Terminal Tower

Performer: Pere Ubu
Distributor: Fontana Distribution

Notes: Pere Ubu: Tom Herman, Scott Krauss, Peter Laughner, Allen Ravenstine, David Thomas, Tim Wright, Alan Greenblatt, Tony Maimone, Mayo Thompson. Engineers: Bill Cavanaugh, Ken Hamman, Mike Bishop. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Audio Mixers: Geoff Travis; Adam Kidron; Mayo Thompson. Recording information: Audio Recording; Cleveland Recording; Hearpen Recording. Unknown Contributor Roles: Alan Greenblatt; Tim Wright; Allen Ravenstine; Peter Laughner; Scott Krauss; Tom Herman; Tony Maimone; David Taylor . An essential addition to the Pere Ubu canon, TERMINAL TOWER is a 1985 archival release compiling all the band's early singles (as released on their own Hearthen label in the mid-'70s) prior to their first LP, 1977's THE MODERN DANCE, plus a handful of live and alternate takes. Even more than that first LP, whose title track is here in an untitled early version, these songs are startlingly powerful and utterly unique. In particular, the six-minute "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" is a proto-punk masterpiece, a rising tide of tension that doesn't quite get to explode before it's stopped dead. The live "Humor Me" was recorded shortly after the death of founding member Peter Laughner, who wrote the song, and the cathartic intensity of this version is astonishing. The 11 songs on this album are all also available in the Pere Ubu box set DATAPANIK IN THE YEAR ZERO.

Q - 4 Stars - Excellent

Pere Ubu was aptly named for Alfred Jarry's Dadaist play. One of the prime movers in post-punk, the influential Cleveland, Ohio, group took the power and volume of punk and the fractured song forms of avant-gardists like Captain Beefheart, then sent David Thomas's free-ranging vocalizing careening across the top. Founded in the 1970s, the group has undergone a multitude of manifestations to become one of the longest-lasting avant-garde ("avant-garage," they have called themselves) music groups, continuing to make uncommercial audio into the 21st century.

Click Here for Shipping Options and Policies

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.25