[review by Bill Glahn]
Camper Van Beethoven: Mississippi Nights Live… October 1989 (Klondike KL2CD5056)
Venue: Mississippi Nights, St. Louis, MO 10/12/89
Sound Quality: Very good to excellent mono FM recording, the same source as available on archive.org and probably downloaded as a lossless file from there.
Cover: 8-page booklet and tray card in slimline double jewel case. Not all photos in the book picture the line-up presented on this disc.
Track Listing: (disc 1) Steve Pick intro/ Flowers/ O Death/ Sweethearts/ Tania/ Chris with Station Plug/ Eye Of Fatima/ When I Win The Lottery/ Joe Stalin’s Cadillac/ (I Was So) Wasted/ Take The Skinheads Bowling/ One Of These Days/ Morgan-Station Plug/ Turquoise Jewelry/ S. P. 37957 Medley (disc 2) Before I Met You/ David-Station Plug/ Opening Theme/ All Her Favorite Fruit/ Good Guys & Bad Guys/ Seven Languages/ Waka/ Pictures Of Matchstick Men/ She Divines Water/ David-Station Plug/ ZZ Top Goes To Egypt/ Sweet Virginis/ Loser/ Act Naturally
Comments: In 2004 David Lowrey granted permission for archive.org (a non-profit affiliate of the Library of Congress) to publish live recordings by fans of Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker to their website for free streaming and downloads. The official taping policy for CBV is “We have a simple taping policy. It's okay with us to tape live Camper Van Beethoven performances and trade them freely, so long as no money changes hands. You send 'em a blank, they make you a tape, and vise-versa. As soon as money enters in on any level, it's a commercial transaction; and with our music, decisions on commerce are ours and ours alone.” I’m going to leave any moral judgements about this commercial bootleg (legal under European laws regarding broadcast recordings) to any potential buyers. The purpose of this review is to cover the recording quality and artistic merits of the recording.
This show was originally recorded by community radio station KDHX and rebroadcast on New Year’s Eve 1989. It was uploaded to archive.org on 11/14/2005 by fan Greg Ryan with the following info: "Recorded to cassette on a boom box, (make unknown - maybe some cheap GPX?) on New Year's Eve, 1989 from a KDHX broadcast.” In the comments section Ryan added “I have to admit it's not perfect 5-star quality, since it was taped off the air on a less-than-stellar boombox. It was my first of what is now many CVB shows that I attended, and was truly a great experience. I am so glad that I am able to share it via Archive.org, and that people seem to be listening to one of my favorite bands ever! THE GREAT CVB!!!”
On their tray card Klondike boasts, “Professionally re-mastered original broadcast with background liners and rare archival photos.” Um…. No. What this CD contains is a slightly modified version of the same recording that appears on the archive website, which allows for lossless (FLAC) downloads. Some of the indexing points are altered and a slight boost has been given to the bass – which serves only to muddy up what was already a fine, but not perfect, recording with ample bass. I prefer the original recording as it appears on archive. Tastes may differ, though, and those that prefer a bottom heavy sound might prefer this silver disc set.
Klondike has also “borrowed” the setlist, verbatim, as it appears on the archive site, including the show intro on track 1 by KDHX DJ, Riverfront Times columnist, and manager of Euclid Records, Steve Pick. But you might only know this if you actually lived in St. Louis (or happened to be a customer at the record store) since KDHX is a small community station (music and public affairs) broadcasting at only 42kW ERB. Pick never mentions his name during the intro. This is confirmation that, for Klondike, a European company, has no better sources for vintage broadcast recordings than any other person with Internet access.
For those that prefer their music on manufactured silver discs with professionally printed graphics, this does fit the bill. But, as a music fan, you might be better served by downloading from archive and making your own CD-R(s).
Camper Van Beethoven was a hit with college radio and community stations with diverse programming right out of the chute, with their debut single, “Take The Skinheads Bowling.” Their quirky lyrics, non traditional instrumentation, and wild song structures continued similarly on their independent label album releases, with continued success. Big gun, Virgin Records, took note and signed the band to a major label deal, hoping to expand their audience. Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart and Key Lime Pie followed, neither making the break out to mainstream AOR radio, but building their core audience by leaps and bounds with national touring, mostly at college town venues and small clubs in major markets. Key Lime Pie would be the final release, and this, their final tour (for the period) as artistic force and chief songwriter, David Lowery, along with guitarist Johnny Hickman, bolted to form Cracker the following year. It was there that he would find huge commercial success with a more traditional rock sound. In 2003 CVB would be revived with a return to indie Pitch-A-Tent Records and a new line-up. Their first release would be the odd choice of remaking Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk album, a bit quirky of an album in it’s own right. The new millennium would find both bands touring together and holding annual campouts for fans.
Mississippi Nights finds the band in great form, hardly sounding like a band on the brink of a breakup. This set covers a cross-section of the bands career (one could hardly call them hits) as well as an assortment of songs from Key Lime Pie. It is often hailed by fans as one of their best shows ever, and it’s hard to argue with that. The limited edition official live album, In The Mouth Of The Crocodile (2004), while heads and shoulders above this release in terms of sound quality, falls far short in enthusiasm despite being recorded in a small club.
In conclusion, if I had checked archive.org first (or my own files obtained from there), I probably wouldn’t have bought this set. I could have spent my money on a different bootleg.
Grade: B
Bonus View: Same club, two years earlier
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