Lived to Tell is an album by the American alternative rock band Eleventh Dream Day, released in 1991.[2][3] Like the band's other two Atlantic Records albums, Lived to Tell was a commercial disappointment.[4] The band supported the album with a North American tour.[5]
Production
Produced by Paul McKenna, the album was recorded in Cub Run, Kentucky, in a studio that had been built in an old barn.[6][7] All four band members contributed to the songwriting.[8]
Entertainment Weekly wrote that the band "sport a wild instrumental attack, oblique lyrics, and a sturdy, unflinching belief in the healing effects of a silky, soaring guitar."[12]Robert Christgau thought that "a notable guitar sound evolves into an undeniable band sound, roots/trad sonics (steel and slide under lead) and rhythms (buried hints of r&b strut and shuffle) just barely keeping their balance."[11]Trouser Press opined that some songs "waver instead of stampede; for the first time, the band seems to know where they’re going, and that takes some joy out of the ride."[1]
The New York Times wrote: "When the tempos are fast and the guitarists strum at top speed, the songs emerge in a passionate rush. But when songs grow more leisurely, collegiate pretensions emerge; songs called 'Daedalus' and 'It's All a Game' are just the clichés their titles promise."[15] The Chicago Tribune deemed Lived to Tell "an album that ranks as one of the best ever made by a Chicago band."[16]The Boston Globe concluded that "the band's cleverly oblique lyrics are often lost in the guitar din, but for pure energy, you won't find a hotter new band."[17]
AllMusic wrote that "[Rick] Rizzo and Beveridge Bean make a fantastic pair of front singers, strong without being overbearing, on joint harmonies hitting something not far off from the brilliant combination of X's John Doe and Exene Cervenka."[9]
