A Lazarus Taxon is a box set by Chicago post-rock group Tortoise, released in 2006 on Thrill Jockey.

A Lazarus Taxon
Box set by
ReleasedAugust 21, 2006 (2006-08-21)
Recorded1993–2005
GenrePost-rock
Length179:29
LabelThrill Jockey
Tortoise chronology
The Brave and the Bold
(2006)
A Lazarus Taxon
(2006)
Beacons of Ancestorship
(2009)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Baltimore City Paperfavorable[2]
Drowned in Sound5/10[3]
Harpfavorable[4]
Pitchfork9.2/10[5]
The Stranger[6]
Stylus MagazineA[7]
Time Out4/6[8]
URB[9]

Release edit

The set contains three CDs, one DVD and an accompanying 20-page booklet. The CDs contain 33 tracks of hard-to-find material from tour, compilation and non-American releases. The band's out of print 1995 album Rhythms, Resolutions & Clusters, compiled of remixes by friends of the band including Steve Albini, Rick Brown, Jim O'Rourke and Brad Wood features as well. Also in the set is other previously unreleased material including a restored remix by the Minutemen's Mike Watt that was delivered too late for inclusion on Rhythms... and subsequently fell victim to a malfunctioning DAT machine. Tortoise bassist Bundy K Brown himself restored the tape, twelve years after it was recorded.[10] The DVD contains most of the band's music videos as well as over two hours of "extensive and rare" live performance footage.[11] The set was compiled by the band themselves.[12]

The set's title is derived from the palaeontological term "lazarus taxon", meaning a taxon (or grouping of organisms) that disappears from the fossil record only to reappear again at a later point, which in turn refers back to the resurrection of Lazarus by Jesus in the New Testament.

Track listing edit

All tracks written by Tortoise except where noted.

Disc 1 (CD) edit

  1. "Gamera" – 11:53
  2. "The Source of Uncertainty" – 3:42
  3. "Blackbird" – 5:01
  4. "Sexual for Elizabeth" (Shingo Annen/Dan Bitney/John Herndon/Patrick Johnson/Jon Marshall/Doug McCombs/John McEntire/Jeff Parker) – 4:49
    • Tortoise remix of "Sexual for Elizabeth" by Five Deez
  5. "To Day Retrieval" – 3:58
  6. "Whitewater" (John McEntire) – 5:07
  7. "Didjeridoo" (Duke Ellington) – 4:33
  8. "Autumn Sweater" (Georgia Hubley/Ira Kaplan/James McNew) – 7:07
  9. "Wait" (Jeff Parker) – 4:27
  10. "A Grape Dope" – 4:12
  11. "Restless Waters" – 3:41
  12. "Vaus" – 5:01
  13. "Blue Station" (Doug McCombs/Curtis Roads) – 5:34

Disc 2 (CD) edit

  1. "Madison Area" – 3:27
  2. "TNT" – 10:03
  3. "Why We Fight" – 4:23
  4. "Elmerson, Lincoln, and Palmieri" – 2:39
  5. "Peering" – 5:11
  6. "Goriri" – 6:40
  7. "As You Said" (Ian Curtis/Bernard Sumner/Peter Hook/Steve Morris) – 4:21
  8. "CTA" – 5:07
  9. "Deltitnu" – 5:50
  10. "Adverse Camber" – 6:00
    • A different Autechre remix of "Ten-Day Interval"
  11. "Cliff Dweller Society" (Dan Bitney/Bundy K. Brown/Dan Fliegel/John Herndon/Doug McCombs/John McEntire) – 15:23
  12. "Waihopai" – 4:13

Disc 3 (CD) edit

Tracks 1-7 previously issued as Rhythms, Resolutions & Clusters (1995).

  1. "Alcohall" – 4:03
  2. "Your New Rod" – 4:18
    • Rick Brown remix of "Flyrod"
  3. "Cobwebbed" – 4:38
    • Casey Rice remix of "Spiderwebbed"
  4. "The Match Incident" – 5:31
  5. "Tin Can Puerto Rican Remix" – 4:24
  6. "Not Quite East of the Ryan" – 5:08
    • Bundy K. Brown remix of "Spiderwebbed" plus elements from other tracks
  7. "Initial Gesture Protraction" – 4:47
  8. "Cornpone Brunch Watt Remix" – 4:18
    • Mike Watt remix of "Cornpone Brunch" featuring extra bass guitars by Mike Watt and Kira Roeseler
  9. "Jetty_99" – 5:48
    • iTunes bonus track

Disc 4 (DVD) edit

  1. "Salt the Skies" (video)
  2. "Dear Grandma and Grandpa" (video)
  3. "Glass Museum" (video)
  4. "Seneca" (video)
  5. "Four Day Interval" (video)
  6. "The Suspension Bridge at Iguazú Falls" (video)
  7. "Monica" (video)
    • Live at Primavera Sound, 2005
  8. "Gamera"/"Glass Museum"/"Reservoir"/"Djed"/"The Equator"/"Vaus"/"Cornpone Brunch"
    • Live in Toronto, 1996
  9. "Ten Day Interval"/"Othello"
    • Live at Deutsches Jazz Festival, 1999
  10. "Seneca"
  11. "Salt the Skies"

Personnel edit

Performance edit

Production edit

Charts edit

Chart Peak
position
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[13] 42
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[14] 42

References edit

  1. ^ AllMusic review
  2. ^ Baltimore City Paper review Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Drowned in Sound review Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Harp review Archived 2006-10-31 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Pitchfork review
  6. ^ The Stranger review
  7. ^ Stylus Magazine review Archived 2006-09-17 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Time Out review Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ URB review Archived 2007-04-23 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ URB Magazine :: CD Reviews Archived April 23, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ Thrill Jockey Records Archived November 9, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ PopMatters Music Interview | A Lazarus Taxon: the Definition of "Tortoise" Continues to Change Before Our Eyes
  13. ^ "Tortoise - Chart history - Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 9, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  14. ^ "Tortoise - Chart history - Independent Albums". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 9, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2017.

External links edit