Dead Kennedys--Live at the Deaf Club
Jello...why have you foresaken us?
Packaging--
The good:
"The Deaf Club" was actually a club where deaf people would hang out. Apparently the floor was crafted in such a way that it vibrated so the deaf attendees could "feel" the music. The cover is plain red, with the band's name in white and "Live at the Deaf Club" in black. At the bottom, in white, is drawings of the signs for D-E-A-F-C-L-U-B. Very approrpiate. The back has an brief essay and track list. The packaging is a digipak that has a flyer for the show and a couple strange graphics. Also included is a booklet done in the old school DK way...a collage with a satirical and political tone.
The bad:
This is a nice looking package. I can't really complain. Jello had a complaint that "it's a dumbed-down version of the good stuff Winston Smith and I made, but now it seems deliberately designed not to offend anyone."
I will agree that it definitely doesn't look as sharp as the Winston Smith/Jello collaborations, but that's to be expected...they put together some of the finest looking collage artwork I've seen. My advice to the band--don't try. Do your own thing, it's 20 years later, there's no need to try to do things like they were back in the day.
As far as "designed not to offend"...the booklet pokes fun at the current government as it's a "Department of Fear" brochure including a card that you can "send in" to the department, turning in a traitor. You receive a limited edition Hitler bobblehead...It's not as biting as it could be, but it's certainly not "designed not to offend."
The music:
The good:
I feel the need to refute some of what Jello says...so here's what he has put this on his site:
"I am sorry I have to be the whistle blower yet again. I am deeply embarrassed by the poor quality of their new Live at the Deaf Club CD. It could have been a good album. But in my opinion the sound quality and remix are so lame it's not even as good as the versions on Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death. And those mixes are almost 20 years old. If they really "spent the better part of a year" on this, I wonder what they were really doing most of the time."
I'm a Dead Kennedys fan...I think they have some great releases and some crappy releases, so I'm not the type who automatically loves something they put out. I've heard an array of bootlegs of the band. I have heard a bunch of bootlegs from many bands from this era. I have also heard many live albums from this era of other bands. The mix and quality of this release are fine. The sound on this is better than a lot of excellent bootlegs (just about every Misfits boot, for example). It's on par or better than a lot of official releases--compare this to the Black Flag DVD...this sounds better. Is it a mind-blowing incredible sounding release? No. Do I think a Dead Kennedys live album could be? Probably not.
Two songs on here were "Give Me Convenience" (hereon called "GMC"). Are these "not even as good"? Well, this will piss off both sides--I've compared them, I've listened to them side by side and to be blunt--I don't hear much difference. I'm not an audio nerd, but when something sounds a fair amount better/worse, I notice. They sound pretty much the same. If "Short Songs" and "Straight A's" sound okay to you on the GMC album, and you're hesitating...get it.
This is an old DK show from 1979 when the band was a five piece. I really am not a fan of the "GMC" record. I find most of the songs and recording itself to be irritating...therefore I'm not really familiar with a lot of these songs. The songs sound okay, but this doesn't excite me.
There's a song on here that's never been released called "Gaslight" that's actually pretty good...probably one of the catchier songs on here. An alternate lyrics version of "When You Get Drafted" called "Back in Rhodesia" in here as well, but the lyrics aren't all the different.
I think a fan, especially a fan of the early DK stuff, will enjoy this as it's a nice sounding release.
The bad--
I feel the need to defend this because it's a good release that I think many people are bashing because Jello is bashing it. The problem I have with it, is this really isn't my favorite era of the band. Most of the band's best songs (in my opinion) aren't on here. I really don't think the band became great until the "Fresh Fruit" album...the selection on here is from the pre-LP singles. "Man With the Dogs," "Police Truck," "Straight A's," and "Ill in the Head" are all songs I don't particularly care for, and that's about 1/3 of the album. If this was from two years later with mostly "Fresh Fruit" and "Plastic Surgery" songs I'd probably love it.
Recap�
If you think the sound quality of the live songs on "GMC" is good, and you enjoy the songs on that albu, then you'll be happy with this one. If you're a casual DK fan and don't have all of their studio stuff yet, then pick them up first.
Want more info?
Dead Kennedys
Jello and Company
Review by Chris