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After the successful
release and subsequent tour of Opaline, Dishwalla
released their first live album, Live...Greetings from the Flow
State. The title refers to the state of being musicians enter when
the music is released and flows from within. Opening this incredible live
album is a powerful version of Stay Awake. Its heavy, balls out
rock should please those fans who felt disappointed by the mellow nature
of the band's last release.
The energy continues with
Mad Life and Once in a While, with the latter featuring a
pretty spiffy breakdown solo. Home is also given more of an edge
with this release, yet I find it loses something in the transition to live
performance. Likewise something is lost in Moisture as well,
barring Pete's incredible drum solo.
The jewel of this album
ironically isn't a live performance at all. It is a sound check for
Angels or Devils featuring a solo JR with his soulful voice and a
beautifully written piano piece. This is an amazing song, and it is so
much better than anything else on this record.
Another gem is Counting
Blue Cars, purely for the incredible guitar solo Rodney pulls off. As
I side bar, I was at an acoustic Dishwalla show and during this
solo, the crowd began to egg Rodney on to keep it going, and going, and
going. JR piped up saying, "Careful...he could go on all night like this."
What an amazing guitarist. Likewise, the energy of the crowd singing back
to the band and JR's reciprocal enthusiasm is extremely powerful.
Somewhere in the Middle
and Every Little Thing follow. While the former is pretty
straight forward, the latter is filled with quite a bit more emotion and
depth. I love the introduction and it is quite possible the live version
of Every Little Thing is superior to the studio cut. Likewise, the
piano introduction of Give is stunning. This song has always been a
favorite of mine, and this version surely delivers. Haze is also
another favorite followed by the close-out song So Much Time, the
perfect end.
While performances are
incredible, and the song selection perfect, most of the songs on the album
sound muddy and distorted. Perhaps this is due to the nature of
Dishwalla's hard edged music. Normally, I dislike live heavy rock
albums in favor of the more mellow, jam nature of other bands like
O.A.R. and Dave Matthews Band. However, I believe the
mix is off for this record as evidenced by too much reverb on the vocals
and how prominent the drum track is. It really just sounds terrible.
Thankfully this is only more apparent during the heavier songs or heavier
parts. Severe deductions for the sound quality...or lack thereof.
Another flaw in the album
are the fades between tracks instead of blending the crowd noise, as I
like to feel like this is a single concert instead of a collection of
songs. It takes me out of the experience. Regardless, the part every fan
enjoys about live performances are the jams and variations, and
Live... has quite a few memorable ones. |
