Collective Soul, Live And Blues Traveler: Touring Together, Remembering Together
In a bit of a sequel to last year’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Triple Play tour, Collective Soul and Live, the credless ’90s revivalists who weren’t quite Pearl Jam and weren’t quite Creed, will again join forces for a summer tour, only this time with Blues Traveler instead of Counting Crows. It’s kind of an ironic switch, seeing as how Blues Traveler once took umbrage with Duritz & Co., but the debate over who did a bad impression of Van Morrison first has probably faded from their minds. While I’m sure many of you might have owned one of these bands’ releases at some point in your life (whether due to genuine enthusiasm or a birthday present from a misguided relative–I myself spent a good part of 1994 almost buying Throwing Copper), I doubt many of you have kept up with the bands’ most recent releases. Here’s a look at the recent present of blowhards past.
The physical manifestation of Collective Soul’s August ’07 release Afterwords is currently only available at Target. The single, “Hollywood,” is one of those songs about a girl named Hollywood, rather than the actual city, though I’m sure at serves as some sort of metaphor for fame. The last song I ever heard from these guys was 2000’s “Why, Pt. 2,” and I’m mildly impressed to see they’re still working a keyboard-tinged new wave sound rather than reverting back to their yarlier “Shine” days.
Like Collective Soul, Live now has its own label, Action Front, which put out Radiant Sea: A Collection of Bootleg Rarities and Two New Songs last September. Unlike Collective Soul, the band still has all its original members (20 years and running!) and Live’s last full-length, Songs From Black Mountain, was their worst seller yet. Please enjoy Ed Kowalczyk describing an angel “lying there all naked on the floor” who wants to let her lovin’ ease his pain in “The River.”
Blues Traveler does not currently own its own label, but like Live, they are hawking an almost-year-old album of previously released material. 2007’s Cover Yourself offers acoustic renditions of all your favorites, with guest appearances from G. Love and Charlie Sexton. This video finds Blues Traveler offering what would be an acoustic rendition of their 2005 single “Amber Awaits,” if not for a really annoying keyboard.
You can hear these desperate, independently released pleas for female flesh, and all your favorite actual hits, when the tour hits an amphitheater near you later this summer.
Collective Soul, Live, Blues Traveler join forces [LiveDaily] Hollywood – Collective Soul [YouTube] Live – Songs from Black Mountain “The River” [YouTube] Blues Traveler – Amber Awaits [YouTube]
