Looking Back On LIVE’s Seminal ‘Throwing Copper’ Album

My first introduction to LIVE was via the video clip to I Alone on Rage. The video is set in a faux forest/desert with the vocalist singing at the top of his lungs, shirtless, flailing his arms about. But I always felt for the drummer as he wasn’t behind his kit, he was moving and dancing awkwardly in the background kicking up the dirt. Awks dancing aside, the song blew me away. The singer – I later found out was Ed Kowalczyk, the guy with the unpronounceable surname – was sporting a shaved head and a braided rat’s tail! I immediately bought the CD single – I’d moved on from cassingles by then – and didn’t think for a moment of growing a rat’s tail.

In typical '90s fashion, LIVE all met at college and formed a band. In 1991 they released their debut album, Mental Jewelry. On this, they tried to be an REM-meets-Counting Crows style band – arty-college type – and was a minor hit on the US college market. But come their second album, they were moved into a more polished rock act with the inclusion of the oh-so-typically-of-the-'90s rock ballad; in this case Lightning Crashes.

It was written at a time when grunge was still “cool” with Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana still dominating. Eventually released in April 1994. LIVE didn’t fit into any scene back then so it’s crazy to think why this was such a massive hit – it sold eight million copies in the US alone and went seven times platinum here in Australia (500,000 copies sold!). It peaked at the top of the ARIA charts here - twice. Quick Australian chart fact: It first went to number one in August 1995 and then again in January 1996. Remember, it was released over a year previous. Shows what a powerful slow burner it was. By the end of 1996, it was still in the charts and had outsold Nirvana’s Nevermind album here in Australia.

This was a time when record companies nurtured artists and didn’t write off albums if the first single wasn’t an immediate hit. There was no iTunes or Spotify - hell, there wasn’t even the internet! Record stores were king with CDs everywhere and CD burners weren’t even a thought yet - you had to buy shit back then!

This was also the time when alt rock bands crossed over to the commercial radio stations. Alt rock radio, like triple j, played the first two singles – Selling The Drama and the aforementioned I Alone – but then when commercial radio started playing the third single, Lightning Crashes, in late 1994, that’s when the album got a second wind and the album started selling in crazy numbers. By the time this became a worldwide hit – early 1995 – Pearl Jam wanted out of stardom and Nirvana were no more. This was a chance for the next wave of bands to take over – enter LIVE, Bush, The Cranberries, The Offspring and Silverchair.

We are LIVE's second biggest market outside the US – I Alone was one of the very few tracks to chart two years running – 1994 and 1995 – in triple j’s annual Hottest 100.

This wasn’t some rock-lite album that the mid-'90s turned into when it rebelled against grunge – anyone dare to say they are still a Creed fan? There were some rockers turned up to eleven style; take Stage, Waitress and the single White, Discussion. This is where you have to give credit to the other members, Taylor lets rip on guitar, Gracey hits those drums hard and Dahlheimer’s gutsiest bass work, as they were the powerhouse behind Kowalczyk’s thought-provoking lyrics.