Live II

Released

The ultimate document of Keiji Haino’s legendary band, this epic double CD (nearly 150 minutes of music), often referred to as Live II, features 13 untitled tracks, covering a variety of moods. Disc 1, Track 2 features a monolithic garage rock riff and a pounding beat, strongly reminiscent of Les Rallizes Dénudés; Disc 2, Track 3 is a hardcore punk sprint, with Haino unleashing piercing daggers of feedback (and a surprisingly shredtastic solo) as bassist Yasushi Ozawa and drummer Jun Kosugi blast along like they’re in Discharge; but the album’s emotional heart is Disc 2, Track 1, a nearly 17-minute ballad on which Ozawa’s bass takes a lead role for much of its running time—it takes nearly nine minutes to peak, but when it does, it sweeps you away like a tidal wave.

Phil Freeman

Suggestions
Starship Africa cover

Starship Africa

Creation Rebel
Real Deal cover

Real Deal

David Murray, Milford Graves
The Sound Pool cover

The Sound Pool

Musica Elettronica Viva
Crescent cover

Crescent

Andrew Chalk
Rope-A-Dope cover

Rope-A-Dope

Lester Bowie
21 Again cover

21 Again

Mouse on Mars
 Old and New Dreams cover

Old and New Dreams

Don Cherry, Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden, Ed Blackwell