1994 In Review: Live - "Throwing Copper"

Of all the bands who achieved massive success in the '90s, few are quite as forgotten as Live. Sure, there are plenty who loudly voice their dislike for Creed, Limp Bizkit, Bush, etc., but where those bands have forged legacies of eye rolling and "I can't believe I bought their records", Live seems to have just faded out of public consciousness, with very few vocal supporters or detractors remaining.

It's kind of a shame, but it's also kind of their own fault; in the wake of Throwing Copper's success, their studio output took "diminishing returns" to a whole new level. Eventually, all but the diehards wrote them off; when they parted ways with singer Ed Kowalczyk and started down the ugly path of legal proceedings, it seemed they'd even written themselves off. These days, Kowalczyk is still trying to make a go of his solo career, while the rest of the band is trying to make a go of Live with a new singer. It's really rather ugly all around, but I digress. 

Throwing Copper was about as unassuming as a record gets upon its release twenty years ago. Singles Selling The Drama and I Alone got some play on college radio, and their videos mild rotation; it was performing about as well as most involved hoped it would. But then, almost a year after its release, Lightning Crashes happened. Exactly the kind of soaring rock ballad radio was looking for, this song smashed hard. How hard, you ask? While this weekend marks the 20th anniversary of the album's release, it also marks the 19th anniversary of said album hitting #1.

As folks drawn in by Lightning Crashes started spreading the word that the rest of the album wasn't half bad, it continued to sell and continued to spawn singles. It hung around for months and months, to the point where over eight million units had been shipped in the States alone. Throwing Copper was the biggest American rock album of the decade not released by Nirvana or Pearl Jam up to that point.

If the album hasn't aged particularly well, or wasn't as deep and profound as Kowalczyk likely thought it was, it still doesn't deserve to be dismissed. In fact, Throwing Copper just might be the crossroads of popular '90s alternative. It strikes the sweet spot that intersects Collective Soul's religious imagery, Counting Crows' earnest everyman pop sensibilities, Pearl Jam's penchant for intensity, and R.E.M.'s safe eccentricities. Live are no worse an offender of borrowing from different styles in an attempt at "originality" than, say, a couple hundred other bands that came along after them, and I can still enjoy this album (and 1997's Secret Samadhi, actually) without cringing too much.

There is some filler on this album, but maybe not as much as you might think. Non-singles T.B.D. and The Pillar Of Davidson could have easily moved an extra million copies had they gone for a sixth single, while The Dam At Otter Creek is a quintessential '90s album opener with its quiet, tension building intro and righteously chaotic climax. Look at Shit Towne and Waitress, songs that have a little visceral charm, even if they're a little silly and profane. And even misguided Spin Doctors meet Pearl Jam hokey funk numbers Iris and Top and weaksauce punk sermon Stage are, at least listenable.

Is Throwing Copper an important '90s album, then? Most will scoff at the notion; but, had Live continued to play to their strengths and forged a better career for themselves, I believe it absolutely would be looked back on a lot more fondly by a lot more people. That it stands head and shoulders above their other albums as their lone true triumph doesn't diminish the fact that Throwing Copper was, in fact, a complete and utter triumph.

April 19, 1994 • Radioactive/Universal

Highlights I Alone • Lightning Crashes • The Pillar of Davidson