Review by Thom Jurek
Recorded at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London in May of 2006, the reunion of the original Australian wild boys-now men-the Scientists proved to be a vehicle for the band's seminal lineup of Kim Salmon, Tony Thewlis, Boris Sudjovic, and Brett Rixon to resume operations at least a touring entitity in 2007. This live album attests to why that's true. Eleven tracks worth of classic Scientists material from "Swampland," "Burnout," "Nitro, "Blood Red River," "Leadfoot," "We Had Love," "Rev Head" and "Set It On Fire," etc. (11 songs in 45 minutes.) It's as if they set out to make a definitive greatest hits record and most of these versions top the originals by an outback mile with ragged, swampy, volume maxed, blast and throb intensity. Who the hell knew they still had it in them? This is two Aussie bands who have reunited and made live appearances that kicks the living s____ out of their much younger American contemporaries. For those unaware of the Scientists, they come from Perth Australia, and were four disillusioned, drunken, doped up kids with guitars -and fast cars--that set out to make a racket in a town that had never heard one. Inspired by the noise of the Stooges, the MC5, Alice Cooper, Blue Cheer, Suicide, and a ton of other American rawk acts from the 60s, they did it and carved out a sound that was copied to the point that people don't even know the source of it anymore. Insipid alienated whiney indie rock this ain't. This is ugly, brutal, bluesed-out rock and roll from another planet. Link Wray would have understood the Scientists, so would Lux and Ivy from the Cramps; Ron Asheton gets them, so did Mudhoney, Jon Spencer, Sonic Youth, fellow Aussies Dirty Three and Nick Cave. This is music that has to hit your body for you to actually encounter it fully and you should. Anyone interested in the wild aspect of rock and roll, the untamed, savage fury and lust of its true hell bent spirit should give this one a shot. Those who dug the band back when; your suspicions have NOT been confirmed. This is the Scientist at their furious best.
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