Shaun Corley | Staff Writer

I should have known better.  I should have learned my lesson with Live’s last album, The Distance to Here.  Yet a part of me held out, hoping the spark, the intensity that made Live one of my favorite bands and Throwing Copper my all-time favorite album, would be re-ignited with their newest release: V.  Instead, I get an album consisting largely of filler, with only three or four good tracks to its name.

After a short intro, the album starts with the excellent “Simple Creed," guest-starring Tricky.  People need to hear this song, especially now.   The next track, “Deep Enough For You," is great too, but the album’s downhill slide begins with track four: “Like A Soldier."  The next few tracks are mostly uninspired, sounding like every other paint-by-the-numbers modern rock act currently performing today.

One bright spot exists: track seven, “Forever May Not Be Long Enough."   Produced by Alanis Morissette collaborator Glen Ballard, the song’s driving beat works with the piano and female backing vocals to create a sense of urgency, and a haunting song that will take its place alongside Live’s best.

The album’s only other noteworthy tracks come at the end.  The first is “Overcome," which Live dedicated in memory of those who perished in the terrorist attacks on September 11th.  VH1, as well as several radio stations, have added the song to their play lists. An emotional, piano-driven piece, “Overcome" perfectly describes the way many of us felt in the days following the attack.   The album’s final cut, “Hero of Love," closes out the album on a rocking note, but somehow it fails to match up with previous Live closing tracks such as “Horse" and “Gas Hed Goes West."

I knew better than to expect Throwing Copper Part Two.  Yet V continues the decline began with The Distance to Here.  While there are a few standout tracks, they are few and far between, and the remaining songs are uninspired filler, certainly not worthy of a band like Live.