Xhol "Motherfuckers Live" United Dairies UDOR 5/6CD 2001
Disc 1 - Freedom Opera (1968) (56:50)
Acapulco
Gold (Xhol)
Poems (Adapted from Vanilla Fudge)
Season
of the Witch (Donovan Leitch)
Freedom Poem (Xhol/James Rhodes)
African Song (Xhol)
Talking to my Soul (Xhol)
Freedom Poems (Xhol/James Rhodes)
Planet Earth (Xhol)
Disc 2 - WDR Radio Live 1969 (56:58)
Disc 3 - Hot Buttered Xhol (15:45)
Current Ninety Three "Memories"
(Soul Caravan)
Xhol/Nurse With Wound "Radio" (Xhol)
Christoph Heemann "Walla Mashalla" (Xhol Caravan)
Every once in a not so great while David Tibet of Current 93 and Steven Stapleton of Nurse With Wound join their respective Durtro and United Dairies labels as United Durtro for collaborations and to reissue the forgotten or nearly impossible to obtain work of late '60s/early '70s 'Krautrock' bands they admire. Sand were the first to receive such treatment and now fellow Germanic collective Xhol (pronounced 'soul', aka Soul Caravan and Xhol Caravan) are next with two nicely recorded, previously unreleased live performances. Disc 1 is entitled "Freedom Opera" from 1968 and disc 2 is a Frankfurt WDR radio set from 1969, both discs somewhat annoyingly indexed as one 57 minute track. The tapestry of sound includes vocals, electric guitar, bass guitar, organ, saxophones, flute and drums. First and foremost Xhol are a rock and roll band with a soul center, but they also take in a number of other styles, and this is no exaggeration: psychedelic, freeform jazz and noise, rhythm and blues, progressive, '60s pop and rock and even a bit of funk. But vocalist James Rhodes defines it best mid disc 1 simply as "black music". Long, meandering solos and instrumental excursions wander on and off the path of hippie bliss as Rhodes belts out the blues rather nicely or recites timely poetry. Loose covers of Vanilla Fudge's "Poems" and Donovan's "Season of the Witch" (which was also covered by Vanilla Fudge) are among the six originals on disc 1. Disc 2 comes with no tracklisting and I think I know why. It seems to be one long, often spontaneous instrumental jam by just four members, for whatever reason - bass, tenor sax, organ and drums - it's just as good and at times reminiscent of recent live explorations I've witnessed by The Legendary Pink Dots. After hearing Xhol, for the first time might I add, I really have to wonder why I haven't seen their name mentioned before in the annals of late '60s rock and roll. As a special treat for c93, NWW and Christoph Heemann fans, a third limited edition disc entitled "Hot Buttered Xhol" showcases superb Xhol 'covers' by each, c93's "Memories" being particularly mesmerizing. The packaging is also fantastic with a 12 page insert, beautifully covered up by Stapleton, that contains an on-stage photo of the band, show posters and liner notes, all in German unfortunately save for Stapleton, Tibet and Heemann's virgin Xhol experiences. Good job guys! Through the magic of shiny polycarbonate discs, "Motherfuckers Live" is like an amber encrusted insect preserved for all eternity to admire ...
Where did I get this cd? - mail order via Riouxs Records.