Customer Reviews

Speed of Cattle

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Compilation albums can be really be a great help for someone who wants to start listening to a band that they've just been introduced to. Because they take a large sampling of styles from a lot of albums, compilation albums can help a new listener decide what albums to buy and not buy in the future.

Though I was introduced to the Archers through the disc "Vs. The greatest of all time", I wish that I could have been introduced through this album. Though I like greatest, it is a very short album, ported from a smaller piece of vinyl.

Through this album, my Archers collection has gone from 2 discs to a total of 7. It is definately worth the purchase of this disc just to have a good sampling of archers music (which, for the record, makes great party music if played loud enough)

Notable tracks include: "Wrong", "Mutes in the Steeple", "Revenge", and "Powerwalker."

This 4th release from AOL is a collection of alternate versions, b-sides, covers and early demos. It is an essential for anyone who would like to see the evolution of this great band, and also offers lots of great songs that can't be found anywhere else. The versions of "Wrong", "Web in Front", and "Backwash" are all pre-Icky Mettle and sound a little different from the versions on that disc. A bit more raw and rough around the edges. I don't think they contain quite the same energy, though. Unreleased songs like "Ethel Merman", "Quinn Beast", and "Telepathic Traffic" are some of my abolute favorites. "Telepathic Traffic" features something that is very rare in an AOL song: an acoustic guitar. And it fits perfectly. The rest of the songs are from split EPs or from their Peel Session appearance, and aren't really all that wonderful. Still, this is another must-buy.

Although their proper albums aren't bad by any means, "The Speed Of Cattle" is arguably the Archers Of Loaf's best work. Spanning from sneering, avant-punk rave-ups ("Bathroom," "What Did You Expect?") to anthemic, driving tracks ("Tatyana," "Quinnbeast,") to slower melodic numbers, ("Don't Believe The Good News," "Bacteria") every facet of the Archers sound is perfectly captured in this collection.

I hadn't listened to this record in a number of years but picked it up in a sad moment and it just amazes me how great the Archers of Loaf were for their own and all time. The record shows it all, the insane playfulness and the intricate signatures and Bachmann's voice is the one by which all indie/punk rockers should be judged. I've been going to punk shows since 1979 and this one refuses to get old. Buy it and listen, it will grow on you in ways that few recorded pieces can. You want to be a punk? Learn to play "Traffic" and the chicks will come.

the recording isn't all that great, kind of fuzzy on some of the songs, but i really like this cd. i especially like web in front, revenge, and south carolina. for a better recording of web in front, try teh mallrats soundtrack.

this album takes a number of old b side tracks and does them the justice they deserve. Also the adition of a few new tracks brings this album up to par with their former masterpieces. Songs like "Traffic" and "Quinn Beast" show archer ability to control my mind(i listen to them over and over again). I just dont know what else to say.

this is my first Archers of Loaf CD and it just so happens to be a culmination of b-sides and some new works. of course, this was back in 1996 when the CD was released.

anyway - a lot of this sounds kinda dated, but that doesn't make it bad. i actually enjoy a lot of it; it reminds me of the when indie started to be "big." lots of these songs remind me of early Soul Asylum and some Jon Spencer Blues Explosion...not so much for an exact sound but as a style. i also feel like i am listening to a progression of the Pixies.

if you are looking at getting a single AoL disc, i can't see that this one is a bad way to go. "Wrong," "Quinn Beast," and "What Did You Expect" are all standout tracks for me...but I really did enjoy them all.

enjoy!