This album is a fun ride but won't cause anybody to toss out their copies of the debut album and 6-Track EP...
--These live versions point out the huge role production and mixing played in Elastica's sound, especially on songs from the first album. Justine's guitar and vocals are placed way up front in the mix which changes how everything fits together. Rather than the bassline and lead guitar riff driving the songs forward, the vocals now float over a muddy full-band roar. It doesn't ruin anything, but the songs don't instantly burrow into your brain the way they did on "Elastica."
--Devoted fans get new material for playing that time-honored Elastica game "name the influence." For instance, doesn't 'Spastica' sound like the Clash? And 'I Want You' could easily have been written by the Jesus and Mary Chain. Or maybe it's really ripped from Code Selfish era Fall. 'The Birmingham School of Business School,' anybody? Whoo hoo (apologies to Blur)!
--More for fans: hearing the band gain confidence over the first few sessions. In the earliest set, the band sounds tentative and maybe even a little exhausted on a couple of the songs. On 'Line Up' in particular, Justine's singing sounds forced and her voice doesn't have that cool sexy-but-bored quality. But by the time they hit the late '94 sessions, they're brimming with confidence and energy. Too bad things went downhill from there.
Bottom line: this album shouldn't be the first Elastica disc you pick up. Start with "Elastica" and the EP. If you dig those, "The Radio One Sessions" will give you another perspective on the band and help you to decide if you want spend time searching used-record stores (or paying big import $$$ here) for "The Menace."
If you're a fan & have the 2 original albums I'd recommend getting this for the material not on those 2 albums. The song "I want you" which is (I think) an outtake from the first album is better than many of the songs that did make the cut. There's almost a 3rd albums worth of material here!
This collection contains the best version of Human I've heard, overall much better than I expected.
