REVIEW: The Posies, Live Before the Iceberg (Badman Recording)
- John Davidson
Despite putting out some of the most admirable power pop of the '90s, one of the many Seattle-area bands that never made it to sales nirvana was The Posies. Then again, most bands signed during that grunge gold rush never amounted to much more than a '90s equivalent of Donna Summer: acts so tied to a fad that when the fad dies, so does the artist. Things are never quite that simple, yet sadly, many talented musicians from the grunge era are never going to get a big label shot again. As a more recent example, the relative sales failure of Soundgarden's Chris Cornell solidifies the pessimism that lurks at the executive level in the music business.
However, some artists never waited for success to happen, and that wisdom has paid off in great dividends (i.e. income stability and more of a "career" in rock music.) Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow, the creative duo behind the Posies throughout their ten-year existence, never sat still when it came to exploring their musicianship. Widely known for their participation in the relapse tours of pop heroes Big Star, they also have an extensive track record of collaboration with many other upstart West Coast bands. They've played tribute albums, toured extensively, and this past year, Stringfellow even hit the road as part of the backing band for R.E.M. Their lasting career is not a tribute to odd luck; rather, it's an example of how talent can carry a load that fickle fandom simply can't.
Still, their years as Posies are their stock trade and lasting legacy. As a legacy, the band probably won't be remembered as much for their style as for their ability to re-work the promise of Big Star within the guise of more aggressive, 90s rock. Often intimately baroque at their roots, by the end the Posies were leaving that precocious sound for a more punk-inspired, emotional fireworks. This transformation most surely alienated some of the earlier fans, but the band seemed intent on turning up the volume both in the studio and in the live setting. So, it comes as no surprise that Alive Before the Iceberg is a relic of the Posies cranking it up at the expense of delicate, flowery showmanship.
Alive captures the band in Spain on their last tour supporting their swan song Success, and the twelve songs are representative of that album more than their career. Both Auer and Stringfellow sound weary throughout (elaborated to great extent on Stringfellow?s engaging liner notes), and the effect comes off as somewhat sloppy but full of passionate energy - in a sense, a live show that's not canned or reworked to sound like the studio version. The insecurity of "Please Return It" burns with the howled line "There has to be an upside!" and the bitter "Everybody Is a Fucking Liar" encapsulates the gutter of any failed relationship. However, Alive also serves to exacerbate the weaker songs in their catalog (most notably "Start a Life" and "Broken Record"), and you have to wonder why they got included on a forty-seven minute disc. There are better songs to choose from, although give Badman credit for adding the boozy Cheap Trick cover "Surrender."
What may be the best part of the disc is the fact that it has appeared at all. Tiny upstart Badman finagled a way to release this live document, and if the big labels in the industry had any clue, they would realize that there is a huge demand for live music. Take one look at the bootleg industry, and you'll see that there is plenty of money to be made. It's well-known that most artists are in favor of releasing their concerts as opposed to letting bootleggers make all the money. With the cost of manufacturing going down and a cheap form of distribution (the Internet) becoming more and more viable, it's hopefully only a matter of time before acts in new millennium will be churning out approved live material and other studio scraps. Alive Before the Iceberg is proof that the future is here, serving as a raucous farewell letter to Posies fans everywhere. Check out http://www.badmanrecordingco.com for more information.
