Pere Ubu are a great band. Truly. They are also out in the lunatic fringe of sound that probably would turn off listeners who prefer more conventional stuff.
That said, this album is a good cross-section of their early work (1975-80) and is a nice way for people to get a sense of Pere Ubu without diving headlong into "The Modern Dance" or "Dub Housing." The tracks they have on this one are more accessible to a casual listener, which is good and bad (good in that it gets people to listen to them, bad in that they don't entirely do the band justice).
My favorite tracks on this are (of course) the haunting "30 Seconds Over Tokyo," "Final Solution," and "Heart of Darkness." I like "Cloud 149" and "My Dark Ages" as well, but not as much as these first three tracks. Earlier version of later works "Untitled" (later the much-superior "The Modern Dance") and "Humor Me" are interesting snapshots of the band, which is always in transition, anyway.
"The Book Is On The Table" is fun, but seems sort of self-consciously so, which weakens its impact, given what Pere Ubu is capable of. The reggae beat of "Heaven" (coupled with the lurking Ubu feedback buzz, surfacing rhythmically like a shark) is entertaining.
Anyway, if you want to hear for yourself what all the noise about Pere Ubu is about, but are leery of getting more than your feet wet, then this is worth your time. If you find you like it, then definitely go for "The Modern Dance" and "Dub Housing" and you'll never look back.Daibhidh
That said, this album is a good cross-section of their early work (1975-80) and is a nice way for people to get a sense of Pere Ubu without diving headlong into "The Modern Dance" or "Dub Housing." The tracks they have on this one are more accessible to a casual listener, which is good and bad (good in that it gets people to listen to them, bad in that they don't entirely do the band justice).
My favorite tracks on this are (of course) the haunting "30 Seconds Over Tokyo," "Final Solution," and "Heart of Darkness." I like "Cloud 149" and "My Dark Ages" as well, but not as much as these first three tracks. Earlier version of later works "Untitled" (later the much-superior "The Modern Dance") and "Humor Me" are interesting snapshots of the band, which is always in transition, anyway.
"The Book Is On The Table" is fun, but seems sort of self-consciously so, which weakens its impact, given what Pere Ubu is capable of. The reggae beat of "Heaven" (coupled with the lurking Ubu feedback buzz, surfacing rhythmically like a shark) is entertaining.
Anyway, if you want to hear for yourself what all the noise about Pere Ubu is about, but are leery of getting more than your feet wet, then this is worth your time. If you find you like it, then definitely go for "The Modern Dance" and "Dub Housing" and you'll never look back.Daibhidh
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