Official Bootleg.01.Lyon.France.11.02.99 (Live)

Chronique

There certainly isn't a lack of Neurosis-related product on the shelves, and Official Bootleg.01, the first in an efficiently titled series of live recordings culled from the band's archives, came amid an onslaught of quality releases from the Bay Area collective (see the Sun That Never Sets DVD, solo albums from Neurosis visionaries Steve VonTill and Scott Kelly, various Tribes of Neurot projects, and a bevy of releases from like-minded artists on the Neurot Recordings label). While most Neurosis-related projects could be recommended to fans of unusual and experimental music, Official Bootleg.01 is definitely for Neurosis devotees only: six tracks, 60 minutes, of live material recorded during the tour in support of Times of Grace and the Sovereign EP, recorded in a clean-but-lo-fi fashion. Diehards will notice minute differences between the studio and live versions of these songs -- the band occasionally diverts into noise improvisations between tracks, but otherwise sticks to the basics. And while Official.01 nicely captures the horde-of-locusts density of Neurosis' live sound, its relatively low fidelity will scare away casual fans of the band's West Coast hardcore-meets-Sabbath sound.

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