Throwing Copper is the third studio album by American alternative rock band Live, released on April 26, 1994, on former MCA Records subsidiary Radioactive Records.[3] It was produced by Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads and was recorded at Pachyderm Recording Studio.[4] Throwing Copper has generally been regarded as Live's best album, having sold over 8 million copies and certified 8× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.[5]
| Throwing Copper | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 26, 1994 | |||
| Recorded | July–September 1993 | |||
| Studio | Pachyderm (Cannon Falls, Minnesota) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 59:32 | |||
| Label | Radioactive | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Live chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Throwing Copper | ||||
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Cover art
The cover art is a painting by Scottish artist Peter Howson titled Sisters of Mercy. On September 23, 2005, it was sold for $186,000 by Christie's in New York. The painting is oil on canvas and measures 243 by 182 centimetres (7.97 ft × 5.97 ft).[6]
25th anniversary reissue
In May 2019, the band announced a 25th-anniversary reissue of Throwing Copper, which was released on July 19.[7] The reissue contains three bonus tracks: "Hold Me Up", which was recorded during the original Throwing Copper sessions and later heard in the 2008 comedy Zack and Miri Make a Porno but was not officially released;[8] "We Deal in Dreams", which had been released as a single off the band's 2004 compilation album Awake: The Best of Live; and "Susquehanna", another previously unreleased track originally recorded in 1993, though it had been written during recording sessions for the band's first studio album, Mental Jewelry.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [9] |
| Classic Rock |  [10] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [11] |
| The Great Rock Discography | 7/10[12] |
| MusicHound Rock | [13] |
| Q | [14] |
| Rolling Stone | [15] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [16] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 7/10[17] |
| The Village Voice | C+[18] |
Throwing Copper has typically been regarded as Live's strongest album. A Rolling Stone review stated that the band "strive for an epic sound" and successfully execute on that goal;[15] retrospective reviews have been similarly positive, with the Jakarta Post describing the album as "a solid beast from front to back" and uDiscoverMusic characterizing it as "challenging, yet commendably powerful".[19][20] The instrumentation on the album has been generally praised: Rolling Stone considered the musicians to be "expert players [who] drop musical smart bombs with unerring precision", and the Jakarta Post referred to the music as "absolutely dynamic and catchy".[15][19] Singer Ed Kowalczyk was applauded for his vocal performance as well, with a retrospective Stereogum review noting his ability to "raise his voice from a plaintive hush to a clenched roar".[21]
The lyrics of the album received more mixed reviews. The Jakarta Post felt that Throwing Copper "managed to push earnestness and wild esotericism as far as it could go without feeling resoundingly cheesy", but Gina Boldman of AllMusic was more negative, stating that the album's "melodrama [is] a bit much".[9] Stereogum described Kowalczyk's lyrics as "mystic gibberish" that nevertheless featured "memorably inscrutable turns of phrase".[21]
A 2024 review by Paolo Ragusa of Consequence of Sound credits this album with starting post-grunge and shifting rock music to a new direction after the death of Kurt Cobain by combining some harder rock influences with clearer vocals, softer guitar melodies, and the production of Jerry Harrison to make a distinct sound.[22]
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Ed Kowalczyk; all music is composed by Live
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Dam at Otter Creek" | 4:43 |
| 2. | "Selling the Drama" | 3:26 |
| 3. | "I Alone" | 3:50 |
| 4. | "Iris" | 3:59 |
| 5. | "Lightning Crashes" | 5:25 |
| 6. | "Top" | 2:42 |
| 7. | "All Over You" | 3:59 |
| 8. | "Shit Towne" | 3:48 |
| 9. | "T.B.D." | 4:28 |
| 10. | "Stage" | 3:08 |
| 11. | "Waitress" | 2:49 |
| 12. | "Pillar of Davidson" ([note 1]) | 6:46 |
| 13. | "White, Discussion" | 6:08 |
| 14. | "Horse" (unlisted track[note 2]) | 4:16 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Operation Spirit" | 3:19 |
| 2. | "Good Pain" | 5:39 |
| 3. | "Heaven Wore a Shirt" | 3:38 |
| 4. | "Negation" | 3:37 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 15. | "Hold Me Up" (from the film Zack and Miri Make a Porno, previously unreleased) | |
| 16. | "We Deal in Dreams" (previously released on Awake: The Best of Live) | |
| 17. | "Susquehanna" (previously unreleased) |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Iris" | |
| 2. | "Top" | |
| 3. | "The Beauty of Gray" | |
| 4. | "Selling the Drama" | |
| 5. | "Shit Towne" | |
| 6. | "Lightning Crashes" | |
| 7. | "I Alone" | |
| 8. | "Operation Spirit (The Tyranny of Tradition)" | |
| 9. | "White, Discussion" |
- Notes
Personnel
Adapted credits from the liner notes of Throwing Copper.[4]
- Live
- Ed Kowalczyk – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
- Chad Taylor – lead guitar, backing vocals
- Patrick Dahlheimer – bass
- Chad Gracey – drums, backing vocals
- Technical personnel
- Jerry Harrison – production
- Lou Giordano – engineering, recording
- Ted Jensen – mastering
- Gary Kurfirst – executive production
- Tom Lord-Alge – mixing
Charts
Year-end charts
| Chart (1995) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[38] | 8 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[39] | 40 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[40] | 17 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[41] | 21 |
| European Albums (European Top 100 Albums)[42] | 100 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[43] | 68 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[44] | 7 |
| US Billboard 200[45] | 8 |
| Chart (1996) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[46] | 8 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[47] | 21 |
| US Billboard 200[48] | 95 |
| Chart (1997) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[49] | 55 |
| Chart (2002) | Position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Alternative Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[50] | 150 |
Decade-end charts
| Chart (1990–1999) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[51] | 60 |
Singles
| Song | Peak chart positions | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US (Airplay) | US (M.R.) | Australia | Ned | UK | Ger | ||
| "Selling the Drama"[52][53][54] | 43 | 1 | 49 | 15 | 30 | 89 | |
| "I Alone"[53][55] | 38 | 6 | — | 20 | 48 | — | |
| "Lightning Crashes"[53][56] | 12 | 1 | 13 | — | 33 | — | |
| "All Over You"[53] | 33 | 4 | — | — | 48 | — | |
| "White, Discussion"[53] | 71 | 15 | — | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[57] | 10× Platinum | 700,000‡ |
| Belgium (BEA)[58] | Gold | 25,000* |
| Canada (Music Canada)[59] | 7× Platinum | 700,000^ |
| Netherlands (NVPI)[60] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[61] | 6× Platinum | 90,000^ |
| Sweden (GLF)[62] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[63] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[5] | 8× Platinum | 8,000,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
External links
- Throwing Copper at Discogs (list of releases)
- Throwing Copper at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
