Clutch – Live in Flint, MI & Live in Melbourne, AU

Posted on August 13, 2012 by Moosejuice

2004 River Road Records 2007

I recently came across these gems from my favorite band online and I’m just stunned. Though I should have known they would be excellent.

Both discs are worth seeking out if you’re a Clutch fan. Being a proud veteran of numerous shows, I can confidently say they’re both fine documents of Clutch live and up close, and “Heard It All Before” is kinda special due to the fact that our fave Maryland boys recorded it live on their first Australian tour.

One of the discs, however, stands out as absolutely one of my favorite live albums of all time, and that’s Live In Flint, MI. Recorded live at the Machine Shop in front of a rabid crowd, it documents a two hour show from the “Blast Tyrant” tour and features material from all their albums, as well as some cool B-sides like “Hoodoo Operator.”

The surprising highlights for me, though, were the tunes from the self-titled “Clutch” CD from 1995. I was originally not a huge fan of that disc, due to what I feel is a powerless drum mix that doesn’t do Jean-Paul “The Master” Gaster justice, and really an overall mix that lacks power and crispness. With said power and crispness, those tracks are my overall favorites here, with “Rock and Roll Outlaw” just leveling the place and “Tight Like That” translating well to a heavier live format and providing the perfect chaser for “…Outlaw.” “Escape From the Prison Planet” and “I Have the Body of John Wilkes Booth” show up in powerful form here, as do “Big News I” and “Big News II.”

Honorable mention goes to “Walking in the Great Shining Path of Monster Trucks” and exemplify how well the inimitable Neil Fallon is able to make these older tracks work with his newer vocal stylings, as they were recorded with his old monotone growl on the studio versions. The more modern Clutch tunes from “Elephant Riders” through “Blast Tyrant” sound as excellent as you would hope, too.

I’ve flown many, many times to and from Louisiana to spend time with my children and I can’t tell you how many times this has been my music of choice to get my mind off of my fear of flying. Dozens easily. One of those few live documents that actually makes you feel like you’re a part of the celebration not apart from the celebration. The proudly face-melting mix makes you feel like you’re right there…you can almost smell the sweat.

For Clutch fans, this is a must have. For the uninitiated, “Live in Flint, MI” is a great introduction to a superb rock band and will undoubtedly have you hungry for their back catalogue.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

The Cult – Electric

Posted on April 28, 2008 by Moosejuice

1987 Sire Records

An album that I hold dear to my heart (and indeed I know it by heart through hundreds of repeated listens), ‘Electric’ shares time with Tricky Woo’s ‘Sometimes I Cry’ as my consistent favorites of all time.

Producer Rick Rubin’s massive repertoire consists of, in most cases, the very best work by each individual band and this is no exception. ‘Electric’ possesses what I think is the greatest no-frills mix in the history of rock, spilling forth like the best cheap wine from your speakers. No kidding, it’s both accomplished and delightfully reckless at the same time, saturated liberally with what I think is the sexiest rock guitar sound ever achieved on record.

Opener “Wild Flower” is one of my top 5 favorite songs of all time, and a song I used to play on my morning show on KLSU (Louisiana State University’s college radio station) to piss off all the alternative music know-it-alls who hated ‘Electric’ because it wasn’t ‘Love – Part II.’ I never understood that sorry lot’s “either/or” attitude. I liked both albums!

“Peace Dog” was a staple of the local rock bands in Baton Rouge in the early-mid 90’s and is just a powerhouse, while “Little Devil,” “Bad Fun,” “Love Removal Machine” and “Outlaw” are my other personal favorites. The only drawback on this album is the most powerless and anemic cover of Steppenwolf’s classic “Born To Be Wild” that I’ve ever heard. How it made the final cut I’ll never know.

This is pure guitar, bass, drums and vocals in all its rock and roll glory. Riffs and the classic rock vibe of the 70’s are all shamelessly rehashed in the ultimate tribute to the grandeur of rock, with spirited performances and the best pure rock mixing job ever winning the day.

Rating: 5 out of 5

CLICK HERE TO BUY Electric AND OTHER CULT MUSIC

Clutch – Blast Tyrant

Posted on April 25, 2008 by Moosejuice

2004 DRT

And the greatest American rock band of the 21st century returns with an album that amazingly tops the incredible Pure Rock Fury. Blast Tyrant is widely regarded as Clutch’s best album and you’ll get no argument from me, this CD and the follow-up Robot Hive-Exodus combining for an unstoppable one-two punch that constantly finds its way onto my media player in repeat shuffle play.

Once again, from the kick-ass opener ‘Mercury’ to the closer ‘WYSIWYG,’ Clutch just piledrives through their strongest batch of songs to date. If I have to pick personal highlights from an album of nothing but highlights, I’d have to say my faves are stompin’ classic “The Mob Goes Wild,” “Spleen Merchant,” “Cypress Grove,” “La Curandera,” “(In the Wake of) The Swollen Goat,” and “Subtle Hustle.”

I’ve liked Clutch ever since the Transnational Speedway League album and Neil Fallon is the ultimate king wordsmith in the history of rock, but damn if it doesn’t seem like a major light switch was flipped on with the Pure Rock Fury album. It’s like the 90’s chronicled the gifted 4 in the search for their own unique muse and with the coming of the millennium they’ve found said muse. This is a band on fire with an album that truly is an embarrassment of riches.

There’s not a wasted moment on here, as Clutch creates a masterpiece of groove-heavy rock steeped in the best of classic rock sensibilities and given the woofer-chomping punch of modern production. A classic and an absolute must for any rockhead.

Rating: 5 out of 5