Yes, it's already time for another Laibach review!
So is "Alamut" finally being released? A dozen people could appearantly buy it as a double CD set by Mute Records back in Augsut, but now it's... postponed? I have no idea what's up with that. Especially since there is a complete product out there. Has there been any news about this? Weird.
So meanwhile we keep getting stuff we weren't waiting for nearly as much, but can hardly say no to either. Like this Black Friday vinyl version of the two legendary John Peel radio sessions, which had been broadcast by BBC in 1986 and 1987.
LAIBACH - The John Peel Sessions (Marble Grey vinyl LP) (2002/2024)
So far these sessions were only officially released over twenty years ago on CD by Strange Fruit (which also happens to be the title of a recent Laibach EP; everything is connected) - and that one didn't make it from my Discogs wishlist into my collection yet. So even though I came too late to pre-order this item to the only record store close enough to pick it up personally, I thankfully was able to grab one of the remainders online afterwards.
With a new cover artwork, liner notes and the records marbled in statuesqe grey the release instantly satisfies on the visual side. The sound is also good - within the parameters of what can realistically be expected. Even though the six songs have been remastered you can't really expect a modern sound standards - but hey, it's listenable enough. And of course the aggressive vibe and raw energy of this document is more important than misplaced audiophilism. Which indeed is a word I just made up, I know.
The first side (1986 session) begins very forceful with the Slovenian classic "Krvava Gruda - Plodna Zemlja", continues with the most obscure track "Krst" and ends with an early version of "Life Is Life", which didn't add "Opus Dei" to the title yet and also sounds somehow cruder and has a slightly less accessible arrangement than the later studio version. But just that glimpse into the evolution of one of Laibach's greatest hits is what makes this so interesting.
The 1987 session on side B continues with two more "Opus Dei" songs, bass and guitar-heavy versions of "Leben-Tod" and "Transnational" - in this spelling without the hyphen. It ends with "Krvoprelitje", also known as "Ti, Ki Izzivaš" in a version which also sounds quite different than in earlier and later performances and recordings.
Is this a crucial album to understand Laibach? No. However it shows an important step in the band's connection with England and Mute. And of course it's also just Vier Personen playing great noisy, alienating 80's Avantgarde Industrial shit.
With a new cover artwork, liner notes and the records marbled in statuesqe grey the release instantly satisfies on the visual side. The sound is also good - within the parameters of what can realistically be expected. Even though the six songs have been remastered you can't really expect a modern sound standards - but hey, it's listenable enough. And of course the aggressive vibe and raw energy of this document is more important than misplaced audiophilism. Which indeed is a word I just made up, I know.
The first side (1986 session) begins very forceful with the Slovenian classic "Krvava Gruda - Plodna Zemlja", continues with the most obscure track "Krst" and ends with an early version of "Life Is Life", which didn't add "Opus Dei" to the title yet and also sounds somehow cruder and has a slightly less accessible arrangement than the later studio version. But just that glimpse into the evolution of one of Laibach's greatest hits is what makes this so interesting.
The 1987 session on side B continues with two more "Opus Dei" songs, bass and guitar-heavy versions of "Leben-Tod" and "Transnational" - in this spelling without the hyphen. It ends with "Krvoprelitje", also known as "Ti, Ki Izzivaš" in a version which also sounds quite different than in earlier and later performances and recordings.
Is this a crucial album to understand Laibach? No. However it shows an important step in the band's connection with England and Mute. And of course it's also just Vier Personen playing great noisy, alienating 80's Avantgarde Industrial shit.
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