Limited purple vinyl.
See also - '77 Live & Mizutani / Les Rallizes Denudes
It's an expensive business keeping up with Les Rallizes Denudes. Not many bands can lay claim to having spent less on recording their music than their fans have on purchasing it. And yet here we are staring down these latest reissues by Temporal Drift, struggling to not make a case for the completists. As with the Oz Tapes set, what's most notable here is these are official releases, put together with the blessing of surviving members & family - ie the money is back flowing in the right direction. No complaints there. And the music itself? The first thing to say is that these were the only records to be released during the time the band were active. With a band so consciously shrouded in mystery and concerned with their own mythos, it's tricky to know what to infer from that, though i'd assume they carry some kind of approval - might we then surmise that this is the most accurate representation of Les Rallizes Denudes? Again, tricky: i think we're about done with making concessions to the sovereignty of the author. What i will say is that there is a lot of music spanning a wide period of time, and through that we're provided a map of the group's evolution, something that's easy to parse when you consider that there's not actually that many different songs, instead different versions. With that comes a sense of a continuous re-evaluation of approach, that this was a band that didn't stand still, as likely to pull it apart as they were to put it together. If you're flush, then it's a no brainer. But if you must make a choice, the general consensus seems to lean towards '77 Live. Contrary as i am, though, i'd opt for '67-'69 Studio et Live, an early collection that seems to simultaneously capture their rock devotionalism and radical outre instincts across 50 absurdly ecstatic minutes, where they were coming from and where they were going held in brilliant white light.
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Temporal Drift presents the first-ever officially sanctioned reissue of celebrated Japanese cult band Les Rallizes Dénudés’ three albums, originally compiled and released in limited quantities on CD in 1991. These reissues follow the label’s release of The OZ Tapes in 2022, as part of the label’s ongoing series of Les Rallizes Dénudés reissues.
Led by the enigmatic Takashi Mizutani, Les Rallizes Dénudés has gained an almost mythical status the world over with their delicate balancing act between transcendent psychedelia and pure sonic assault, maintaining its status as an underground phenomenon throughout their three decade existence and beyond. ‘67-’69 STUDIO et LIVE, MIZUTANI / Les Rallizes Dénudés, and ‘77 LIVE are the only albums released during Les Rallizes Dénudés’ lifetime, between its formation in 1967 at Doshisha University in Kyoto to its last-ever show in 1996 at Club Citta in Kawasaki. Produced by Mizutani, the three discs collectively provide a window into the (in)famously impenetrable band’s first decade of existence.
‘67-’69 STUDIO et LIVE features early recordings that capture the reckless energy of the band’s formative years in Kyoto. Includes early takes of Rallizes staples “Memory is Far Away” and “The Last One,” the rare tender ballad “Bid Calls in the Dark,” possibly Mothers of Invention-inspired (complete with a kazoo solo) “Vertigo otherwise My Conviction.” CD edition includes two previously unreleased bonus tracks, including a take on the classic stomper “Tobacco Road” (more Blues Magoos than Nashville Teens.)
Produced in collaboration with The Last One Musique, the new label set up by former members and associates of Les Rallizes Dénudés, ‘67-’69 STUDIO et LIVE features newly remastered audio by former Rallizes member Makoto Kubota and new liner notes by Manabu Yuasa.
