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!
Operation Spirit
Live Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Heard a lot of talk about the sea
Heard a lot of talk about a lot of things
Never meant that much to me
.
Heard a lot of talk about my spirit
Heard a lot of talk about my soul
But I decided that anxiety and pain
So I let it go
.
Did you let it go?
Let's get it back
Let's get it back together
.
Heard a lot of talk about this Jesus
A man of love, and a man of strength
But what a man was two thousand years ago
means nothing at all to me today
.
He could have been telling me about my
higher self
But he only lives inside my prayer
So what he was may have been beautiful
But the pain is right now
And right here
.
Let it go!
Let it go!
Let it go, my friend
And let's get it back
Let's get it back together
The lyrics to Live's song Operation Spirit tell a story of a person who had heard a lot of talk about various things such as the ocean and the sea, but found that none of it really had a significant impact on them. They then hear talk about their spirit and soul, but instead of focusing on those things, they chose to embrace anxiety and pain as companions instead. The chorus encourages the listener to let go of these negative emotions and work towards reclaiming that spirit and bringing it back into their life.
The song appears to explore themes of apathy, disillusionment, and a lack of connection to one's deeper self. The references to Jesus and higher selves suggest a spiritual element to the lyrics, but the focus remains on the present and the need to overcome present pain and negativity.
Line by Line Meaning
Heard a lot of talk about the ocean
I have listened to a myriad of conversations about the vast sea
Heard a lot of talk about the sea
I have heard numerous discussions about the oceanic waters
Heard a lot of talk about a lot of things
I have heard plenty of talks on various topics
Never meant that much to me
However, none of these talks seemed important in my life
Heard a lot of talk about my spirit
I have heard discussions concerning my soul and inner self
Heard a lot of talk about my soul
People used to discuss my essence and inner purpose as well
But I decided that anxiety and pain were better friends
But I chose to embrace discomforting emotions such as nervousness and agony
So I let it go
Therefore, I released any concerns about my spiritual self
Did you let it go?
Have you also disregarded your worries about higher purpose?
Let's get it back
Let's retrieve our spiritual awareness and aspirations
Let's get it back together
Let's support each other to reclaim our spirituality
Heard a lot of talk about this Jesus
I have heard several conversations about Jesus Christ
A man of love, and a man of strength
Many know him as a deity of compassion and power
But what a man was two thousand years ago means nothing at all to me today
However, his existence as a historical figure two millennia ago has no significance in my life
He could have been telling me about my higher self
Maybe he could have been talking about spiritual growth and self-improvement
But he only lives inside my prayer
But his teachings and messages only resonate within my religious practices
So what he was may have been beautiful
Therefore, his deeds and legacy could be admirable and uplifting
But the pain is right now
However, the hurt and distress I feel are current and present
And right here
And I must face them here and now
Let it go!
Release your burdens and distress!
Let it go!
Free yourself from your troubles!
Let it go, my friend
Release your mental and spiritual pain, my companion
And let's get it back
Then, let's find our spiritual strength and purpose once again
Let's get it back together
Let's encourage one another to regain our inner selves as a collective
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CHAD ALAN GRACEY, CHAD DAVID TAYLOR, EDWARD JOEL KOWALCZYK, PATRICK DAHLHEIMER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
ruggierojerolli
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Heard a lot of talk about the ocean, yeah
Heard a lot of talk about the sea, now
Heard a lot of talk about a lot of things
Never meant that much to me
Heard a lot of talk about my spirit
Heard a lot of talk about my soul
But I decided that anxiety and pain
Were better friends, so I let it go
Did you let it go now?
Did you let it go, our love?
Did you let it go, my friend?
Let's get it back
Let's get it back, together, yeah, wow
Heard a lot of talk about this Jesus
A man of love and a man of strength
But what a man was two thousand years ago
Means nothing at all to me today
He could have been
Telling me about my higher self
But he only lives inside my prayer
So what he was may have been beautiful
But the pain is right now and right here
Let it go, love
Come on, let it go, our love
Let it go, my friend
Let's get it back
Let's get it back together
Let it go, love
Let it go, our love
Let it go, my friend
Let's get it back
Let's get it back together
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Did you give it up?
Let it go
Let it go, love
Let it go, my friend
And let's get it back
Let's get it back together
Let it go, love
Let it go, yeah, now
Let it go, my friend
Let's get it back
Let's get it back together, oh yeah
Bruno Aguiar
heard a lot of talk about the ocean
heard a lot of talk about the sea
heard a lot of talk about a lot of things
never meant that much to me
heard a lot of talk about my spirit
heard a lot of talk about my soul
but I decided that anxiety and pain
were better friends
so I let it go
did you let it go?
let's get it back.
let's get it back together.
heard a lot of talk about this jesus
a man of love, a man of strength
but what a man was two thousand years ago
means nothing at all to me today
he could have been telling me about my
higher self
but he only lives inside my prayer
so what he was may have been beautiful
but the pain is right now
and right here
let it go!
let it go!
let it go, my friend
and let's get it back
let's get it back together
SanityTheorist5
I like how the bassline is both funky while being grungey...so unique, so effective.
Andrew Sorenson
yeah he didn't pop and slap much after this album, but this song reminds me a bit of Toad the Wet Sprocket, aka 'college rock'
Marcos Jose
Essa musica eu escutava na minha juventude ...
Rachel Kuperberg
Patrick Dahlheimer is God.
saran song
Yes! It's amazing!
Ivanete Feitosa
Mesmo eu,uma simples vovó, curtindo muito lembrando da minha juventude. Tempos MUITO bem vividos ao som desta banda!!!
JP
esse tempo foi pré Nirvana e as bandas de Seattle , acho que faltou um cena (grupo com outras bandas) para impulsionar a qualidade e a disruptura que era o Live. Com o grunge varrendo eles acabaram ficando esquecidos. Faltou um bom marketing, mas a primeira vez que vi o clipe eu tinha uns 18 (mesma idade deles) e queria fazer exatamente aquilo ali.
Alex Correia
1991 - this song is awesome!
2020 - this song is awesome!
Underdog
2022
Caleb Alves
2022 - this song still awesome!