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Now that’s what I’m talking about! Shame about the sound on the Frankfurt 98 show, but you can easily get an impression of the energy and excellence on display. IMHO, Motorpsycho reached two absolute peaks during the 90s. The first was in late ‘93 and early ‘94, with the ultra-heavy stuff slowly giving way to something a little more ethereal and light. This is nicely displayed on the Vera ‘93 set on the Demon Box deluxe set, and This Is Motorpsycho. Deathprod in full bloom, classics appearing daily in the form of The Golden Core, The Wheel etc.
The second peak was the spring ‘98 tour. They were soooo fucking good at that point, even the singing was occasionally great…
BTW, isn’t that So What show from December 96, and not 97 as it says?
Many thanks for yet another nugget! Sad to hear that the vaults are almost empty. I am hoping that before the barrell is thoroughly sraped there will be some material from 1994 and 1998, my two favourite years. And let’s not forget 1996, when the indie Motorpsycho of 1995 gave way to something both a little harder rocking and spacier.
Devotional, got any more reviews coming up? I really enjoyed them.
Oh, and Snah had the most gorgeous guitar sound on that tour. Love the reverb he threw in every now and then. Unlike a lot of reverb use onstage, it doesn't muddy things up yet it turns the sound into something resembling a cranky, grinding mellotron playing in a church. Very shoe-gazy, but much heavier and throatier than your typical shoe-gazy guitar sound. I've never heard anyone else sounding quite like that.
Fun to see Bent so animated, jumping around and clapping!
This is stunning stuff, although it's frustrating that so many performances are cut short. IMHO, Motorpsycho were so good on that tour it's really quite intimidating. Completely in the zone, and insane energy Levels. Compare with 1992 – they had the energy then, but not quite the skill. By 1998 they had the energy, inspiration, skill and experience to completely own the stage and the entire room by their very presence.
The interview bit is also kind of weird. They come across as aloof in an almost arrogant and intimidating way. Snah not saying a word, Bent hiding behind his sunglasses and with his broken tooth, and Geb trying to be amicable but coming across just slightly stoned (or is it just me?). As close as they ever came to being rock superstars.
Double album with both long and short songs sounds absolutely perfect. I like my Motorpsycho long and varied.
Hey,I'm still here 22 years later.
I didn't really imply a "downhill from there" curve with my comment either. It's just that for sheer divine inspiration, I think that's about when they hit their absolute peak. But they've remained impressively great since then, no real decline in quality and still hitting some phenomenal peaks.Same thing with albums, 1993-98 is still the peak AFAIC but there's so much good stuff even after that, so not much to complain about. And I think The Tower ranks way, way up there (where did something like Ship of Fools come from…only Motorpsycho can come up with something like that).
Motorpsycho in 1998 is at their very peak, IMHO. So this video is, again, pure gold. Especially the stretch from Feel through Wishing Well is transcendant.
Hope we get to see some "proper" 1998 shows soon.
I find those early shows so fascinating just because they are pretty ho-hum at times…yet there is *something* tangible there, a glimpse of future greatness, and of course the odd flash of pure brilliance, like Demon Box. Knowing what would come in just a very short time after this show, makes it an extremely interesting discovery.
I love your write-ups on these shows, Devotional!
I’ve only had time to skim through the latest one, but your review seems spot on. I don’t have a whole lot of shows from 1995, but it’s probably my least favourite of the «golden years» of 1993-99. As you say, the heaviness was tuned down substantially through 1994, but had not yet been replaced with the space-psych of 1996-97. Instead we get some indie rock middle ground with occasionally a lot of Sonic Youth influence. I absolutely love Sonic Youth and I’ve always loved that indie and noise rock element in Motorpsycho (in fact, I think they are at their very best when that element is present), but this concert seems to represent a point of transition where things hadn’t fully developed yet. I also think they kind of fell into place as a power trio after Morten Fagervik was dropped (TBH, I’ve only ever really liked Deathprod and occasionally Reine Fiske as associated members). Anyway, the 1995 gigs I’ve heard just sound a little flat, without the crazy energy of 1993-94 or the space-psych-prog-kraut improv nirvanas of 1996-8.
But yeah, The Golden Core is above criticism, always. Just a remarkable piece of music.
Finally got my copy! I doubtlessly don't need to say this, but this release is an absolute gem of a Motorpsycho artifact. I hadn't thought of this as a 30th anniversary release, but it makes a lot of sense as a celebration of everything that is Motorpsycho. This is humor and weirdness and side-splittingly hilarious nerdy intelligence, all rolled up in a package that, visually, stands with the absolute best they've done. Still haven't got to the music and the two unreleased tracks…
Just got through the first hour of this, and my mind has left my body…or the other way around. What a treasure! This is Motorpsycho very close to what I consider their peak…just rattling off one classic after another. That section that goes STG/Vortex Surfer/Chien/Manmower…ridiculous! Show me any other band who can put together something like that, and still have a ton of epics to go. Maybe Pink Floyd at their peak (live '75, before WIsh You Were Here was even released, everyone came to hear all of Dark Side of the Moon which they got, but were treated to not just one, but *two* (almost) full classic albums before that (WYWH and Animals). That's the only other example I can think of. Motorpsycho were completely in the zone around that time.
