What makes a great entry point for an artist? Do you default to their most popular work, their most accessible, their most acclaimed? There is no hard and fast rule about this; some people will always say “start at the beginning”, while others always say “start with a fan favorite, because it's most representative of their work.” As I've been going through their discography I've certainly felt that Oh Sees have a number of great entry points. It's odd, then, that I don't consider Singles Collection Volume 3 to be one. Why odd? Well, one of the things that helps me write my reviews and retrospectives is to go see what others have said. I've always found it very healthy to seek out other points of view because they can sometimes help me crystalize my own opinion. Something I came across a couple times is that Singles Collection Volume 3 is the best place to start. In particular the Pitchfork review belabors this point while spouting off a lot of nonsense, including sloppily saying the compilation ends with “two ten minute pieces.” I guess seven is the same as ten, as long as you're lazy and stupid.
I'll get to presenting my case for it not being a great entry point soon, but let's do the usual rundown. Singles Collection Volume 3 (hereafter simply Volume 3 for sake of ease) came out on November 26th, 2013. Well, OK, Wikipedia says the 25th. Whatever. I have no idea why it's so difficult to find precise release dates for music released in the Internet age! Anyway, it's worth noting that if you've only listened to this collection on vinyl, you're missing out. The CD and digital versions contain a live “bonus” track, though even with that added in, Volume 3 is only 46ish minutes long. Yes, that could fit on a record, even if it did cost a little fidelity. I'd even argue they should have, for a reason I'll get to eventually. Let's begin with why it's not a great entry point.
Understand first that my claim is no
bearing on the quality of Volume 3. Despite being shorter,
it's more consistently excellent than Volume 1 + 2. I would
say there isn't a dud in the bunch; I even appreciate the 'Crushed
Grass' demo, something I don't normally go for. Now, I do understand
what the Pitchfork writer was trying to say with his review. The Oh
Sees discography is daunting—I would know—and this
compilation is ideal in the sense it has some great tracks and a
taste of their live sound. However (and this “however” should be
read in a very dramatic, drawn out way in your head) if you're
actually familiar with their discography, you'd know this is
not a great entry point for these same reasons.
Volume 3 by its very nature
lacks the coherence and polish of an actual album. If you sit down
and think about these songs, they don't really gel together. The
tracklisting doesn't mix the order of the 7”s and label
compilations to give it a better flow, so it's literally as though
you made a playlist and haphazardly added them in no meaningful way.
For example, Volume 3 starts off on a weird note with 'Ugly
Man', a strangely mild-mannered and skeletal song that I do love but
I don't think outsiders would get. There is also the issue of some
tracks being notably more noisy and experimental than the other
releases from the era Volume 3 is derived from—the covers of
'Burning Spear' and 'Fbi2' immediately come to mind. And finally, I
have to say, the rough audio quality on the live tracks makes Oh Sees
seem far more amateurish than they are. Maybe that's not something
that would deter all newcomers; fair enough. I find it
disappointing, at the very least. We never got a proper live album
from the mid-era of the band, something I still wish would happen.
Oh, and this recording quality issue is what I was talking about
earlier: since the live tracks of Volume 3 don't sound
pristine, why weren't they included on the vinyl? Yes I know that the
more you try to fit on each side it lowers the fidelity, but if the
quality of the original recordings isn't great, who would notice?
While we never got a live album from
them, one could view Volume 3 as the final hurrah from
the four-piece mid-era lineup of Oh Sees. It's pretty incredible how
much they did in only five years—Master's Bedroom feels like
a lifetime ago by the time you get to Volume 3! In this way,
it also feels like a secret history of Oh Sees, showcasing other
sides of the band through covers, two lengthy live tracks (both ten
minutes long, remember!), and gifting us one final Floating Coffin
leftover (the peppy 'Devil Again') that didn't make it on to the Moon
Sick EP. I have to say, while I appreciate how faithful the cover
of 'Burning Spear' is, I take issue with it for two reasons. One: it
gets the title wrong. I know I'm doing my usual nitpicking thing but
come on—the Sonic Youth original is called 'The Burning Spear', not
'Burning Spear.' This may not matter to you, but let me ask you:
would you rather watch Predator or The Predator?
Anyway, two: it's a boring, safe cover. It doesn't best the original
and it doesn't do anything new or inventive with it. Let's get back
to being positive though. The two live tracks* are essential
listening, not only because it was our first non-bootleg taste of Oh
Sees live but also because they're great performances. The medley of
'Destroyed Fortress Reappears' (titled merely 'Destroyed Fortress'
because they're trying to give me an aneurysm) and choice Floating
Coffin cut 'No Spell' is better than ice cream and sex. Well,
alright, that's a bit too far.
It is better than ice cream, though.
*During both live tracks they start singing lyrics I don't recognize. Are they quoting other songs or improvising or am I just not paying close enough attention to the studio versions?
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