The Dolphin's Cry

Lead singer Ed Kowalczyk explained: "It's about things getting real quiet enough so that one maybe hears something like the dolphin's cry."

"The Dolphin's Cry" was the lead single from Live's 1999 album The Distance To Here. By this time, the four band members, who were good friends growing up together in York, Pennsylvania, were starting to break ranks. Early on, they split the songwriting credits among the whole band, but by this point, lead singer Ed Kowalczyk was claiming most of them for himself; he's the only credited writer on the song. Live were still a top draw, but in the 2000s their popularity waned, and in 2009 they broke up (on email!). After their band The Gracious Few (with Kevin Martin of Candlebox on lead vocals) petered out, the three non-Kowalczyk members rebooted Live without him, replacing him with Chris Shinn, son of billionaire George Shinn. Kowalczyk returned in 2016, but in 2022 he cleaned house, touring as Live with a new set of musicians. Along the way, there were various lawsuits and some Byzantine business deals that went down among the various members.

Talking Heads guitarist Jerry Harrison, who previously produced Live's albums Mental Jewelry and Throwing Copper, also produced The Distance To Here. The band made a conscious effort to go back to the intensity of their earlier work.