The band had been on a short tour that began in the February in the States, and then them into the UK for this gig [endtease]- the first of five in old Blighty in March - prior to the recording sessions for Beat. Provided you can forgive the less than optional sonics taken from this bootleg sourced tape, it’s abundantly clear that the group are relishing every minute on the stage. On Discipline they seem especially reluctant to arrive at the last note and the version of The Sheltering Sky takes on truly epic proportions here.
This being part of the Beat play-ins there are a couple of outings of new material - well new at least to the audience in Oxford. Neurotica, which the band had already been playing the previous year is triple turbo-charged. Neil and Jack and Me stretches time and shifts inside its skin whilst there’s a tiny almost pastoral interlude before the band plough into The Howler. Buyer beware however - the source tape fades out before the track finishes. Nevertheless Adrian’s solo will give your goosebumps er, goosebumps.
Perhaps of greatest interest to long-term fans will be the untitled track near the end of the show. During the recording of the Beat album the group laid down the backing tracks for this tune where it was then christened Absent Lovers. Ultimately it never made the final cut for the Beat album, but we are happy to see it make its first commercial appearance here on DGMLive.
