Raw & Alive

This review is for the recently released 2-cd British import, "The Seeds-Raw & Alive". The London based label Big Beat continues with their 4th and most-likely final release by The Seeds. As usual, Big Beat offers another excellent package with a 2-cd digipak with a gatefold cover and a very well annotated 28 page booklet with very well detailed liner notes by Mr. Alec Palao, which contain many unseen photos, posters, record company adverts, etc. Once again, a very fine package for all true Seed followers. As noted before, this release may very well be the finest "live" album that never was actually live. Disc 1 contains 21 tracks with a duration of 78 minutes, while the 2nd disc contains 16 tracks with a duration of over 65 minutes. There is much here for all Seed lovers to enjoy. The 1st disc features an undubbed version of the original album with the "fake" audience sound removed, as well as the original L.P. with the "fake" audience sound intact. The audience applause and screaming was actually taken from a Beach Boys concert and then dubbed over the music. Disc 2 was actually recorded live in the studio on 20 February, 1968, and is issued here for the very 1st time. We are now in 1968 and the original L.P. was released in late May, 1968. In spite of the "fake" audience sound, these versions of their song actually come through better than the original studio versions! The band was still drawing large crowds during 1967, as witnessed by 18,000 fans who attended an April concert at The Hollywood Bowl. The problem was that sales of the records by The Seeds were not doing well by this time in 1968. Sky Saxon was totally oblivious to this and the other band members were finding Sky increasingly aloof, in a drugged state, and slowly losing touch with reality due to increased indulgences of LSD. Sky didn't care about touring by this time, while the other members of the band were getting more frustrated because they wanted to continue to tour so that they could make enough money to continue. This came to a head when drummer Rick Andridge left the band in June, 1968. Essentially, this marked the end of the original Seeds that everyone knew and loved, and subsequently, the group was never the same again. I found this release actually captured the excitement and thrills of The Seeds playing live in concert. By 1968, however, audiences were now getting into Psychedelic music and leaving the "Flower Power" behind. It is essential to note, however that The Seeds version of "Flower Power" was an essential link from Garage-Rock to full blown Psychedelia. As noted most of the hits are included here. We get excellent versions of "Mr. Farmer", "Up In Her Room", "Can't Seem To Make You Mine", "Pushin' Too Hard", "A Faded Picture", "Fallin'", "Gypsy Plays His Drums", and a nearly 9 minute version of "900 Million People Daily All Making Love". Historically, this L.P. has been critically maligned because of the "fake" audience dubbing, but even with this overdubbed crowd noise, I find this version of "Raw & Alive" to be an exciting experience. If I had to choose just one Seeds L.P. to play at a party, I would choose this baby. I implore listeners to go back and give this L.P. another chance, especially in this package. Sky Saxon did pass away on 6-25-2009. Wherever he is now, he should be elated over this excellent special edition package! Don't Pass It by! MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! SMRZ!

Being the huge Seeds fan that I am, I couldn’t go without having their final album, the “fake” live album! That being said, and knowing the phoniness of the premise, folks, this is a great album! It starts with the live in the studio album without the fake crowd noise, just the band members playing almost live in the studio with Harvey Sharpe on bass. Now what’s kind of fake is that some of these live takes were multiples so it wasn’t all in one sitting. However, each take that’s there is them playing live in the studio with no overdubs. In that respect, that’s probably as close to what they’d sound like live on stage. The only issue is that when they actually played live, they had no monitors so while they’d be blasting away, the musicians would be watching each other for hand signals, plus they’d be at the mercy of whatever PA system the venue had. I can understand why they never actually tried to record a live show! A friend of mine went to see them once in Santa Barbara and he was not impressed with the sound. Then again, the audience was full of screaming girls, so it was hard to hear anyway. I can imagine what it would be like on stage with that plus no monitors. I’ll give them some slack for what they did here. Anyway…the second set is almost the same song set but with the crowd noise added in, copped from a Beach Boys gig. The difference is the second to last song or two were switched with something different. The second disk is an actual live in studio gig with an audience, a set that was rejected because the band didn’t feel the vibe, or something, yet to me, it still sounded pretty decent, for the most part. With the technicals out of the way, the songs are what count. Not only do they play their most well-known songs, but they throw in some new stuff and some unusual things. This is a great set and I found myself humming along. Not only that but I got to appreciate the musicianship even more, especially hearing Jan Savage finally let loose a little bit. Up to this point, I’d mostly felt his presence rather than heard him and on this set of CDs, I actually hear him more. It was refreshing. Then there’s Daryl who is the glue that holds the band together. His keyboards, while to some might sound repetitious at times, lay a groove that is just made for Sky’s whiny, snarly vocal rants. Altogether, it works, whatever you want to call it. It certainly laid the foundation for punk and a whole lot more. I had a great time listening to this CD and still have some of the tunes in my head. I’ve also read the booklet at least three times. Great stuff! Rock on The Seeds! Highly recommended.

Around 1980, I picked up a Pickwick reissue of this album. I found the crowd noises annoying and the guitar mostly difficult to hear. That makes this, the Big Beat reissue, a revelation. The first disc opens with the unadorned, studio-live performance and it is on fire. That the band could go in head first and perform their act with no overdubs with such energy gives a clue to those who might have wondered why the Seeds were so highly revered in their time. All of the band shines. Besides keeping a rock steady beat, Rick provides some well-placed fills. Daryl Hooper, as always, propels the group with his keyboards, and Sky is in perfect punky, snotty, snarly form on the vocals. That said, I think Jan Savage is the biggest stand out. His minimalist guitar work kind of got pushed to the background in other releases. Here you can really hear what he was up to. He shifted seamlessly from a cross between an exposed high-tension wire and a hive of hornets to soft and lyrical all with a style of his own. His interplay with Daryl is particularly interesting and it is something that the added applause completely masked. To me, the album has more energy without the applause. That said, the sound quality of the release as it appeared on LP is quite high. Disc two, with the first attempt to capture the Seeds "live", is good but not great. The recording does not fully capture the sound of the band and the crowd noise is not enough to sound exciting. It is still good and a welcome addition to this package. The liner notes are great and the whole release is a must-have for Seeds fans and for fans of Punk in general. This is, after all, where it began.

The Seeds were a WONDERFUL 1960s garage band I first saw and heard on a black-and-white TV when they appeared on The Mothers-In-Law sitcom. My favorite Seeds album has long been their "live" album, Raw And Alive ("The Seeds in Concert, Merlin's Music Box"), a great performance of great songs, in spite of the sound of screaming teenagers overlaid over a studio recording. (And the teenagers' screaming was apparently recorded at a BEACH BOYS concert.) In spite of the obnoxious screaming, which masks a lot of the band's sounds, there are some great performances of great songs. "Mumble And Bumble" and "Forest Outside Your Door" are super-cool garage/psych tunes. I recently learned that Big Beat reissued the album WITHOUT THE AUDIENCE SOUNDS. OMFG this incredible album is now 1000 times better. I'll echo the term "revelation" which other reviewers have expressed. I HIGHLY recommend it for anyone who loves great garage rock.