Severe Tire Damage

by

They Might Be Giants

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The way I see it, live albums are even trickier business than tribute albums. On the latter, you have the benefit of hearing a beloved artist's tunes as covered by other artists; the former usually consists of the beloved artist offering new versions of their OWN tunes. But just the same, they threaten to become exercises in pointlessness unless the new recordings have something different to offer and can still stand proudly beside the originals. Which brings me to Severe Tire Damage (1998), the only live album (so far) by the Brooklyn-based alternative-pop duo They Might Be Giants. First of all, I must confess that I haven't yet seen Them in concert, but judging from the many articles and reviews I've read, I hear They put on a terrific show. This CD strips away the props, the dancing and bouncing around, the extended free-jams, the hilarious (and occasionally profane) stage patter, and "spin-the-dial," leaving us with just the songs.

We're eased into it with a pair of great-sounding new studio tracks: the exuberant (if lyrically strange) "Dr. Worm," featuring one of the sweetest performances by singer-keyboardist-accordionist-sax player John Linnell, and "Severe Tire Damage Theme," a jazzy and upbeat 40-second instrumental. Linnell kicks off the live portion of the disc with another new song, the high-energy blues-rocker "They Got Lost"; based on a true story about how the band lost their way en route to a radio-show appearance, this is quite possibly his most autobiographical song since 1986's "Rhythm Section Want Ad." About midway through the live tracks, singer-guitarist John Flansburgh offers the new song "First Kiss," a short and sweet power-pop number that he (bless his heart) wrote as a love song for his wife, Robin. At the end of the live portion, he also contributes a third new studio track, "About Me," a nice, torchy love ballad that makes its point in 40 seconds. But just when you think the disc is over, you're treated to several Planet Of The Apes-inspired tunes, spontaneously created live on stage: Flansy ventures into pop balladry (track 18, "The Planet of the Apes"), free-form jazz (track 19, "Return to..." -- so poorly recorded that its lyrics had to be included with the package), disco-funk (track 21, "Escape from...") and atonal art-rock (track 23, "Beneath..."); Linnell offers hammy arena-rock (track 20, "Conquest of...") and lounge-pop (track 24, "This Ape's for You"); track 22 ("Battle for...") is an instrumental duel in which the Johns' guitar and keyboards pit themselves against the rhythm section as the crowd chants "ape!" and "people!" Okay, so the "Apes" tracks won't be enduring classics in the TMBG songbook, but they're fitfully amusing and indicative of the Johns' improvisational skills.

Overall, it helps that the live tracks are actually a mix of stage performances and radio-show appearances (you can tell which tracks are which by the sound quality and the presence or absence of crowd cheers), and that all but one of them are performed with a full band. On the new recordings of 1986's "She's an Angel," 1988's "Ana Ng," the Flood hits "Birdhouse in Your Soul," "Particle Man" and "Istanbul," 1992's "She's Actual Size" and "Spider," and the 1993 single "Why Does the Sun Shine (the Sun is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)," the Johns' spirited vocals and the addition of a live rhythm section (bass and drums) make the original studio versions -- recorded as just a duo -- sound downright mellow. Among the tracks that were full-band songs to begin with, surprisingly, only Linnell's punkish "Till My Head Falls Off" doesn't differ much from the studio version (from 1996's Factory Showroom). As for "S-E-X-X-Y" ("This song is dedicated to my one true love ... the ladies") and "XTC vs. Adam Ant," the arrangements sound cleaner -- and Flansburgh's voice clearer -- here than on the Factory Showroom versions. Most remarkable is "Meet James Ensor"; a rocking full-band number on 1994's John Henry, here it's been stripped down to Flansy's lead vocal and Linnell's accordion and harmony vocal, with both Johns "singing" the guitar parts near the end. Of course, song selection is one of the most controversial aspects of live albums; this one in particular could have been a perfect introduction for beginning fans, if only the Johns had come up with one good live recording each of the beloved singles "Don't Let's Start" and "The Guitar," and I would love to hear what "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head" (my personal favorite) sounds like with a full band.

The album as a whole -- with its hodgepodge of slick studio tracks and live recordings of varying sound quality -- suffers a bit when compared to the more cohesive It's Fun To Steal, released by Flansburgh's side band Mono Puff earlier the same year. And as a compilation disc, I think beginning fans would be better served by the 2-CD anthology Dial-A-Song: 20 Years Of They Might Be Giants (2002), which features 52 career-spanning tracks, including "Dr. Worm" and the live "Why Does the Sun Shine." However, if you're like me, an ardent fan who already owns most of the studio albums, you'll be more likely to treasure the new songs and the hidden "Apes" tracks, and to appreciate the differences between the studio recordings and live performances of songs you love. For anyone who simply can't get enough of the Johns, Severe Tire Damage is a fine way to augment your TMBG collection.

(P.S.: The two new live songs, "They Got Lost" and "First Kiss," were later recorded as ballads on the 1999 'Net-only release Long Tall Weekend and the 2001 CD Mink Car, respectively. Can't say much for the former, but I think Flansy's range is shown off nicely by both versions of the latter.)

As a representation of their live act, it's not even close: nevermind the lack of crowd noise and stage banter, most of it isn't even from actual shows. It's 'live in studio' and soundcheck recordings, with overdubs galore.

As a career retrospective, it doesn't work either. They seem to have attempted a 'best of' line-up here, but left off important singles like "Don't Let's Start" and "The Statue Got Me High". Who cares? Hits that are included, like "Birdhouse In Your Soul" and "Ana Ng", are slowed down and given strained vocal deliveries.

But most importantly, it's just not a very enjoyable CD. Theres no flow, and it pales in comparison to their work in the studio. People who want a good overview of their career should get the 2-disc DIAL-A-SONG anthology. People who want to hear them live should get tickets to a show - they're lots of fun. You wouldn't know that from SEVERE TIRE DAMAGE.

I'd say it's worth it for "Dr. Worm" and the rocking "Why Does The Sun Shine?", but those made it to DIAL-A-SONG. The only thing I really pull this out for is the power-pop version of "First Kiss", later transformed into a ballad for their Mink Car album.