Customer Reviews

Lydia Lunch Hysterie 1976-1986

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I fantasize about having lunch with any one great female vocalist, my short list includes the names Billie Holiday, Diana Krall, Kiri te Kanawa, Patricia Barber, and Lydia Lunch. I usually end my fantasy considering that Lunch for lunch is a most sound diet. I love Lydia Lunch. Sure, she can't sing worth a crap. But neither can Astrud Gilberto, and she's on my short list, too. But at least Lydia and Astrud are entertaining and ear provoking. One need not be threatened with throwing up or gagging, as one will dining with the likes of Britany, Janet, or Lady Gaga. I probably own every album Lydia has recorded, but HYSTERIE, a compilation that reveals Miss Lunch's range and scope, remains a great place to start for the diner with an appetite to try Lunch. I own both a black disc and CD copy of the recording, and one of them spins on either my VPI ScoutMaster or my Sony XA5400 quite often, alternating with the likes of Mozart, Bach, Miles Davis, Mahler, the Rolling Stones, and hundreds of lesser known musical illuminaries who reside in my rather unhumble record collection. Few records, though, give me the absolute joy I get from Lydia Lunch. (Yeah ... it's a strange sort of joy, not the common kind.) And I know that I've taken out the HYSTERIE disc on many occasions to demonstrate something of my system to someone. Cue up "Love Split With Blood" and see what kind of reactions you get from those who may never have heard this piece or its vocalist.
If you've ever been curious about Miss Lunch and her particular brand of music making, you won't do better than to pick up HYSTERIE. This may be the only Lydia Lunch album you ever need. But I doubt it. Once you hear this, you're going to crave more. Like much of fine dining, Lydia Lunch is an acquired taste. But HYSTERIE helps one acquire it with uncanny speed. Talk about speed! Well, just listen to the album and judge for yourself. And I know whom you will soon be including on your short list of fantasy female vocalists to have lunch with, too.