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Rating: Well, as the great gospel of Rock says, this first double Album is a rare anthology of great quality, which collects special and unpublished tracks from 1988 to 1995.
Could a group of such caliber and creativity (including the Album titles, of course) not give us such a personal presentation? We have a vocal CD and a completely instrumental one named Genius + Love = Yo La Tengo, a title deliberately "copied" from one of the best Albums (collection) of Ray Charles (1960) which is Genius + Soul = Jazz ("Genius" was Ray's nickname). They chose "Yo La Tengo" because they wanted it to be different from their origins, a foreign and so particular name, easy to remember over time, an expression in Spanish that means "I have the ball", used in baseball (Kaplan's passion) to indicate a position to other players after a launch.
They are a beloved group, always respected by critics and their fans, a guarantee that over time has only increased, alternative rock, without falling into the suffocating "indie" abyss, better yet? I would say indie rock, drawing with pleasure from the trends of the moment here and there, and creating the entire work in their own image and likeness. They are all, and it is repeated for emphasis, all great successes, something difficult to achieve and maintain over twenty years of presence, especially if you combine the concept of family and work, which instead, for them, has been the key to success. In other words, we talk about the Hubley spouses, the delicate "soprano" and Kaplan, the dominant yet fragile "baritone" (a great admirer of Lou Reed), also accompanied by James McNew (on bass). They are a heterogeneous group, they manage to pair noise with melody, "neurosis" with calmness, they manage to please without having to seek attractions, never overshooting into excess to get noticed, simplicity and approach are their esteemed qualities.
In the first CD, there are tracks like "Demons," which originally appeared in the soundtrack of the film "I Shot Andy Warhol," "Hanky Panky Nohow" (John Cale), "Somebody's Baby" (Jackson Brown), "I'm Set Free" (Lou Reed), but the track that strikes the most is the famous, heartbreaking and so moving "Speeding Motorcycle" by Daniel Johnston, which is presented to us in a live version for WMFU radio, where the band, via phone, initially duets with the author (from the asylum where he was at the time) and then lets him continue alone, as if wanting to honor him for this song, as if they wanted to give him a loving gesture, tranquility, freedom, a hug for a man who is suffering, surely in his loneliness, this track in its original version will close the Album.
In the second CD, the instrumental one, tracks like "Gooseneck Problem" of 0.04°, or "Sunsquashed" of 26 minutes and 22° psychedelic, acidic, schizophrenic, traumatizing from the series, did we smoke something? Or the legendary "Blitzkrieg Bop" (Ramones).
Fantastic, I love them... If you don't have them, get them right away, add them to your bible, and you won't regret it, listen to believe!
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
14 Barnaby, Hardly Working (03:54)
For the moment slipped right through him
Combed his hair, combed his hair
Knew the feeling of contentment
The actors' actor
The actors' actor
Smiled a smile uncomprehending
I took his time, took his time
Wore a hat, so he'd impress her
They took a ride
They took a ride
As I could wait for hours
I could wait and never fall down
Never fall down
Never fall down
He is down beside the river
He is down beside the river
He is down beside the river
He is down beside the river
15 Some Kinda Fatigue (07:38)
Sitting in a parked car
Trying hard to smile
But I've been looking for one good reason
But I haven't found it yet
Took awhile, well, what's it gonna be?
The way it's got to be
I know it's out there
One good reason
But I haven't found it yet
I'm stepping away, stepping away from you
Some weird kinda fatigue
Someday I'll find it,
One good reason
But I haven't found it yet
16 Speeding Motorcycle (03:30)
Speeding motorcycle
wont you change me
in a world of funny changes
speeding motorcycle
wont you change me
speeding motorcycle
of my heart
speeding motorcycle
always changing me
speeding motorcycle
dont you drive wrecklessly
speeding motorcycle
of my heart
many girls have taken you out for a ride, hurt you deep inside but you never slowed down
speeding motorcycle
of my heart
speeding motorcycle
lets be smart
because we dont want a wreck
we can do alot of tricks
we dont have to break our legs
to get our kicks
speeding motorcycle
the road is ours
speeding motorcycle
lets speed some more
because we dont need reason and we dont need logic because we got feelin\' and were damn proud of it
speeding motorcycle
theres nothing you can do
speeding motorcycle
i love you
speeding motorcycle
lets just go
speeding motorcycle
lets go, lets go, lets go
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