A Lazarus Taxon [3-CDs + 1 DVD] [BOX SET]

Tortoise

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 22, 2006)
• Original Release Date: August 22, 2006
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Thrill Jockey
• ASIN: B000GG4KFE
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #40,982 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
After twelve years of expanding the definition of rock music, Tortoise will release a highly anticipated box set, including the long out of print 1995 album "Rhythms, Resolutions & Clusters", rare singles from foreign releases and tour EPs, compilation tracks, and previously unreleased material such as remixes by band members and other artists, including Jim O'Rourke, Brad Wood, Rick Brown, Steve Albini, and Mike Watt. The set's title comes from the paleontological term for a reappearing species, and the release is comprised of three CDs and one DVD, the latter of which contains two hours of footage, several extended live performances, and videos and short films. Packaging is a hard card stock box containing four sleeves and a 20-page booklet with archival photos and liner notes about each track's origins.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fantastic deal, August 31, 2006

By	0=0 (Earth) - See all my reviews

First off, if you're a Tortoise fan and are expecting some kind of comprehensive, best of overview, well think again. I do want to say however that the music included in this compilation is indeed awesome. You have some very early, more rare material, all the long deleted remix collaborations, all so well done, and a very artful, visually pleasing dvd showing some excellent concert footage, music videos, and more. All this for under twenty dollars, plus some beautiful packaging. Again, it seems the first reviewer here thought this to be some sort of greatest hits box set or something, and thus his opinion soured. Don't listen to him--listen to the music and simply enjoy.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Open Sauce music, September 21, 2006

By	P. Hall "Mr Meanor" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This has to be the best bargain since I found a Harry Partch record for 50 cents in a public library sale. The first CD alone in "A Lazarus Taxon" is worth the cover price. In the liner notes, Alan Licht quotes Brian Eno's "Unfinished" essay: "It used to be the case that a record was expected to contain the definitive and perhaps only version of a song, and that the job of the band and the producer was to create this "ideal" object." This collection does a great job of dispelling that old notion forever, as some of the tracks are so much developed from the originals that they resemble a house built around 300 year old foundations. To hear how "Gamera" evolved out of "His Second Story Island" is intriguing--maybe it should be the subject of a documentary in itself. This is now my favorite Tortoise CD; I thought "Millions Now Living" would never be bettered, but this one makes this band's music more like the living, open source language it should be. The production is so good that I decided to buy better earphones, and better speakers. (Maybe it wasn't so much of a bargain, after all.)

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars collected labors of love..., October 22, 2006

By	Demetrius A. Armstrong (Huntington, WV USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Tortoise's expansive 2006 box set A Lazarus Taxon collects various rarities and remixes over the course of 3 CD's and 1 DVD. A nicely priced and packaged collection makes Taxon an absolute necessity for fans of Tortoise that want a definitive assortment of important off album things to hear. The fact that this is not a "best of" retrospect of Tortoise's highlights from the wealth of material on their excellent proper albums may catch some off guard. This is due mainly to the surprising surplus of remix and extra material this band has collected over the years, all of which combines to produce very interesting music. That being said, A Lazarus Taxon (taken all at once) can be a very taxing listening session. A listener has to let the music soak in deeply to appreciate these songs, which offer a priceless education to Tortoise's approach to music but can be a little self indulgent at times. As the treasures of this set reveal themselves (which includes a reinterpretation of Yo La Tengo's "Autumn Sweater", a pleasant surprise), the less awe-inspiring songs can be put into the context of exercises that strengthened the experimental and ambitious reach of one of popular music's greatest bodies of work. All of these songs collected (and sequenced as well as they are) makes this a Tortoise set to buy, but the patience required to appreciate this fully, makes this a less effective starting point than their highlighted albums for casual comers.

(the included DVD is excellent, containing videos (more like visual art collages) for songs like "Seneca" and "A Glass Museum" as well as a selection of live performances)