Pop quiz: what's the better sequel, Aliens or Terminator 2: Judgment Day? The answer probably says more about you than it does either film; I suspect you really had to stop and think about your answer. I know for me it's a real gut check, since it's not as simple as “which do you like better?” Conversely, let me ask you this: is either sequel better than the original? The idea of sequels has become so ingrained in our society that I don't think people reflect on it that much. I find it endlessly fascinating, though. What makes a good sequel? What makes for a bad sequel but still a good product? Is a sequel that is derivative but does everything better automatically superior? Questions like these arose again and again as I've been mulling over Levitation Sessions Volume II. I must admit I had been taking a bit of a break from writing over the holidays, until this past weekend when I couldn't avoid it anymore. Kind of in a literal sense because the next live album in the Retrospective series beckoned to me from the rack of a local record store. Well, you can't ignore fate, so I feel my time has come to say: it's a great sequel to Levitation Sessions I to say the least.
Also, Aliens is the better sequel. Just throwing it out there.
As usual, we'll go over the details about the release before getting to my thoughts. But first, here's the usual tracklisting, with the album/release in parentheses:
Tidal Wave (Singles Collection Vol. 1 & 2)
Grown In A Graveyard (Moon Sick EP)
The Dream (Carrion Crawler/The Dream)
Stinking Cloud (Castlemania)
Enemy Destruct (Help)
Poisoned Stones (Face Stabber)
Spider Cider (Castlemania)
It Killed Mom (Sucks Blood)
Meat Step Lively (Help)
Snickersee (Face Stabber)
Destroyed Fortress Reappears (Help)
Web (Mutilator Defeated At Last)
Encrypted Bounce (Drop)
Beat Quest (Smote Reverser)
Chromosome Damage > T.V. As Eyes (Chrome covers, Alien Soundtracks and Half Machine Lip Moves, respectively)
ST37 (Chrome cover, Alien Soundtracks)
Looking For Your Door (Chrome cover, Half Machine From The Sun: The Lost Tracks From '79-'80)
SS Cygni (Alien Soundtracks)
Levitation Sessions II as a stream premiered on April 10th, 2021 but the actual recording date is unknown. It was made available for download/purchase on April 23rd. The info blurbs on the Levitation website say the the set was filmed in an old warehouse in Los Angeles somewhere. Speaking of, here's the important part of what old Johnny boy had to say about this show and release: “I personally got stoned and stuck my face into the muck of our past catalog to bob for some dusty tumescent gems. There will be some oldies, and some moldies and some surprises along the way. I’m quite happy with how this one turned out.”
Since I said earlier that this is a great sequel to the first Levitation Sessions release, let me quickly get to why this is. I think it does what that live album did, and does it better overall, and presents some interesting covers. To this I'd also add that the improv is more frequent and deeper than most previous live albums. 'The Dream', a song I've grown a bit tired of, earns its spot here with an interesting jam and eerily whispered lyrics from some other song near the end, while 'Encrypted Bounce' gets appropriately gooey and spacey as it continues to feather the accelerator past the eight minute mark. Anyway, let's take a peek back at the track choices for this release. If I'm being honest, it feels catered to my tastes; 'Destroyed Fortress Reappears' and 'It Killed Mom' are dream setlist additions in my book, and the two Castlemania cuts are absolute gems. And I gotta say the set closer 'Beat Quest' really reminded me of how fantastic it as, with John's wall of guitar loops giving away to the pounding and chugging closing section that always hypes me the fuck up. I keep forgetting there's still like 15 minutes of Chrome covers to follow!
I won't pretend that I'm an expert on the band. I only really know Alien Soundtracks and what I listened to for researching these covers. I do know that, like Black Flag, Chrome are another California underground favorite, and it makes total sense to me John and Co. would want to rep them with some covers. Chrome are definitely a difficult band to describe; they're one of those early post-punk groups who sound unlike every other post-punk group of that era. So while you could lump them in with the likes of Pere Ubu, The Fall, and Throbbing Gristle, they don't really sound or feel like them. The fragmentary song structures and experimental instrumentation/production of Alien Soundtracks have always been hard to convey to those who haven't heard Chrome already. But I digress. Osees do a great job reproducing these hypnotically strange sounds, giving 'Looking For Your Door' a Nick Cave/Grinderman-ish menace and doing some live sound muting/muffling on 'SS Cygni' to capture the murky, desaturated production style of Alien Soundtracks. Ultimately, they're fantastic covers, and if you're a fan of both bands it's an absolute dream come true to hear.
So I have to say, Levitation Sessions II is my so-far-favorite for the modern live albums. I really have no complaints about it, and I'm still surprised it was just hanging out there at the record store waiting for me! Anyway, next time: The Chapel, S.F. 10.2.19. Yup, another live one!
