In adidition to a fourth LP side not available on the CD edition, Beta-Lactam Ring's double vinyl edition of Audiosapien also comes with a bonus 12" billed as Earthmonkey vs. Nurse With Wound. Hanu @ Basecloudis a welcome companion to the album, and could even stand on its ownquite well as a short LP. The record is introduced by the legendaryJimmy Carl Black of the Mothers of Invention, intoning his famous linewhich will be very familiar to Zappa fans: "Hi, I'm Jimmy Carl Black,I'm the Indian of the group, and you're listening to...Earthmonkey!"This auspicious introduction is sampled, spliced, chopped and pouredlike lumpy gravy over the rest of this sidelong track, a powerfullyhallucinogenic slab of fierce, majestic psych-rock that phases all overthe stereo channels. I'm guessing that Nurse With Wound's contributionlies in the incongruous vocal snippets and samples sprinkled liberallythroughout these tracks, adding just the right amount of strangenessand complexity to the primitive Kraut jams. Side B is a different beastaltogether, a Middle Eastern-textured psych excursion with a dark,shuffling beat overlaid with snaking funk guitars, horn bleats andhair-raising washes of surrealistic sound. It's a bit reminiscent ofthe soundtrack to Fantastic Planet, pulled through the other side of an hashish tent filled with ranting bedouins. This 12" is just as accomplished as Audiosapien, but with an intensity and focus that makes it even easier to return to.Read More
