BRAIN: Review of *Trepanation*

[John A Swartz]

A few comments to Steve's:

>Repeat that louder for the people in the balcony seats, please.  My
only complaint re: both albums is that Deb's vocal performances on
record get re-worked until they're perfect.  Perfectly overdone, that
is.  In concert, where she only gets one chance, she always does it
right the first time.  Her natural singing voice (which she uses in
concert, where she only gets one chance to do it) sounds much better
than any crooning affectations you hear when she tries for that
"perfect take".


I'd be willing to bet that she doesn't need to many takes in the studio
if you think that she nails it so well live.

As far as "live" vs "studio" sound, I'm not sure I agree w/Steve and Rudy
that the Brain Surgeons are necessarily "better" live.  Perhaps for the
songs on *Eponymous*, but I think that *Trepanation* is very representative
of their live sound, and doesn't come across as somehow over-produced.
For me, the "sound" of the band is better on the CDs -- I go to see them
live for the energy that they give out and for the overall concert-going
experience -> I agree that you can't reproduce that by listening to a
CD (the sights, the sounds, the smells just ain't the same - not to mention
I usually don't have 2 or 3 beers before spinning a CD ;-) ), but I don't
think the actual "sound" is better live.  I've heard tapes of the Brain
Surgeons live, and they don't sound better than the CDs.  But again, I
think the live experience is totally different, and equally satisfying (if
not more so, since I also get a chance to talk with the band, and a few
BOC-L members).

>And to top it off, I personally think that it's about high time to
drop the BOC tunes that they finish every show with.  They're pushing
out Brain Surgeons tunes that I'd rather hear than *another* "Red and
the Black".

I have mixed feelings about this one, because of course the BOC tunes
that they do play represent some of the best that Albert wrote with them.
Perhaps if they mixed it up a bit more - say, no more than 2 BOC tunes for
any set (unless they get the opportunity to do an extended set).  Also,
Bolle once told me (and I agree) that he thinks they should do some more
obscure BOC tunes that Albert wrote that BOC doesn't do - such as "Monsters"
or "Vengeance".  Here's my reaction to some of the BOC tunes the Brain
Surgeons do:

Career of Evil:  Nice to hear once in awhile - Deb's vocals on this make
it a real treat.  But, I don't know if it should be a staple in the set.
Baby Ice Dog:  Again, I don't like this as a staple to the set, but again
Deb does a great vocal on it, and it also falls into the category of the
more obscure BOC tunes which makes it a treat to hear (at least on
occassion).
Death Valley Nights:  I never paid much attention to this song until I
heard the Surgeons do it live - now, I LOVE this song.  It also works well
live with Albert coming out front on guitar and Deb taking over the drums,
showing off their versatility.  And, BOC never did it live.
Cities on Flame:  I have real mixed feelings about this one.  I never got
to see BOC do this one with Albert and I nearly lost it completely when I
got to see the Surgeons do it.  It's been done live by BOC since the dawn
of time, but I still love it every time - still, for this reason maybe it
shouldn't be a staple in the Surgeons' set.  On the other hand, they do it
better than BOC (as I've said before, Albert's ba bum ba BUM on the bass
drum is what always made this song for me), and the Spanish rendition and
the "1,000 Guitars" bit make it something unique to the Brain Surgeons.
Maybe this song should be an encore - I don't know.  I don't think it
should replace a great Brain Surgeons' tune, but I just like the way they
do this one so much that I'd have a hard time not voting for it.
The Red & the Black:  This one should probably go, IMHO.  It's a great
up-tempo song for closing a set (not to mention the cool little bass
solo at the end which I practice every time I pick up my bass guitar),
but it's a much-played BOC song (I know, so is "Cities"), and also BOC
often closes their sets these days with it as well.  A good tune, but I
think there are some good Brain Surgeons tunes which could replace it.

Now, here's some BOC tunes that I'd like to hear the Surgeons play, although
I realize the goal of this was to *reduce* the BOC content:

The Revenge of Vera Gemini - would make a cool duet between Deb & Al
Tattoo Vampire - not as a staple, but would be cool to see once or twice
Monsters - again, would be cool to see once or twice
Dominance & Submission - with Mike Watt guesting on bass . . .
I Am the One You Warned Me Of - MF #13 mentioned something about this...
Frankenstein - I'll bet Deb could do a good rendition, and if Mr. Cerisano
happens to be in town . . .

John