Tortoise is the latest '90s independent supergroup to issue a generous collection of three CDs (of hard to find music) and one DVD (a complete assembly of music videos with other things). Where Stereolab has issued collections before, it was understood there were things to be saved for the next compilation; Low left nothing out, but Tortoise forgot some critically important pieces of their history, hence this imaginary compilation to fill the gaps.
unreleased (this is an imaginary record)
It's important to first establish that A Lazarus Taxon is an essential piece in any fan's collection. Whether they be mild to hardcore the assembly of music isn't only the painfully difficult to get, or, in some cases, previously unreleased, but the compilation tracks and singles like "Gamera," "Goriri," and "Why We Fight" are some of the finer moments of '90s independent rock music. Not only is the long deleted tour-only Rhtyhms, Resolutions, and Clusters remix album available again BUT it is finally indexed so we aren't forced into a 30-minute multi-song single-track CD. Packaged at a price lower than most two CD sets, I can't make any strong arguments against A Lazarus Taxon (despite the order being sloppily arranged with no regard to chronology—sorry, but "Cliff Dweller Society" only sounds proper following "Gamera" while "Adverse Camber" and "To Day Retrieval" need to sit next to each other). But there's more to the Tortoise story.
A Lazarus Companion begins at the genesis of the group. "Mosquito," "Onions Wrapped In Rubber," and "Gooseneck" compose the first 7" single. Forced into the time constraints, the group gives it their all, establishing themselves with multi-bass guitar action, polyrhythmic drums, dub echoes, and just a little bit extra weirdness (backwards effects and non-instrument noises) to set it apart. With the second single, Tortoise pretty much began something they couldn't quite accept until 12 years later: "Lonesome Sound" is a Freakwater cover tune with vocals and all and wouldn't sound out of place on The Brave and the Bold. One of the tunes on the flipside, "Sheets," on the other hand pursued that weird side again with more unconventional music but the vocals were so close to Brian McMahon's in Slint, it seemed like an appropriate move to get that guitarist from Slint to join the group!
From 1993, we jump to 1997, and a string of remixes. D's remix of "Why We Fight" originally appeared on a Lo Recordings compilation titled United Mutations. "Bionic Beatbox" comes from a 1998 album Techno Animal vs. Reality and is the first time here that we see the Tortoise tacked onto somebody else's song. 1998 was the year we saw Tortoise playing more with electronics all around, evidenced on the TNT album and "Madison Ave," the A-Side to a tour-only 7" single that went around with the band that year. "In Sarah, Mencken, Christ and Beethoven There Were Women and Men" got reworked by a different D (techno legend Derrick Carter) who supplies both sides of the 12" on A Lazarus Companion: "D's Winter Crazy Dub" is nearly 10 minutes of extended goodness. It's an exploitation of a great riff with additional instruments which never drive us away from the original tune. Its other side, "D's Winter Crazy Outtake" features a classy piano solo and seems far richer for a song only approximately half the other side's length. "Jetty 99" comes from a compilation titled Chicago 2018...It's Gonna Change and is the second Tortoise version of this "Jetty" song which ended up on an alarming number of different albums by different side projects in different interpretations. This version is probably the one to least resemble the original, however.
"In a Thimble" is one of those songs that makes me scratch my head as to its lack of inclusion, as it's a fantastic full-band song that came off the Reach the Rock soundtrack in 1999. "Defect 2: Curiosidade" is a Tom Zé tune remixed by Tortoise, sounding like how a Tortoise song with Tom Zé on the vocals should sound. Those of us fortunate enough to catch two tours of Tortoise with Tom Zé are still anxiously awaiting an album or something between the two but are only left with this one track, from Zé's Postmodern Platos EP.
A Lazarus Companion closes with the MGM tiger roar opening the song "Beautiful Love," as featured on the Moog soundtrack compilation. It highlights a different side of Tortoise to what they released to the world that year in 2004: the album It's All Around You. "Beautiful Love" is very beat-punchy with a dubby electro bass line and a prominent synth riff similar to "Seneca," the stellar opening to 2001's Standards album.
Don't look for this CD in a store near you nor on the "Internets" but maybe with enough persuasion the group will eventually just give these tracks away if they don't plan on compiling them on the next collection, which I doubt will happen any time soon.
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