dahlheimer and touring rhythm guitar Adam Kowalczyk) and two members of the band’s road crew were on a United Airlines flight when smoke filled the cabin, requiring the pilot to make an emergency landing.
On season 5 of American Idol, finalist Chris Daughtry was accused of performing Live’s rendition of Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line” and calling it his own. This angered some Live fans, but one week later Daughtry acknowledged it was not his own rendition, even saying Live was one of his favorite bands. In May 2006, Live appeared on The Howard Stern Show and addressed this issue.
On May 24, 2006, the band and Chris Daughtry performed “Mystery” on the season finale of American Idol, and on June 7, a new version of “Mystery” was released on the Friends of Live website featuring Chris Daughtry on guest vocals.
The members of Live announced in June 2009 that the band would be taking a two-year hiatus as they work on other projects. On November 30, 2009, guitarist Chad Taylor confirmed that the hiatus of the band was most likely a permanent rift. See the Wikipedia page for more. During the first European tour of the new band of Taylor, Gracey and Dahlheimer (The Gracious Few), Taylor commented both on stage and in post-show discussions that he believes Live may still come back together, though he also stated that the chances of Kowalczyk joining them in this effort may be very small. In an exclusive blogpost[1] on website The Comet, Taylor confirmed that the remaining members of the band would be working on new material for Live in Nashville early July 2011.
The band returned from their nearly three-year hiatus on March 12, 2012, with Chris Shinn, formerly of Unified Theory, as their new lead singer. The new line-up performed before an invited audience at the Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center in York. The band performed as a six-piece with The Gracious Few's Sean Hennesy on guitar and Alexander Lefever on keyboards
[1]: http://thecomet.com/posts/exclusive_blog_chad_taylor_talks_the_gracious_few_and_live
There's another band with the same name:
2. Live was a 70s-era Progressive Rock group from Germany. Formed in 1971, the outfit appeared to be a strangely named band indeed.
In October 1972 their guitarist Martin Knaden went to Curly Curve. Throughout their history only one member has remained, the multi-talented keyboards and flute player Norbert Aufmhof. Although in existence for a decade Live never got to record a proper studio album, or gain a contract, which surely they should have. Maybe the band name was a bit of a jinx?!
Their earlier history was originally just documented by a single. Only more recently did an LP surface collecting 1974 recordings. Quite obviously a collection of rehearsal session tapes, the LP reveals a band with promise albeit rather grottily recorded with often barely understandable muffled lyrics in English. Musically, there are nods to early Satin Whale and Jane, but with lots of classical touches, notably Grieg and Bach, and a penchant to meander rather nicely during the instrumentals.
Based on the ROCK OFFERS track "Sea Fever", they had blossomed and changed focus somewhat, as a much more sophisticated symphonic progressive of the Pancake and Jane type, typical of the mid/late-1970's.
In all, during their history, three different versions of Live existed, but eventually the band split in 1976. A full history of the band is included in the GEVELSBERG CD, which documents other oddments, sessions, and a live recording!
All Over You
Live Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pinned down and abused
For being strange
Our love is no other
Than me alone
For me all day
Our love is like water
Pinned down and abused
All over you all over me
The sun the fields the sky
I've often tried to hold the sea
The sun the fields the tide
Pay me now lay me down
Oh yeah
Our love is like water
Pinned down and abused
For being strange
Our love is no other
Than me alone
For me all day
Our love is like angels
Pinned down and abused
All over you all over me
The sun the fields the sky
I've often tried to hold the sea
The sun the fields the tide
Pay me now, lay me down
All over you all over me
Pay me now, lay me down
Our love is like water
Pinned down and abused
For being strange
Our love is no other
Than me alone
Hey hey hey
All over you all over me
The sun the fields the sky
I've often tried to hold the sea
The sun the fields the tide
Pay me now, lay me down, yeah yeah yeah, hey ah oh
In "All Over You," Live presents a metaphor for a relationship that is misunderstood and mistreated by outsiders. The water metaphor suggests that the love is fluid, constantly moving and changing. However, the line "pinned down and abused for being strange" reveals that this fluidity is not accepted or appreciated by others, who view the love as strange or abnormal.
The repetition of the phrase "All over you all over me" highlights the intensity and all-consuming nature of the relationship, while the references to natural elements such as the sun, fields, and sea add a sense of grandeur and power. The lines "I've often tried to hold the sea" and "pay me now, lay me down" suggest a desire for control, possession, and perhaps even payment for the intensity of the relationship.
The usage of the phrase "Our love is like angels pinned down and abused" towards the end of the song brings up religious imagery, with the implication that the love between these two people is pure, but being restricted or prohibited like angels pinned down on Earth. The line "Hey hey hey" at the end of the song could be interpreted as the singer speaking directly to his or her partner, emphasizing their connection and the desire to be close.
Line by Line Meaning
Our love is like water
Our love is fluid and can take different shapes and forms like water
Pinned down and abused
Our love is oppressed and mistreated by others, just like how people can harm water bodies
For being strange
Our love is considered odd and different by society, just like how unique features of water are often misunderstood
Our love is no other
Our love is like no other, it is exclusive and unconditional
Than me alone
Our love is only for each other, no third party or external influence is involved
For me all day
Our love is present all day, it is constant and unwavering
Our love is like angels
Our love is pure and divine, just like angels
All over you all over me
Our love is all-encompassing, it covers and touches every part of us both
The sun the fields the sky
Our love is as vast and extensive as natural phenomena like the sun, fields, and sky
I've often tried to hold the sea
I have attempted to capture the vastness and depth of our love, just like trying to contain the sea
The sun the fields the tide
Our love is as dynamic and powerful as natural processes like the changing tides
Pay me now lay me down
Our love is a transaction, and now it is time to rest and enjoy the fruits of our love
Hey hey hey
An exclamation just emphasizing the intensity of the emotions felt
Pay me now, lay me down, yeah yeah yeah, hey ah oh
Repetitive expressions of the singer's desire for payment and rest after experiencing the intensity of their love
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHAD ALAN GRACEY, CHAD DAVID TAYLOR, EDWARD JOEL KOWALCZYK, PATRICK DAHLHEIMER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@robbiemiller9036
One of the most underrated songs of the 90s
@antmoo6595
totally agree 90's classic still feeling this song in 2020.
@alexcastillo7600
Lo. Mejor. Del. Mundo que súper clásico. Pensé que nunca. Lo volvería a escuchar
@alexcastillo7600
Buenisima súper clasico
@eddycorrigan1433
Rightfully so because it's unadulterated fucking shite. Any of those who post otherwise don't have much of an ear or appreciation for music. This is truly awful
@RaZeRbLaDeZ
Lol what? it was played on every rock station like 50 times a day for the longest time
@tinacharles451
At 64 years old, I still love good ole rock and roll. Live is right up there with the best! I remember when they first had their first hit on the radio. Such a great sound. Thank you, Live!
@codymissledine6943
Good to know your still enjoying this stuff!
@griffynisuppose1319
Congrats on rockin, man. I'm not even 15 and music like this is very underappreciated. Love this band
@itstime9040
61 and rockin