REVIEW: The Flaming Lips, A Collection of Songs Representing an
Enthusiasm for recording...By Amateurs -- 1984-1990
(Restless)
- Andrew Duncan
The Flaming Lips were certainly one of the more important bands of the mid-'80s punk scene, even though many people did not know it at the time. It was the Lips that coaxed a scrawny Perry Farrell to form Psi Com, and then Jane's Addiction. It was also the Lips' bold maneuvers and blending of punk and psychedelica that helped create a generation of bands who were not afraid to experiment in that aspect, and break the mythos that punks were against the psychedelic movement of the '60s. They say it was all about sex, drugs and rock and roll. The Lips got two out of three right.
It was the Lips who based their existence on experimentation. With the recent release of The Soft Bulletin, a graceful album that creates delicate compositions of electronics and instrumentation, they broke even their own barriers, thanks to technology.
Yet, how did the band get from point A to point B? Historians say that in order to look into the future, one must understand the past. That is why Restless Records diligently worked with the group to create this collection of songs recorded from 1984 to 1990.
Instead of creating a greatest hits album, this retrospective relies on rarities and early studio adventures from Hear It Is, Telepathic Surgery, and In A Priest-Driven Ambulance. The band's greatest hits did not fall until after 1990, beginning with the release of their most influentially recognized release Hit To Death in the Futurehead.
"Bag Full of Thoughts" begins the 65 minutes with a modest attempt at garage rock. Even though the harmonies are piss-poor, the musicianship is immediately identified as above-average, even in the stale studio environment that fell upon the session. "Hell's Angels Cracker Factory" demonstrates an edited version of their sound-collage idea that appeared in Telepathic Surgery. The band flies through two popular and well-deserved songs from Priest-Driven Ambulance ("Unconsciously Screamin'" and "God Walks Among Us Now"). The other delights are their covers of a combined Sonics' "Strychnine" and Elvis Costello's "Peace Love and Understanding," and covers of Sonic Youth "Death Valley '69" and Led Zeppelin's "Thank You," both appearing on the bootleged live CD The Day Andy Gibb Died.
The liner notes explain exactly how and why each song was recorded, and shed some light on a rusty "Unconsciously Screaming" video. A deserved addition to this CD is the lack of space in between songs, giving some of these amateurish and drawn-out songs a breath of life in confined quarters.
