5 out of 5

Label: in-situ

Produced by: Brian Deck, various; Carl Saff (mastered by)

First time vinyl releases of The Fire Show’s debut and Saint the Fire Show, plus a third LP of live cuts.

Whether or not owning this material on a different format appeals, if you’ve appreciated either of those two albums, this collection is worth it. I’m going to make a leap and suggest that The Fire Show is not a passive listen; that if you’ve kept these in your collection – you’ve paid one or more of their albums enough attention that you’ve considered this vinyl rerelease – that you’ve listened to them a fair amount. While I’d say their first album is fairly accessible (…and, sure, is one of my favorite indie rock albums of all time), it’s not Yeah Yeah Yeahs accessible, or whatever else was going on in the early 00s, and certainly is one of the most discordant, atonal entries on the Perishable roster, allowing that early Califone – also pretty out there – at least had some folksy underpinnings that were, generally, more aurally palatable. And by the time you get to Saint the Fire Show, you have to put in some effort: that’s a difficult album, total outsider art that swoops through rock at points.

But still, then, maybe you’re not a vinyl person and you’re happy with your CDs. Yes. Except – unless my ears deceive and I’m misreading the liner notes – Carl Saff has remastered these albums, and there is definitely enough of a difference on both that, again under the assumption that ownership = fandom, an FS follower will be very interested to hear them.

And I’ll be honest: I prefer the original Fire Show master, but I prefer the version of Saint presented here. However, the mixup of both makes each version worth a listen, even back to back. Saff seemed to favor a more organic level to things, toning the harshness on the guitars down a bit. As the debut is more of a full band sound, this diminishes some of the inherent chilliness of that disc – its edges, I think, enhance the material, and I love the way its subtleties chug along in the background, whereas they get slightly more forefronted here. But on Saint the Fire Show, that’s such an abstract listen that I think it’s very much enhanced by making it a bit warmer, such that tracks that seemed almost purposefully melody-avoidant before now have that weeded back in.

All a matter of opinion, but totally fascinating to hear, and the vinyl sound quality works: you get some of the ‘flushness’ of the medium, but the songs do still maintain their kind of electronic coldness.

So that’s just the albums. But you also get the live tracks, with the group operating in full band mode on the E-side, and some final 2-man shows on the F-side. The former is thus a much more fluid thing, the latter more experimental, but the recordings are excellent (excepting some distortion on the F-side), with a heavy bass and beat and the guitars and vocals leveled well. Resplendent’s warble isn’t as polished live, but oh well – it gives these tunes (2 from each of the remastered albums) a different feel, yet again, and there’s enough interstitial additions to make them unique takes as well, including a psychdelic freakout at one point that’s unlike anything directly on any of their releases.

I can have my nits with the packaging, which is a tight fight and has the house for the third LP glued on to the inner-back of the gatefold (not that I have a “preferred” 3-LP packaging, since they’re always cumbersome), but it’s also a very handmade, DIY feel that fits, making this a celebratory labor-of-love project that is appended with some excellent pack-ins, including liner notes that give a good summary of the entire Fire Show experience.

So I maintain my original statement: if you own any Fire Show album – including Above the Volcano of Flowers, considering “LP 1.5” and not included here – this rerelease is a must own: the new master alone is worthy of your ears, but the live cuts and pack-ins seal the deal.