Live: Edward Kowalczyk (vocals, guitar); Chad Taylor (guitar); Patrick Dahlheimer (bass); Chad Gracey (drums).

Additional personnel: Christopher Thorn (guitar, slide guitar); Adam Kowalczyk (guitar); Michael Railton, Jerry Harrison (keyboards).

After the tepid reaction to the subdued, over-produced Secret Samadhi, Live took some time off to rethink their direction. For their fourth full-length studio album The Distance to Here, the band called on producer Jerry Harrison to recapture the raw energy and emotion that fueled Mental Jewelry and Throwing Copper. A self-conscious response to Secret Samadhi with plenty of guitar riffs, thunderous tempos and a mystical aura, The Distance to Here emerges from their last album's swirling, numbing stupor and regains some of Throwing Copper's aggressive intensity. But Live doesn't just meld their last two albums for this release; it's a livelier, lighter collection. Though the group is slowly evolving their sound -- Ed Kowalczyk's vulnerable-turned-angry vocals have become freer, more confident and more expressive, while Chad Taylor's background vocals add needed depth and harmony - they're retracing their steps before making any major changes. Live made its name by combining brutally honest, searching lyrics with equally intense and emotive music, but the fine line between genuine soul-searching and heavy-handed preaching is in the eye of the beholder. With The Distance, this line sways on individual songs: "Feel the Quiet River Rage," "Sparkle," "Meltdown," "Sun," and the title track -- reflect Live's evolution, but the lumbering "Face and Ghost (The Children's Song)" and the gushy "Dance With Me," aim too high for their own good. This doesn't make for a failed or bad album, just an uneven one. Overall, Live continues to plunge into dramatic, emotional, and spiritual realms, but the band needs to be more adventurous musically to complement its ongoing spiritual journey. ~ Gina Boldman

Throughout much of the '90s, Live has been tabbed to inherit the serious rock mantle from R.E.M. and U2. On their fourth album, the four childhood friends continue down this path as they once again don their hair-shirts of tortured introspection and inquisitiveness. Former Talking Head Jerry Harrison returns behind the board after previous production stints on MENTAL JEWELERY and THROWING COPPER. As was the case on these previous Live albums, Harrison harnesses the band's chemistry in a way that reinforces frontman Ed Kowalczyk's weighty lyrics.

Kowalczyk howls with controlled ferocity as he sings about various spiritual quests that occur via Western ("The Distance") and Eastern ("Meltdown") doctrines of religion. Guitarist Chad Taylor fuels this fervor with unbridled fury on the tempestuous "We Walk in the Dream" and the roiling "Sun." Live even updates its meat-and-potatoes instrumental setup by adding a dollop of loops to the already enticing "Voodoo Lady." For as much unchecked passion that this Pennsylvania quartet can muster, the band also demonstrates an uncanny mastery of dynamics, whether it's on the tortured gusto of "When Dolphins Cry" or the gorgeous ethereality of "We Walk in the Dream."

Rolling Stone (10/28/99, pp.99-100) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...[Live] finds enough peace to make some very pretty music....THE DISTANCE TO HERE...offers drama to fans still craving it..."

Q (12/99, p.138) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Everything here has a hyper earnest, end-of-the-world quality...driven by [Ed] Kowalczyk's anxious vocals and Chad Taylor's and Patrick Dahlheimer's spiraling guitars....buzzes with inspiration..."