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Nice little session listening to AADAP and hearing Bent and Helge Sten talk about it. The pre-album conversation between the host/chair, Johan Harstad, Bent and Deathprod wasn't too illuminating, but hearing the album in one uninterrupted session was nice. I could hear details previously buried, such as the low bass rumbling between Un Chien and Have Spacesuit…, and Stalemate sounded much more moving on such a high end system that we were listening to tonight. There was a brief Q&A session at the end which was interesting too. Not too much new to reveal, but glad I went. The biggest kick was seeing Bent's own reactions to his own work…part cringeing, part laughing at his own "funny Valentine" croaking in Un Chien, and definitely laughing out loud at the opening of Have Spacesuit, Will Travel.
BTW; we were listening to the 3 CD EP version, so no Back to Source.
Best song: THE GOLDEN CORE. Utterly mesmerizing. Just thinking the climax out in my head brings goosebumps. No one else has made anything quite like it. Pure Motorpsycho-music.
Best solo: THE OTHER OTHER FOOL (Roadwork version). Tough call, Greener and In the Family were certainly contenders, but I love how this is constructed…really, really good solo, especially considering it's a live version.
Best riff: S.T.G. What can I say? Runners-up are numerous, like Feedtime and Superstooge, but S.T.G. is epic.
Song to let someone get familiar with Motorpsycho: Sooo many contenders, so I'll nominate a recent one that sounds fresh and new and still classic Motorpsycho: THE MAGIC AND THE WONDER
– The version of Chien on disc 4 does appear to be the Cinemateket version! Or maybe not – it's slightly unclear from what Bent says. He says it's the first time they played it…but whether that means an early rehearsal version or the actual Cinemateket version remains to be seen.
– The Rockefeller gig includes Deathprod's opening, which has never been broadcast.
Slightly disappointing package…mostly already released stuff, plus the Rockefeller '97 gig which is nice, but something most psychonauts will have heard many, many times before. But it will be nice to finally have all of the original album in digital format since I missd out on the original 3xEP release.
DISC 1: angels and daemons at play vol. 1 the original album – baby scooter 1/sideway spiral I 2/you lied 3/heartattack mac 4/pills, powders and passion plays 5/in the family
DISC 2: angels and daemons at play vol. 2 the original album – have spacesuit will travel 1/un chien d'espace 2/have spacesuit, will travel 3/ohm's concerto for alto & soprano saw
DISC 3: angels and daemons at play vol. 3 the original album – lovelight 1/sideway spiral II 2/like always 3/stalemate 4/starmelt/lovelight 5/timothy's monster
DISC 4: angels and daemons at play vol. 4 the ones that got away: b-sides, rarities & live recordings 1/starmelt/lovelight 2/up our sleeves 3/wishing well 4/flick of the wrist 5/instamatic 6/back to source 7/caterpillar § 8/king bong hop § 9/star dancer vs car cancer 10/la'moen rag 11/baby jesus II 12/mad sun 13/nature's way 14/syk 15/un chien d'espace § 16/timothy in the magic city
DISC 5: angels and daemons at play vol. 5 rockefeller, march 14, 1997, part 1 § 1/komet 2/s. t. g. 3/kill some day 4/like always 5/heartattack mac 6/pills, powders and passion plays 7/the nerve tattoo 8/young man blues 9/starmelt/lovelight
DISC 6: angels and daemons at play vol. 6 1/rockefeller, march 14, 1997, part 2 § 2/un chien d'espace 3/sideway spiral II 4/you lied 5/hogwash 6/the one that went away 7/nothing to say 8/into the sun the golden core § previously unreleased
Not getting off on anything, and I don't know where you get the purist thing from. Just calling it like I see (hear) it; HBM started out promising with a weird intro not quite like anything I've heard in the Motorpsycho canon before, but the rest was a huge anti-climax to me. The rest of the gig was pretty good, including the HBM songs. Spin was done power trio-style, at first I thought they were starting to play Hogwash.
Ahem…let's get realistic. HBM is a decent album. Most of the songs outstay their welcome by a few minutes, but I can live with that. It's definitely not MP's best album, as some sources would have you believe, not by a long stretch, but it's OK, another worthy item in the MP discography.
But to to call HBM (the track) an MP classic is beyond ludicrous. It was a shapeless POS that is best cast under the veils of oblivion. It starts out rather promising, but what follows is the most mindless piece of drivel I've ever heard at a Motorpsycho concert. A shame, because it was pretty good up until Big Black Co… I mean Dog… Itself a song that outstays its welcome by a good 10 minutes on record, but decent enough tonight. Highlights were a barnstorming Whole Lotta Diana into Feedtime, notwithstanding Bent's cringeworthy opening vocals on WLD. Good stuff was great, but that last number was just…blah!
I'd have expected even more comments after such a huge event, but I suppose like me, everyone is simply still stunned and in shock and awe after a truly monmumental concert. I honestly did not in my wildest dreams expect something as good as this. Retro gigs like this are usually "nice" affairs. Only extremely rarely do bands manage to make justice to their older material in a way like this. Motorpsycho have moved on since 1993, so for them to be able to tap into the nerve that was present Saturday night was truly remarkable. Having Geb and Deathprod aboard just made the night complete.
As has been mentioned, the events leading up to the gig did lend the whole thing a special edge. We had to suffer through some pretty awful stuff during this day (cold winds, lots of drunk teenagers, russebusshelvete on the main stage including "pornosjokk"-Arif, a grumpy and disgruntled Echo and the Bunnymen shortchanged with a measly 40 min set on smaller stage and an overall pretty shitty atmosphere). And all the time the uncertainty of whether the gig would happen at all. But once it did…wheew…my beer buzz was just right, and from the very first minute it was simply pure bliss. The sound was so-so way back, especially the first two LP sides, but from Junior and on the sound was reasonably good.
The band, however, was transcendant. This honestly, hand to my heart, was one of the best 2 or 3 Motorpsycho gigs I've seen. There were no weak spots (although AIL was a little less effective than usual and Tuesday Morning a little scratchy, but mostly due to the sound). And from Junior and out, they just hit another plane. Plan #1 was achingly beautiful, executed with perfection, easily the best version I've heard. But it was the ending that just blew this gig right through the clouds and into extra-terrestrial heights.
Hearing Bent doing Come On In alone, on acoustic, on that huge stage, and every single soul attendant keeping perfectly shut…it brought a tear to my eye.
And then. "This is where it all…ends."
Demon Box. OMG. Back when I got into Motorpsycho this track never really did that much for me. Over the years I have come to appreciate it though. But to hear it on record is one thing. To actually *experience* it like we did on Saturday is just a whole different thing. I just stood there giggling, laughing and drolling maniacally as the noise washed over us. It must have been the best version they ever did. Of course this is pure speculation, but everyone was so *on* and inspired and attacked it with such fervour…
So thank you, thank you, Motorpsycho. Again and again and again you do it. You hit that special nerve, occupy that musical space that only you know how to. Nothing else comes close.
Now that we have the whole thing available, and also on CD, I've been playing it over and over the last few days. I have to say, this whole project was really cool, and the quality of the material much better than I had ever expected! This makes for a great mini-album. It's album length (particularly if you add Toys, which I haven't heard yet), but it does feel a little slight as an album (no real epics, probably not enough variety for a real Motorpsycho album), so releasing them in this form seems a very wise decision. The songs are allowed to shine in this context.
I am not entirely sure when all of these songs were recorded, but as I understand it they were all from the same sessions that yielded Eggplant and Behind the Sun, right? If that is the case, then it makes it even more odd that they would choose the songs they did for Eggplant, which was a huge disappointment for me. Turns out they had much, much better material available to release (as Behind the Sun proved). Well, Barleycorn was stunning, at least. In any case, most of the Motorpnakotic songs could be subbed into either record and worked well. Nevertheless, some of them do have a B-side feel, while some are more deep album track material.
Track by track:
1) The Jig Is Up
– one of the best, excellent groove, effortless elaboration. The band is in "the zone" on this one. Lots of nice little details, like the chromatically ascending countervoice at the end of each line in the verses. Killer track.
2) Mockingbird
– nice poppy tune. Love the way they've been using acoustic guitar on these Eggplant/Sun/Motorpnakotic tunes.
3) One Way or Another
– this one has really grown on me. Didn't like it too much at first, but the way it builds is huge. Could have easily replaced Ghost on Behind the Sun.
4) Forget It
– another favourite of mine. Super infectious chorus, this one stuck after the first time I heard it. Lovely middle section with the solo. It has something about it that reminds me of Timothy era, yet it's nothing like that at the same time.
5) Cutie in Decay
– Like this one too, although it's a bit indistinctive.
6) Whiskey & Rock & Roll
– In some ways, this is the kind of Motorpsycho I don't particularly like. I like them when they're serious, progressive, playing on all their register. This is just some dumb, cartoonish, stoner-ish heavy rock, right? But somehow with this one, it just wins me over – it's just hilarious and off-the-chart rocking fun. And those lyrics? "When I'm drinking, I get drunk"…LOL! I'd take this track over On a Plate any day.
7) Future of Our Nation
Yes, yes, yes!! Fantastic song! I'd go so far as to rate it one of their best covers ever. It really fits Motorpsycho. I have to go check out the original, but this one has "the spook" the way Motorpsycho treat it. When I first heard it I had no idea it was a cover, but I first thought maybe it was some really obscure Funkadelic song. Maybe Motorpsycho got the same vibes, because suddenly a melody appears that sounds like it's taken from Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow…is it there in the original by Master's Apprentices? And how it builds!! E-E-E-E EVERYWHERE…!
DominoesMy least favourite track of the release. The intro melody is just really annoying for some reason. It reminds me of the weaker tracks from the early 00s, like the abominable Fade to Grey or the utterly repelling Neverland… Fortunately it gets better, but overall this one leaves me cold.
So for me, The Jig Is Up, One Way Or Another, Forget It and Future of Our Nation are all stand-out tracks that would make any Motorpsycho album proud, and most of the rest are not far behind.
Very disappointed to find that my local Platekompaniet did not have the Demon Box box today.
Completely shocked to be informed that they most likely would not have it in the shop at all…special order only, except they don't take special orders in December…d'oh!! But he kindly told me I could buy it online. Thanks, but I'll pass on that suggestion.
What has the world come to? I practically grew up in a record store.
At least it was some consolation to come home and find the fourth fragment in my mailbox. Digging the CD as I type!
So how is everyone liking the songs then? I've heard them all about 3 times each now, and my initial impressions are very favourable. They have a somewhat B-side "feel" to them, but quality-wise I think they are strong enough. Perhaps nothing quite as good as the best tracks from Behind the Sun, but not far behind.
I really, really like Forget It. Mockingbird is also nice. Both of those songs are lighter, poppier, but still with a MP heaviness. For some reason they remind me a little of a Timothy's Monster vibe, or perhaps more precisely Another Ugly Tune (somene else already noted how Toys rewminded them of AUT).
One Way or Another is my least favourite. A bluesy, slow/heavy but slightly morose track. The last one (forgot the name…Snake something) is pretty cool and driving.
Those are only my initial impressions, but if the quality of all 8 (9) fragments is as good as this, it will make up a very nice album.
