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I think that rock music inherited the "live" album from jazz. Live albums were great for jazz, no two jazz performances were the same and they frequently documented one-time-only collaborations.
But live albums have been troublesome for "rock". Chances are a rock concert album has been quickly put into existence to either fulfill a contract or to cash in on a band's unexpected success. Sound quality can be iffy or the spark of a live performance may be dull by overdubs done in post-production. Only a very few (Cheap Trick's "At Budokan", Talking Heads' "Stop Making Sense) have risen to being something special, something that stands on its own. The rest of the time most live albums might as well be entitled "For Completists Only".
Not so with Sixteen Horsepower. This Denver based band (led by David Eugene Edwards, who now fronts Wovenhand) has become one of those seminal bands (like Bauhaus and The Misfits) that seem to have become more popular and influential after they broke up. Many of the fans of the band have found themselves in the position of being musical archeologists: sifting through the band work knowing no "new" material will be forthcoming. They didn't experience the band's music during it's original release and the band did cover a goodly amount of ground (from country-ish rock to gothic americana) so many fans gravitated to the closest thing they could get to a "greatest hits"... the live album "Hoarse". Luckily for listeners "Hoarse" is a phenomenal album. It manages to capture all of the things that made the band great with out being watered-down by the confines of a studio. The songs remained raw, the passion more evident then on Sixteen Horsepower's studio recordings.
That bodes well for the newest release for the band, "Live March 2001". This is a band who's best material may just be on their live albums, so this is no cast off collection of filler. Even the band has described this as one of their best shows and this two CD set captures the entire performance. Banjo and concertina aren't usually seen as dark instruments but when channeled through the sensibilities of Sixteen Horsepower and added to the haunting double bass work they become almost otherworldly.
This double CD set is expansive, something you can get lost in. For fans that's heavenly, for new-comers 90 minutes of live material can be daunting, but I have no idea what you could cut to try an bring this down to a single CD. One of the lovely things this recording documents is Edwards' disarming humility. He actually seems uncomfortable, almost embarrassed, with the crowd's adoration. He thanks them frequently and sincerely for clapping... but the crowd is doing more than just clapping. They're whistling, hollering and cheering.
And they have something to cheer about. This album has something in common with another well regard live album: The Smiths "Rank". This albums proves that Sixteen Horsepower can ROCK. Not "country" rock, or rock a little bit. There is a palpable, visceral heaviness here, a darkness that combines with the insistent driving of the songs to bring you squarely into the world of rock.
It's a strange trip for the listener, but that's the way it should be. It seems almost a shame that "live" is in the title of the this simply-yet-beautifully packaged recording, this album deserves a real title that better warns you what you're in for.
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Sixteen Horsepower:
http://www.16horsepower.com/
Alternative Tentacles:
http://www.alternativetentacles.com/
Quick review: This album may not be "Hoarse times ten" but it comes damned close.
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