A Lazarus Taxon (CD)

Tortoise

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Amoeba Review

John Schacht 08/13/2010

The remarkable thing about Tortoise isn’t just that they’ve synthesized so many elements from music’s past 50 years into a sound all their own, but that they’ve done it without conceding much of anything to those same elements, or traditional pop clichés and song structure in general. But it’s a mistake to think of these Chicago pioneers as a group of studio aesthetes and pro-tools dweebs churning out soulless musical brain-teasers. Rhythm, texture, mood and groove are the beating heart within the shape-shifting walls of Tortoise songs and influences: Lee “Scratch” Perry’s dub, Miles’ jazz, Neu! Krautrock, Massive Attack trip hop, Steve Reich minimalism, prog rock, music concrete, drum & bass, fusion – if it’s on record, at some point Tortoise will probably have sponged it up. Their foraging nature defines A Lazarus Taxon, a 3CD/DVD box set gathering rare singles, compilation tracks, unreleased material, and remixes spanning the band’s career from their 1994 beginning this 2006 release. Discs 1 and 2 don’t follow any chronological order, opting instead for a balanced blend of trance rock (“Vaus,” “Gamera”), super-processed blasts of electronica (“A Grape Dope,” “CTA”), and elegiac sound collages (“White Water,” “Cliff Dweller Society”) that work like the audio equivalent of time-lapse photography. Disc 3 is dedicated to the long out-of-print Rhythms, Resolutions, and Clusters from ‘94, a continuous 30-minute set indulging the band’s remix fix. Formerly the sole purview of club DJs, Tortoise applied the concept to their multi-denominational music approach with far more dynamic and organic results – Autechre, Mike Watt, Jim O’Rourke and Steve Albini are among those re-sculpting these sonic landscapes here. And unlike many DVD extras, this one is essential. There are engaging videos and short films, but the prizes here are: a seven-song set from 1996 featuring the epic “Djed” as its centerpiece; a hell-bent “Salt the Skies” from the 2004 Burn to Shine series that proves that it’s not as far as you think from punk’s fury to Tortoise’s brain-teasers and passion; and a jazz festival appearance with Chicago free jazz fixtures Fred Anderson (tenor) and frequent collaborator Rob Mazurek (trumpet). Disc 3 is visual proof that your ears were telling the truth; Tortoise is a rock band unlike any other.

Track Listing

Disc 1 Titles	Artist	Length
1. Gamera	Tortoise	11:53
2. The Source Of Uncertainty	Tortoise , John McEntire	03:43
3. Blackbird	Tortoise	05:01
4. Sexual For Elizabeth	Five Deez	04:49
5. To Day Retrieval	Tortoise , Autechre	03:58
6. Whitewater	Tortoise	05:07
7. Didjeridoo	Tortoise	04:33
8. Autumn Sweater	Yo La Tengo , Tortoise	07:07
9. Wait	Tortoise	04:27
10. A Grape Dope	Tortoise	04:12
11. Restless Waters	Tortoise	03:41
12. Vaus	Tortoise	05:01
13. Blue Station	Tortoise	05:34

Disc 2 Titles	Artist	Length
1. Madison Area	Tortoise	03:27
2. TNT	Tortoise , Nobukazu Takemura	10:03
3. Why We Fight	Tortoise	04:23
4. Elmerson, Lincoln, and Palmieri	Tortoise	02:39
5. Peering	Tortoise	05:11
6. Goriri	Tortoise	06:40
7. As You Said	Tortoise	04:21
8. CTA	Tortoise	05:07
9. Deltitnu	Tortoise	05:50
10. Adverse Camber	Tortoise , Autechre	06:00
11. Cliff Dweller Society	Tortoise	15:23
12. Waihopai	Tortoise	04:13

Disc 3 Titles	Artist	Length
1. Alcohall	Tortoise , John McEntire	04:03
2. Your New Rod	Tortoise , Rick Brown	04:18
3. Cobwebbed	Tortoise , Casey Rice	04:38
4. The Match Incident	Tortoise , Steve Albini	05:31
5. Tin Can Puerto Rican Remix	Tortoise , Brad Wood	04:24
6. Not Quite East Of The Ryan	Tortoise , Bundy K. Brown	05:08
7. Initial Gesture Protraction	Tortoise , Jim O'Rourke	04:47
8. Cornpone Brunch Watt Remix	Tortoise , Mike Watt , Bundy K. Brown	04:18

Disc 4 Titles	Artist	Length
1. Salt The Skies [DVD]	Tortoise , Adam Levite
2. Dear Grandma And Grandpa [DVD]	Tortoise , David Ellsworth
3. Glass Museum [DVD]	Tortoise , David Ellsworth
4. Seneca [DVD]	Tortoise , Braden King
5. Four Day Interval [DVD]	Tortoise , David Ellsworth
6. The Suspension Bridge At Iguazú Falls [DVD]	Tortoise
7. Live at Primavera Sound 2005 [Monica - DVD]	Tortoise , Arim Garriga
8. Live in Toronto 1996 [DVD]	Tortoise
9. Live at Deutches Jazz Festival 1999 [DVD]	Tortoise , Fred Anderson , Chad Taylor , Noel Kupersmith , Rob Mazurek
10. Live on "Chic-A-Go-Go" 2005 [Seneca - DVD]	Tortoise , Jake Austin
11. Live For "Burn To Shine" 2004 [Salt The Skies - DVD]	Tortoise

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