I purchased a copy of ‘The Arizona Record’ not that long after it was released. The super lo-fi buzz, hum and hiss intrigued me, but ultimately frustrated my young ears just too much, and the record remained in my collection, barely played and pretty damn close to mint condition, for a long time, before I eventually flogged it on eBay for £25. I needed £25 more than I needed the record at the time, but as with all of the records I’ve ever turfed out of my collection – which totals no more than half a dozen – I’ve subsequently had cause to regret my decision. While working on this review, I discovered that the going rate for this release is now £50, and that’s one reason to kick myself.
There’s a degree of irony in the collector’s market value of this release, in that it probably didn’t cost £50 to record and master it.
Yet there is, undeniably, something magnificently intriguing and mystical about this mini-album, here re-released alongside the Jews’ first release, the 7” EP ‘Dime Map of the Reef’.Perhaps it is the fact the band eschewed ‘proper’ recording methods in favour of capturing their songs in the most immediate way possible, namely live and using a bog-standard cassette recorder. For the most part, it sounds like it was done with an inbuilt condenser mic while the band were in the next room. In short, it’s the very definition of lo-fi, and then some. Perhaps it’s the context that counts. For those who don’t know, Silver Jews formed in 1989 and the original lineup – featured on the recordings that constitute this compilation – was made up of David Berman and Pavement co-founders Stephen Malkmus, and Bob Nastanovich.
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But it’s not just the fact that these recordings clearly share the same origins as ‘Slay Tracks (1933-1969) and ‘Perfect Sound Forever’ that makes ‘Early Times’ worthwhile. There are some classic wonky pop moments here by any standards, and the sound quality makes hearing them both rewarding and frustrating. The chiming, meandering and vaguely off-key ‘Secret Knowledge of Back Roads’ encapsulates the style perfectly. Tthe playing’s wonky and it sounds more like a first rehearsal and yet the vibe is unique, making ‘Early Times 1990-1’ something special.
Silver Jews Online
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