Customer Reviews

Gift

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This is the type of album that makes a big influence on your musical tastes ... if you happen to be 19 years old, which is how old I was at the time The Gift was released.

Let's get a couple things straight. Firstly, this is a hard rock album that is completely unapproachable if you despise Helmet, Slint, early Lemonheads, Kiss, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Minor Threat, Husker Du, The Who, the Sex Pistols, and other bands of that ilk.

If you like these groups, or even better, like being in a small club listening to band that has a perfect balance of rock tightness and energy that sends the audience into overdrive, then Bullet Lavolta will appeal to you. It may take a couple of listens, but in the end you will understand that this was a band that was dedicated and very talented.

It's actually best to start at the end of the CD, as The Gift tacks on BV's first six-song EP, which I belive was released two years before, in 1987. The EP was recorded on a pretty limited budget and never released by itself on CD, but it has a lot of energy and good songs, esp. "Over The Shoulder" "Because You're Mine" and "Dead Wrong". It was a good decision on the part of somebody at Taang to stick it onto the end of the CD. It not only gives people more for their money, but also lets people know about the band's earliest music and first lead guitarist, Corey Loog Brennan (who later played with the Lemonheads on Lick).

Going back to track one on the CD takes you to the proper Gift album, recorded in 1989. "Crossfire" roars out of the speakers and right away shows more maturity, not only in terms of recording (the hiss and muddled drums present on the EP are gone) but also in terms of musical development. The speed metal/thrash tendencies are replaced by the wall of guitars approach, the drums are more forceful, and the background vocals have reached the gang feel a lot of Boston bands at the time (Gang Green, Slapshot spring to mind) were expressing.

One song on the CD has two versions: "Birth Of Death." The first (studio) version of this evil tune is the best. The thick drums, chunky guitar/bass rhythm and the sinister squeal of the wah-wah lead are marvelous. Gipe's vocals rise to the occaision - "My soul full of holes!" he screams at one point, and you feel the energy behind the song.

Unfortunately, the live recording of the same song seems pretty thin by comparison. It's a pity, because live BV was great. I saw them all over the Boston area from 87 - 90, and they really influenced by tastes in music and attitudes toward songwriting. This song does not reflect the live concerts I remember at The Rat, TT's, and Bunratties, where a hard-core fan base of at least 50-100 people could be found at every show singing along to all the songs, even before some of them had been recorded!

Instead, the live "Birth of Death" sounds a little hoarse, and at one point Gipe starts in too early, is forced to correct himself.

Other than that, The Gift is a beautiful piece of work. I believe BV came and went five years too early - had they reached the peak of their live and recorded talents in 1994 instead of 1989, they would have ended up being appreciated by a much larger group of fans...