Oops, been a while, again.
There’s been a few slabs of wax that have slipped into the racks of late and have been in fairly regular rotation so, along with those, here’s a little gander at what’s going in the old earbuds of late…
Pearl Jam – Let’s Play Two
This one I’d forgotten pre-ordering so was quite surprised when it arrived.Let’s Play Two is the ‘soundtrack’ to the upcoming concert film / basebell love-in of the same name. I’m not one for sports in general and baseball is a uniquely American currency I think so I’m not too excited about the film. While neither the best soundtrack to a PJ film (that’d be Pearl Jam Twenty) or a great Pearl Jam live album, Let’s Play Two is still a worthy listen given that Pearl Jam are one of the best live acts still giving it their all and while the song selection is slight – the band played over thirty songs each night – and not in true concert order, you can’t argue with a great rendering of ‘Given To Fly’, ‘Release’ and one of my own favourites, ‘Inside Job’.
Various – Twin Peaks (Music from the Limited Event Series)
While I still don’t really know what to make of either the majority of the series or the finale to the revival of Twin Peaks – aside from it being Lynch’s take on not wanting things to get old / pass – the soundtrack is a great thing. This one – as opposed to the score – is made up from songs played at the Big Bang Bar at the end of the episode along with a couple of those that featured elsewhere including the stellar Live From Monterey Pop recording I’ve Been Loving You Too Long by Otis Redding. Of course, there’s a couple – particularly the ridiculous inclusion of ‘Just You’ – that aren’t what I’d call top drawer but with tracks like Eddie Vedder’s exclusive ‘Out of Sand’, Rebekah Del Rio’s outstanding ‘No Stars’ there’s a lot of strong songs on here that have ensured this has received a few rotations.
The Replacements – For Sale: Live At Maxwell’s 1986
“THE REPLACEMENTS TO RELEASE FIRST OFFICIAL LIVE ALBUM (RECORDED IN FRONT OF MORE THAN 30 PEOPLE)” said the sticker on the front of this one. This live recording – forgotten about / lost until earlier this year captured the band at a turning point; their first major label album just out, just ahead of the firing of original guitarist Bob Stinson. A 29 song setlist that captures, as one review puts is succinctly, the “moment when the tug-of-war between the Replacements’ split personalities—the perma-blotto garage band vs. the refined rock craftsmen—had escalated into a bloody battle.”
Tom Petty – You Wreck Me
For reasons sadly obvious
Mumbling About... 
I need to hear that Replacements disc album sometime, and I still don’t own Wildflowers on CD or digital – I think I still have an old cassette copy.
There was talk – a couple of years ago -of rereleasing Wilflowers as a deluxe version with an entire second album’s worth of songs as either a bonus disc or second album. Where that sits now is anyone’s guess but I’d love to hear those tunes
I’ve heard about that – apparently there’s a famous b-side/outtake called ‘Girl on LSD’.
I like your devotion to Pearl Jam too. I like a few of their albums a lot (Vitalogy, No Code, Riot Act) but haven’t checked in for a while.
A nice set of tunes. Didn’t know 2 and 3 so good to hear some new (for me) stuff. Much as I liked the Pearl Jam thing, I’ve become really weary of hearing audiences sing bands’ songs. One of the many reasons I have greatly whittled down going to concerts. Speaking of PJ, I was thinking of someday doing a series on them. Maybe you should write that then I can relax and reblog it. 😀 Fun fact – Petty refers to corduroy pants in this song. Coincidence?
Ah, I hadn’t made the connection with the corduroy lyrics. Given the writing timelines for both it’s probably a coincidence, especially as Vedder gave it that title after seeing his look co-opted into high-price fashion items.
I have toyed with the idea of expanding my previous “Lost Years” PJ piece and doing the rest of their career thus far, we’ll see how that goes time wise
I have them on my radar for a series, but not any time soon. I usually just go ahead as pretty much nobody else does them that I’m aware of. But on this one, I’ll check in and see what your plans are before starting one. If you decide not to do something in-depth, I’ll do it at that point.
The majority of the tracks on the recent Twin Peaks were great (sadly not that Lissie one for me, right enough). I wasn’t aware of the Pearl Jam release until the day or so before it dropped… I haven’t loved anything since Yield and certainly haven’t so much as liked anything since Riot Act, but there’s no question that they are still pretty exceptional live. Shame this one isn’t particularly special.
… and I love that hype sticker on the Replacements album!
I think there’s perhaps 3 songs on the Twin Peaks one I lift the needle off for but given how many there are in total that’s a good ratio.
Yeah… but then I don’t think any of PJ’s live albums have really captured them with the intensity they deliver in concert, the bootleggs are still the best place for that or perhaps some of their recent Vault series, it’s the problem with live albums that don’t capture one particular gig but instead try and sew together a compilation from several
I was fairly impressed by the hit ratio on the show. I dare say the number that done nothing for me was somewhere around 3 or 4.
As for Pearl Jam live, I was unfortunate enough to see one of their pedestrian performances in 2000 (released Glasgow boot) and wasn’t sure if it was just cause my expectations were too high. When I picked up the CD it confirmed it was an unremarkable night. However, I mind being particularly fond of the Camden 2003 official boot. That was pretty stellar.
Love the set. Three top rock n roll bands with Lissie being a new taste for CB. Lynch knows his music (and film)