1975/11/03 at Meiji Gakuin University + an update to how this blog will work going forward

Immortalized as the first disc of Volcanic Performance (one of my favorite bootlegs of theirs), their show on November 3, 1975, at Meiji Gakuin University is very good. 

Opening with a solid version of "Field of Artificial Flowers", the show really begins to get good with a rendition of "Romance of the Black Pain otherwise Fallin' in Love With".

I'm not sure if it's the source of the recording I have or if Mizutani used a phaser on his guitar (leaning more toward the former), but I think it really works with this show, especially with the following performance of "Deeper than the Night". "Flames of Ice" is great as usual. And, of course, "The Last One" appears here in all its power.

Overall, a stellar performance and a highlight for the 70s shows. As previously mentioned, this show was made available through the Volcanic Performance bootleg released in 2008. Some of the songs also appeared on the bootleg Naked Diza Star, which was released in 2006. Both were put out by the label Univive, a label heavily associated with LRD bootlegs.

So, with the review over, it comes time to address the other half of this title. I still want to use this blog, but it is very difficult to listen to all of LRD's work in chronological order. Not simply because of the amount of work they made, but because it's difficult when the history of a group like LRD is so muddy and obscure. I find it much easier to simply review everything the band made, order be damned. I'll probably jump all over the place, but I'm still aiming to get everything covered. That will be how this blog continues. I've updated the title of the blog to reflect this change. Sorry if that upsets those looking forward to this format, but I think this will be easier for all of us. Next post will be an official release.

Live at Doshisha University (May 1970)

Thank the YouTube channel "RALLIZES 70S ARCHIVE", which has a good playlist of their early works. Playlists like theirs are part of the reason why this project isn't impossible to make.

Two songs from this performance originally appeared on the 2011 Rivista Archives bootleg, while the last appeared on the 1991 official release MIZUTANI / Les Rallizes Dénudés.

"A Distant Memory" has a beautiful rendition here and "Fragment 2", which I believe is a nickname since the song isn't officially released, is even more so beautiful. More interesting is the version of "The Last One" present here. This is the so-called "The Last One_70" version, which has more of a folky vibe compared to the blown-out, noisy version that the Rallizes are more known for... at least for most of the song. After a couple of minutes, the distortion is turned on, and you get perhaps the first look at what the song would become. It still has its folk vibe, but now you really get to hear Mizutani go nuts on guitar. Lastly, in the version on YouTube, there's an untitled improvisation track that's definitely different. It's more sparse, more loose. Very interesting. 

Overall, this is a nice performance. I think my favorite song is the version of "Distant Memory" here.

A Note

The original idea of this blog was to review, in order of performance, every publicly available Les Rallizes Dénudés live performance. Now, I've listened to a lot of their work, but I haven't been very active on here. Haven't had the time to just sit down and listen to it. Mainly life has been busy. Same reason I haven't posted on my other blog or on my YouTube channel much. I'm not giving up on the concept - of course not - but I wanted to just say that it can be a while between posts. Not like anyone's reading them or anything, but... that's not important.

Flightless Bird Needs Water Wings (Yodo-Go-a-Go-Go) (2007)

This is where my note from my last post comes into play. Flightless Bird Needs Water Wings (Yodo-Go-A-Go-Go), released by the label 10th Avenue Freeze Out in 2007 comes next chronologically... technically.

You see, tracks 1, 4, and 8 originally come from '67-'69 Studio et Live, which date them to 1968. "Fragment I", also known as "Vallé De L'eau", was sourced from a previous bootleg and (I think) might be from 1970. This bootleg's versions of "Enter The Moon" and "Flame of Ice" are sourced from a studio recording from 1978. "Field of Artificial Flowers", the sixth song, comes from '77 Live by way of Heavier Than A Death In The Family. The final track dates back to 1975.

When it comes to cases like this where the tracklist comes from a variety of times, the earliest date will be used for chronological sorting.

So, what do I think? It's a bit disjointed and unorganized, thanks to the range in recording dates, but it's a nice listen. My favorite songs here are the studio recordings of Enter The Mirror and Flames of Ice. Field of Artificial Flowers is pretty great, the '67-'69 et songs are great, and the short Fragment I is a nice interlude of sorts.

'67-'69 Studio et Live (1991) + An Introduction

My name is Katie. I run the blog "katie's music blog" (formerly known, but still kinda known in the url as kevinsmp3blog). This is a fun new project I decided to undertake.

One might ask, why review all the LRD albums, official or bootleg, in order? I say because I have a true appreciation for the style LRD went for throughout their long tenure together. Also, it allows me to talk about these releases in a deeper way than I'm usually allowed. It's fun. Plus, helps me work on my writing.

So what's first on the chopping block? '67-'69 Studio et Live, released in 1991 by Rivista. Released alongside Mizutani / Les Rallizes Dénudés and the legendary '77 Live, this album collects the band's infancy through (mostly) live cuts of early songs. 

Despite the title suggesting that the earliest songs date to 1967, the liner notes say the opener "Smokin' Cigarette Blues" is the earliest, dated to November 29, 1968, and the rest are from various times throughout 1969.

The original 1991 release featured eight songs, but the 2022 remastered reissue also includes two bonus tracks exclusive to the CD version. I'll be reviewing the 2022 remaster with bonus tracks here. I don't have the CD version, but you can find the bonus tracks easily on Soulseek.

So, what do I think of it?

It's certainly an interesting beginning to the band's style. Stylistically it's a bit all over the place, but it all comes together for a nice listen. The bonus tracks don't add much to the release, but are nice additions. My personal favorite tracks from this are the first version of "Vertigo Otherwise My Conviction" and "La Mal Rouge".

I'd also like to take this time to thank gasman_ on Soulseek/Discord for their help in sharing their (mostly) comprehensive LRD collection in chronological order, as this project would be much more difficult without their help.

Alright, one down, endless more to go.

Note: This project won't cover any and every bootleg, as some aren't online or are difficult to find. Many also are bootlegs of each other or include songs from other releases. Where nesessary, I'll note this and only really review the songs exclusive to the release. For example, some bootlegs that say they have songs from between 1967 and 1969, they mean songs from this release.