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Telephone Free Landslide Victory
:: Telephone Free Landslide Victory
Ref: COOKCD287
Price: £7.99
Buy Now
Monday 29th March 2004 sees the re-issue of four classic Camper Van Beethoven albums - "Telephone Free Landslide Victory"; "II & III"; "Camper Van Beethoven" and "Camper Vantiquities". The re-issues will include extra tracks (both previously unreleased and re-worked versions) and also feature new inner artwork and photos.
Camper Van Beethoven formed in 1983 in Redlands CA a hot and dusty southern California town 80 miles east of Los Angeles. Founded by vocalist David Lowery, guitarist Chris Molla, and bassist Victor Krummenacher, they later moved to the seaside college community of Santa Cruz, CA in 1983, a town that at one point bore the unfortunate title of "the murder capital of America". CVB soon added drummer Anthony Guess (real name!) guitarist Greg Lisher and Jonathan Segel. The addition of Segel on violins, keyboards and mandolin gave the band their unique sound. Drawing together elements of ska, country, tex-mex, 60's psychedelia and folk, the band aptly described themselves as "surrealist absurdist folk', and quickly gained a reputation for their bizarre folk versions of hardcore songs.
In June 1985, their debut album "Telephone Free Landslide Victory" was released though Independent Project Music/Rough Trade. Featuring the classic "Take The Skinheads Bowling" and a cover of Black Flag's "Wasted", the album became a college radio staple and also made the Top 10 in many critic's polls.
"II & III" and "Camper Van Beethoven" were released the following year. "II & III" saw the band producing a proto indie rock sound, with touches of country as evidenced in "Sad Lovers Waltz" and their cover of Sonic Youth's "I Love Her All The Time". "Camper Van Beethoven" continued this vein and featured outstanding tracks, such as "Joe Stalin's Cadillac", and a reverent version of Pink Floyd's 'Interstellar Overdrive". The band also released an EP "Vampire Can Mating Oven", a bizarre (and intended to be not-so-nice) local nickname for the band. Around this time Chris Molla (for the previous year an on again off again member) left in the middle of a tour and was never invited back to perform or record with the band. Chris Pedersen was now the permanent CVB drummer.
Following the third album's critical acclaim, and national tours with bands such as R.E.M. and 10,000 Maniacs, Camper Van Beethoven signed to Virgin Records and released their major label debut, "Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart" (1988) and their final release "Key Lime Pie" (1989). Jonathan Segel, had by this point, left the band and Krummenacher, Pedersen and Lisher left during a 1990 European tour, effectively dissolving the band. In 1993, Krummenacher remastered "Vampire Can Mating Oven" added some demos, b-sides, unreleased tracks and rare mixes, and released them through IRS as "Camper Vantiquities".
In July 2002, CVB reunited for shows in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Ostensibly to promote the release of their "lost" 1987 4-track recording of Tusk. Yes a note for note cover of the Fleetwood Mac record. Their show at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London in February 2003 sold out.
Full track listings and comments from Jonathan Segel
'Telephone Free Landslide Victory' (COOKCD287)
1 The Day That Lassie Went To The Moon
2 Border Ska
3 Wasted
4 Yanqui Go Home
5 Oh No!
6 9 Of Disks
7 Payed Vacation: Greece
Southern China
8 Where The Hell Is Bill?
9 Wasting All Your Time *
10 Epigram #5 **
11 at kuda **
12 Epigram #2 **
13 Cowboys from Hollywood (original) **
14 Colonel Enrique Adolfo Bermudez **
15 Vladivostock
16 Skinhead Stomp
17 Tina
18 Take The Skinheads Bowling
19 Mao Reminisces About His Days In
20 I Don't See You
21 Balalaika Gap
22 Opi Rides Again
23 Club Med Sucks
24 Ambiguity Song
* Previously unreleased ** Taken from 'Take The Skinheads Bowling EP'
"'Wasting All Your Time' is a kit bash of two songs: 'Take The Skinheads Bowling' and 'Devil Song'. Round about the second record, we started taking earlier things and playing them backwards to see what happened. Many of these ended up on the third record or later (e.g. 'Five Sticks' is 'Ambiguity Song' backwards, the violin on 'Processional' is the track from ZZ Top backwards). This one was 'Take The Skinheads Bowling' backwards, because it seemed to be the hit. But it needed lyrics, so we were truthful."
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