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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good reissue but could have be better......, 13 April 2008
This album has had a lukewarm review from John Harris in MOJO and I was expecting the worst especially with respect to sound quality of the Mike Hedges sessions which were apparently sourced from an old cassette tape. Well I pleased to report that the sound isn't nearly as bad as I was expecting sounding basically like a good quality demo tape which in a way these sessions were since this is the way Mavers wanted the album recorded in a "rough and ready" fashion just like his idols from the '60s who'd knock out an album in less than a week (or 1 day for the Beatles debut!). That said I can't help feeling a little disappointed with this reissue if not the music within which is of course brilliant, one of the few truly "classic" albums from the 1990s despite a couple of slightly subpar tracks on side B. My main reservation is that the two CDs are hardly filled to the brim with music (50 and 60 mins respectively) and the audience to whom a "deluxe" reissue like this is aimed at would be more than happy to see as much put on as possible despite the inevitable repetition this would entail for a band with such a slim legacy as The La's. Specifically the (excellent) liner notes include a full sessionography, why couldn't the spare room on the two CDs have been filled with some of the unreleased versions detailed there including such illustrious producers as John Porter and John Leckie. A few limited examples are included as "bonus material" but nowhere near enough considering how much room is left free on each CD. If nothing else it would give listeners an opportunity to see if Mavers had a point with his dissatisfaction with the recording process or whether he was just be an obdurate so-and-so (I suspect the latter). There are also a few stray B-sides and early single versions flying around, collating those too would've been expedient but of course this is likely a cynical record company ploy and in a few years there'll be another reissue with the "John Leckie version" or "Jeremy Allom version" of the album but I think the returns for the record company will be ever diminishing and it is unlikely the original fanbase will be inclined to pick up the next version and the version after than, especially if (like me) they are slightly dubious of the whole manoeuvre. Disgust with this sort of finagling might of course be why Mavers gave the whole game up going on for 20 years ago. In a way I hope so despite the overwhelming sense of wasted potential since the alternative is far less sympathetic simply that he's party to rampant self-mythologising and trying be a 90's version of Skip Spence or Brian Wilson or something. I suspect we'll never know which it is since I don't expect him to lay down another note of music in his life and apparently he is very content, with several children, living off his royalties. To be honest I hope he doesn't record any more since pop music is a young man's game, even if as listeners we can enjoy it for life, and there is no chance he could repeat that youthful brio and passion now he's in his 40's with a growing family.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Third Time Lucky - Further proof of Lee Mavers' genius, 24 Jun 2008
I have this album three times now. I bought the original in 1990, then the first reissue in 1999, and finally this one.
The music,for me, is a perfectly crystalised half-hour of what makes Liverpool so special to me. Lee Mavers' maverick streak that has held sway for the last eighteen years or so is our loss, but he is to be admired. The modern (presumably digital) recording process left him cold and that a record was put out, regardless of his feelings, added further misery.
The packaging is fine, the new tracks are good, and give us a little understanding on what Lee Mavers was trying to achieve. It's a shame that nobody had the guts to let him have his way.
The songs are beautiful, with the well known, 'There She Goes' being as shimmering now as it was when I first heard it in my dad's car in 1988. 'Timeless Melody' is so powerful and is a brilliant example of the magic that the La's were gifted with. It's refreshing to hear a singer keep his accen and avoid crass Americanisations. As a long-standing Beatles fan, I wrestle with that a lot, but here, it is natural and authentic. It might annoy Lee, but I adore this album, and have played it countless times, but it's simply the best album I have heard outside of the Beatles. The songs come across so that you can hear the bones of the song, and we can only imagine what they 'should' have sounded like.
I think that this reissue is great, but could have had a lot more material included - where is the version of 'Feelin' that was included in the boxset of 'Feelin' that was issued in 1991?
Hopefully, this will attract more people to the band and they can learn how Mavers was such a pivotal influence on Noel Gallagher (whether that was a good thing or not, I don't know). There are other recordings that could be issued, such as the concert they played in 1991 at the Marquee that was broadcast on Radio 1.
I still prefer the standard version of the album, but Mike Hedges' album is a nice companion and is worth putting out.
whether The La's do anything else again in a recording studio is doubtful, though today's musicians don't have to rely on record companies to put their own music out in the manner that they feel is the best version.
Thank you, Lee.
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3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
the la's deluxe, 11 April 2008
i now have this cd 3 times so i could get all the bonus tracks
lee mavers must be having a royalty suprise ........good luck to him
check the la's book out with interviews and a forward by the elusive mavers
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