FT Wrote:
I'm gonna give the whole thing a listen, but the Albini version of "Hello There" is definitely not better than the original.
The Albini mixes are merely more of a live sound, most noticeably in Nielsen's chording turned into fuzz, which robs a few of these songs of their charm and momentum. "Downed", for instance, is destroyed here. "Southern Girls" is weakened. "I Want You To Want Me" sounds similar to the original '77 mix that was left off the debut (and sounds better for it). The rest I can take or leave.
The bonus tracks from the '97 Red Ant sessions are pretty interesting (if you find that version). As is their recording of their Lennon collaboration "I'm Losing You". Robin Zander has always been impressive for simultaneously sounding like both Lennon AND McCartney, and on that track he really brings out that Lennon snarl.
As for "Hello There", my fave CT anecdote is that Nielsen wrote that song only because in their early days as an opening band CT rarely got a soundcheck - and so Nielsen wanted a song that would open their show AS a soundcheck (first drums, then the bass enters, then the guitar, then vocals - and it's all over in just over a minute).
