Spazchow:Barnes & Barnes

Artist: Barnes & Barnes

Date Released: 1981

Label: Rhino / Oglio (reissue)

Produced By: Barnes & Barnes

Tracklisting: (Tracks 22-34 only on CD issue.)
 * 1) Link (Explain Pain)
 * 2) I Need You
 * 3) Spooky Lady On Death Avenue
 * 4) Fletchy's Revenge
 * 5) Link (Plane Pain)
 * 6) Love Tap
 * 7) Cats
 * 8) Link (Train Pain)
 * 9) For You
 * 10) Where's The Water
 * 11) Link (Pub Pain)
 * 12) Swallow My Love
 * 13) And Other Things Too (E's Epistle)
 * 14) Link (Blue Pain)
 * 15) Slut
 * 16) Link (Eternal Pain)
 * 17) Roadblock
 * 18) Unfinished Business
 * 19) Link (British Birds Pain)
 * 20) The Inevitable Song
 * 21) Heart Ghosts
 * 22) Link (Bonus Pain)
 * 23) Link (Scary Pain)
 * 24) The Boogie Man
 * 25) Women Rattle Me
 * 26) Link (Backwards Pain)
 * 27) I Killed Her With Love (Artie Barnes solo)
 * 28) Bloodless Nights
 * 29) Mook E Bare (Art Barnes solo)
 * 30) The Longest Dream (Art Barnes solo)
 * 31) Link (Moog Madness Pain)
 * 32) Love Won't Save Me (Artie Barnes solo)
 * 33) Link (Otherworldly Pain)
 * 34) Passively Vicious

Review: This is one of my favorite Barnes & Barnes albums. It builds off the Voobaha sound, but is a much less funny record -- which isn't to say there aren't funny songs, but they're a much more dark and bitter humor. The album is a concept record -- at the time they were recording it, Art and Artie had both come out of long-term relationships, and were feeling pretty depressed about, well, love in general. So, when they got together and Barnesed, most of the songs were of this kind of nature. This is the album, too, where Barnes & Barnes are exploring more experimentation -- "Fletchy's Revenge" is a collage based on phone messages they'd received, "Where's The Water" is a haunting spoken-word piece about a couple dying in the desert after a car accident (and the simulataneous decay and strength of love in that situation -- "I was repulsed/to think I was repulsed"), and the various links are little snippets from various sources (Blue Pain is taken from the recording of "I Love You Baby" which would later appear as a bonus cut on Voobaha). The bonus tracks add a lot more depth to the original album -- they even included extra link tracks recorded at the same time as the album. The bonus cuts are split pretty evenly between Barnes & Barnes songs and solo tracks. The only one that doesn't fit in thematically is "The Boogie Man", though that was included as it uses the same percussion track from "Love Tap" (and it's interesting to see how completely different those two songs are -- you wouldn't notice if you didn't know beforehand). "Women Rattle Me" was an outtake from Voobaha cut at the last minute, and it's great that it finally appears here -- it's a really great song. I believe "Passively Vicious" was similarly cut from Spazchow originally, and that too is a great one. The solo tracks provide a bit more depth and insight to the mindset the Barneses were going through at this time - they're more "serious" takes on the same subject matter. The guitar-driven "The Longest Dream" was recorded in America's studio, and the synthesizer based "Love Won't Save Me" is a dark, eerie atmospheric piece which is one of the best on the album (also the longest, at over six minutes). Artie Barnes' other solo piece, "I Killed Her With Love" is a dark, sad ballad featuring "Weird Al" Yankovic on accordion (he also guested on "Gumby Jaws Lament" from Voobaha, but that was a much more upbeat song... well, comparatively). This really is an excellent album -- dark, experimental and more mature, and the bonus tracks deeply improve on the original album. This is one of those albums that's helped me through a lot of tough times when I could really relate to what they were going through -- themes of alienation and loneliness are pretty much universal, after all. Anyway, though, I adore this album. If you're looking for a good place to start, and you like more experimental music, this is a really great record to pick up first. - Rev. Syung Myung Me