Mico is completely buried in Pavement and could hardly be happier!
The Remaster:
Pavement was one of my favorite rock bands. They came onto the scene 10 years ago with ‘Slanted and Enchanted’, which is just a perfect blend of indie rock/pop. Steven Malkmus can’t sing, but a very decent or cool (dare I say) comes out and works with this jerky collection of musicians. It sounds as if the Beach Boys were stoned, but angry. Although the music was angry, it was extremely melodic. In 1992, they created the best initial album by a group that I ever heard. It had something for each of my two moods and the lyrical gibberish twinkled in my ears and made me laugh.
It sold for crap. Although they became critical darlings following this album, no one bought their record. It did not even chart in the Top 100. For my money, it’s the best record nobody has ever heard, like my little treasure.
Recently, I found out that they were releasing ‘Slanted and Enchanted: Luxe and Reduxe’, there was no question that I was buying it. The remaster was the wildest one that I ever saw. There are 48 tracks on two CDs. Yes, 48! That’s an increase of um….like 34 over the original. A couple of EP’s were tossed in, a concert, ‘Slanted and Enchanted’ session material. Included is a huge booklet, which I never care for, but some do. Although some songs (3 versions of ‘Summer Babe’) are repeated, most are only used once. This cost me $14.99 at the record store. On the net, it’s even cheaper. It’s unreal!
The DVD:
I never saw a DVD by an artist or group, so filled. Most bands or artists throw out a single concert or a video collection (with commentary) and that’s it. The Pavement collection only came three years following their break up, but have so many eye-popping features, it may cause permanent damage.
Included in the 2-DVD set are a one-hour documentary, all 13 videos (plus three alternative cuts) with commentary and two concerts from 1999 (featuring multiple camera angles). At 1st, I thought this was completely psychotic. Everything that anyone could want from the band is here. The total cost was $22.95. There may be other features that have slipped my mind, but these were the main ones that I saw.
Rant and Gratitude:
I cannot rave enough about this band and their management. Most bands really do not care. My prime example are the Smashing Pumpkins (one of my favorites musically). They released 28 new or cover songs and five singles, applied to five CDs and called it a box set. Foolish as I was in 1996, I purchased it for $40+. Surely, there would be some hidden tracks or something, but none were to be found. Their fans were had and I was one of them. All they did when they broke up was slap-together videos and commentary (without D’Arcy). I let a friend get ripped off on this one and saw the videos. There was no concert and a fruity little documentary with this and that was it.
I thought that Pearl Jam had a great idea with the legal black market CDs because their fans received a lot for their cash (full double CDs sold at the cost of one), but Pavement has done more than I ever conceived and it was completely unnecessary. Unlike Pearl Jam, they never sold and not too many will purchase these wonderful deals.
Steve has a critically well-received solo career and the band has no plans to get back together. Although these won’t be sold and may not be featured in Sam Goody, it is the best collection ever by a band for their fans. Outside of them getting back together and jam at my joint, there is nothing that could be done to top this and I am forever grateful.
