Heavier Than a Death in the Family is a bootleg live album by Japanese noise rock band, Les Rallizes Dénudés. Most of the songs were recorded at a performance on 12 March 1977; the fifth track is taken from a 1973 performance. The album was released in 2002. In 2010, Phoenix Records repressed the album on vinyl and CD.[2]
| Heavier Than a Death in the Family | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | 2002 | |||
| Recorded | 12 March 1977 1973 ("People Can Choose") | |||
| Venue | Shakai Kyoiku Kaikan, Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 74:42 | |||
| Label | (not on label) | |||
| Les Rallizes Dénudés chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
Background
editLike most of the band's work, this album is a bootleg and wasn't authorized by the band for its release. The recordings are taken mostly from a performance at Shakai Kyoiku Kaikan on 12 March 1977 (as heard on a previous live album, '77 Live), except for "Field of Artificial Flowers" (mislabelled as "People Can Choose"), taken from a 1973 performance.[1]
Reception
editIn a review for AllMusic, Phil Freeman writes that the "sound is primitive guitar rock à la the Velvet Underground crossed with the Troggs, but their simple guitar riffs are fed through so much reverb, fuzz, and echo that it's like a dub mix of psychedelic garage rock... it retains a primal rock & roll throb...[the album] is essential listening for anyone who wants to understand [the Japanese underground rock] scene."[1]
It reached #3 on Julian Cope's top 50 albums of Japanese rock, as found in his 2007 non-fiction book Japrocksampler. Cope writes, "It's relentless to the point of becoming meditative, and cylindrical to the point of being useful".[3]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Strung Out Deeper Than the Night" | 15:32 |
| 2. | "The Night Collectors" | 8:32 |
| 3. | "Night of the Assassins" | 12:07 |
| 4. | "Enter the Mirror" | 11:45 |
| 5. | "People Can Choose" | 10:33 |
| 6. | "Ice Fire" | 16:13 |
| Total length: | 74:42 | |
Personnel
editAdapted from CD liner notes:[4]
- Mizutani – vocals, lead guitar
- Nakamura Takeshi – guitar
- Hiroshi – bass guitar
- Mimaki Toshirou – drums
References
edit- ^ a b c Freeman, Phil. "AllMusic Review by Phil Freeman". AllMusic. AllMusic, Netaktion LLC. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
- ^ "Les Rallizes Denudes – Heavier Than A Death In The Family (2010, 180g, Vinyl)". Discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
- ^ Cope, Julian (2007). Japrocksampler. London: Bloomsbury. p. 258. ISBN 978-0-7475-8945-7. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
- ^ "Les Rallizes Denudés* – Heavier Than A Death In The Family - (2002, CDr)". Discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
External links
editHeavier Than a Death in the Family at Discogs (list of releases)