Liquid Liquid [Long Box]

Performer: Liquid Liquid
Artist: Elliott Sharp; Richard Edson
Distributor: Fontana Distribution

Notes: LIQUID LIQUID compiles the three EPs that were the original band's entire recorded output and adds some previously unreleased live tracks. Liquid Liquid: Salvatore Principato (vocals, percussion); Richard McGuire (guitar, piano, melodica, bass, percussion, alarm bell); Dennis Young (marimba, roto toms, percussion); Scott Hartley (drums, percussion, talking drum). Additional personnel: Richard Edson (trumpet); Elliott Sharp (bass clarinet); Bill Kleinsmith (berimbau); Al Diaz (congas, metalphones, gonza, sawblades). Engineers include: Greg Curry, Bruce Tovsky. They were among the first to merge new wave and disco aesthetics, and this compilation marks the first time this seminal New York band's canon has ever been available on CD. The three EPs (they never made a full album) and assorted live tracks collected here make a case for the band as punk-funk pioneers. Liquid Liquid hailed from the same early '80s NYC art-dance scene as Bush Tetras, ESG and Konk, whose grooves continued to be sampled reverently by hip DJs for years after the bands' demise. The minimalist, dub-influenced funk grooves that are the core of the band's songs have a hypnotic quality, but are never less than invigorating. NY scenesters like Richard Edson (Sonic Youth, Konk) and Elliott Sharp make guest appearances on trumpet and bass clarinet, respectively. It's the manic polyrhythms laid down by the band on congas, marimba, drums and other percussive devices that contribute most significantly to the ambiance of their thinking man's funk, though. The previously unreleased live cuts are an unexpected bonus, showcasing the band at their most frenetic and exciting.

Rolling Stone (11/27/97, p.1) - 3 Stars (out of 5) - "...Galvanized by dub-reggae chanting, old-school break-dance beats and avante-garde minimalist repetition....the most fully evolved of the band's rare grooves combine a bare-bones ominousness comparable to early Public Image Ltd. with floor rattling conga and marimba syncopation..." Spin (12/97, pp.159-160) - 6 (out of 10) - "...Purveyors of cubist art-school funk that wasn't too square, the Liquids appeared in the late-'70s/early-'80s, a time when new wave and hip-hop were in puberty and kids frequently crossed the tracks to get their rocks off..." Entertainment Weekly (9/12/97, p.139) - "...This over-due CD compiles their three rare EPs and live bonus tracks, preserving a small but significant part of music history." - Rating: A- NME (Magazine) (8/23/97, p.52) - "...placed next to Tortoise and similarly dance-loving post-rockers, Liquid Liquid make some kind of sense. A bizarre-but-groovy blend of Can-ish basslines, Latin carnival rhythms and arthouse wailings [it's] almost too perfect for today's lo-fi chinstrokers..."

Deep bass lines, minimalist percussion, and a spacious, echo-laden production aesthetic marked the unique sound of experimental New York City-based quartet Liquid Liquid. The band formed in the early 1980s and represented a funkier, more rhythm-driven alternative to the raw cacophony of the No Wave scene with which they were associated. Liquid Liquid also formed an essential link between the uptown (rap) and downtown (rock) communities of the era with their song "Cavern," the instrumental track of which was sampled for the legendary hip-hop song "White Lines (Don't Do It)" by Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel. The group was finished by 1983; however, they did reunite in the early 2000s in response to a younger generation that had embraced their quietly groundbreaking sound.

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