In 2005, the Melvins were approached by the folks behind the All Tomorrow's Parties festival to take part in what was dubbed their "Don't Look Back" series. The idea was simple enough; legendary bands, including Gang of Four, Dinosaur Jr., and Mudhoney, performed one of their classic records live, in its entirety. The Melvins selected their 1993 major-label breakthrough, Houdini, arguably the band's most direct and concise statement. To play the show, Buzz Osborne and Dale Crover filled the band's revolving bass position with Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle, Fantômas), then had to re-learn and update songs Osborne admits the band "never intended to play live." Pleased with the performance, they realized after the fact that it would've made a nice live record.
What to do? The band could've played more dates, treating fans on this side of the pond to the special rendition of the album. But, instead, they rented a warehouse, set up their equipment, rehearsed, and then recorded the set twice to an "invitation only" crowd. And that's Problem No. 1 with the disc: While it's technically live, it lacks the crowd-fueled energy of a proper concert album. The band is there, playing together, and it's certainly looser than the studio recording, but there is no crowd noise; instead of capturing a freewheeling mood, it just sounds like the band rehearsing in a warehouse-- which is, of course, exactly what it is.
The track order is rearranged slightly, giving the impression that this is a re-imagining of the classic album. The first track here is "Pearl Bomb", transformed from a mechanical throb with meandering, repetitive bass and paranoid vocals into a frantic assault of rapid-fire drumming and heavy guitar riffing. The rest of the way, things fall into more straightforward renditions. "Hooch" is sped up, but in the same way any band plays their material faster on stage. After glancing at the song's length, I was expecting something new from "Night Goat", which now clocks in at over seven minutes where it once was a shade under five. But instead of offering anything new and engaging, it simply begins with a couple of minutes of droning feedback.
There are surprises sprinkled throughout, but they're few and far between. This incarnation of "Set Me Straight" now transforms into the upbeat punk of "DCH" about a minute in, for example. And though the differences are subtle, the disc-closing "Spread Eagle Beagle" breathes with new life. The original's sprawling, warped percussion is accentuated here by the addition of digital noise and static, and the band used the studio to distort and pan what was played live. But while it is a little interesting to hear the band revisit some of these songs, ultimately these louder, slightly faster versions pale in comparison to the originals, leaving A Live History of Gluttony and Lust far from essential.
