Every good rock band needs a live album. The album A Positive Rage by The Hold Steady shows that every bad rock band needs one, too. Recorded Halloween 2007 at the Metro in Chicago, Illinois, the album also includes two previously unreleased tracks from this Brooklyn-based band, “Spectres” and “40 Bucks.” The second disc — a documentary DVD — includes interviews, live concert footage and fan commentary. To top off the high school yearbook feel, a bonus booklet insert packs in pictures and memories from band members throughout the six years they have been together.
For dedicated fans, A Positive Rage provides a sentimental peek under The Hold Steady’s metallic outer shell — a rare, if brief, display of emotional depth. That said, it also provides a peek under the band’s studio-laundered shell into its utter lack of raw talent. First-time listeners should take some time to acclimate themselves to The Hold Steady’s disheveled, occasionally grating sound before they run out and buy the new album.
The one strong point in favor of The Hold Steady is its lyric-writing ability. Each song tells a mini-story about getting high, girl troubles or hating life. Four out of five of the band members are from the Minneapolis area, a location which is very much reflected in their lyrics, granting them moderate sentimental value on the local level.
The entertainment value of storytelling lyrics, however, simply can’t buy back the ground lost with lackluster singing, crashing piano, repetitive guitar riffs and insufficient musical direction. Even when recording in a controlled studio environment, the band has a rather rocky sound. On a live album, this jaggedness is amplified to the point where it becomes downright nasty to listen to. The vocals have almost no musicality in them at all and often border on simply shouting.
Lead singer Craig Finn falls short of adopting a rugged, don’t-take-crap-from-anybody persona, coming across instead as a drunk who likes to yell. In the middle of “Your Little Hoodrat Friend” he seems about to reveal some deep, personal reflection about touring, but after a pause he slurs, “Chicago … there was one night you seemed tired, but not since. Not even close since. Good job, Chicago.” The half-hearted cheers of the audience that follow this insipid, irrelevant comment show they are just as lost as we are.
To top it off, the audience itself lacks enthusiasm. Its obligatory cheers are not the all-encompassing screams that serve to energize the atmosphere before the next song begins. Rather, they are characterized by broken-off yells and echoing claps that make it sound as though the performance took place in a local high school gym rather than a rock amphitheater like the Metro.
While A Positive Rage was probably meant to provide the audience with a nostalgic, penetrating look into The Hold Steady as a band, it acts as more of an expos? that reveals both its lack of talent and emotional depth. Perhaps six years together is not sufficient time to acquire the musical coherence and memories needed to produce the type of album for which they were striving. Whatever the case, The Hold Steady has hit a wrong chord with this one, and the average music collection would be better off without it.
1 1/2 out of 5 stars.
