This 2cd set (this being the limited edition version with 'bonus' cd)features 2 live shows in Germany from late 1984, not long after thedeparture of Peter Christopherson and John Balance (Coil). Here we havethe very beginnings of the 'hyperdelic' song based period, though thebulk of these tracks are still in the experimental vein of the early tomid '80s. PTV were notorious for not practicing for gigs and, well, itshows. Sometimes I wonder if anyone on stage was actually aware of whatanyone else on stage was doing at any given time. It often seems likerandom jamming, noise and feedback ... in a bad way. A really bad way.The 'songs' are loosely arranged with Genesis mumbling, yelling,bellowing, howling and/or occasionally singing over them here andthere. Those that should be recognizable, like "Unclean" and "Godstar",barely are and are lame in comparison to their studio counterparts. Thesound on both discs is bootleg quality: poorly mixed, distant and fuzzywith audience members clearly chatting amongst themselves. Disc 2,which I guess is the 'bonus' disc, is ironically the better of the twoas the band is much tighter and competent, but only marginally so. Andwith 7 tracks exceeding 11 minutes in length this is simply cruel andinhumane punishment. As for the packaging, it's not much better. Thecover drawing is the most redeeming quality as the insert offers only 1b/w picture of Genesis, track listings, copyright info and web siteurls with nothing in the way of liner notes. Everything about thisreeks of bootleg despite it being an official release from Cold SpringRecords. Definitely for die hard PTV fans only. As for me, I'll stickto the studio albums. May I please have my $18 back?.
samples:
- note - It wasn't worth the hassle of listening to any more of this to find 3 minutes worth of redeemable music to make mp3s.