The other two records in the set are a bit spottier. The first side of Boots runs in a similar vein to Live at Rainbows End, though it’s an even darker affair. The lyrics, while still inscrutable, are more overtly sinister, taking on an almost threatening quality when paired with the artist’s passionate delivery. In nearly every way, Boots is raw and scrappy where the C.C. recordings are fragile and delicate. I assume the vocals are by the same artist, though they’re quite a bit less refined here. While I hear shades of Bowie in the singer’s inflections at times, Bowie never sounded this raw. Even the strongest melodies here are derailed with bum notes and cracked yelps. The chorus of side one closer “I’m A Farm” incorporates disgruntled, shrieking donkey impersonations, a gimmick that might sound unintentionally hilarious (or at least pretentious) on another record but here comes across as genuinely disturbing in the context of all that comes before.
The flip side of the record is an eighteen-minute percussion and electronics free-noise excursion. It’s not for everybody, but if you managed to get through the first side without shutting your stereo off in horror, you can probably dig “New Earth” too. You have to be patient with it, but it certainly has its own rewards. Personally, I’m a fan of a lot of early analog New Age music, which this track clearly owes a strong debt to. There’s no new ground being broken, but it works as a much-needed palate cleanser after the unflinchingly raw first side.
The final record in the set - No Tape Outside, attributed to Snake & Remus - is equally haunting, though somewhat less accessible than the others. Divided into two untitled sides running roughly nineteen minutes apiece, this album is hard to listen to straight through. If you take the time to let to record open up to you, however, the results can be very rewarding. The first side sounds quite a bit like the first sides of the other two records in the set, though the instrumentation here is a bit more varied, incorporating various percussion and electronic sounds along with the acoustic guitar.
While it’s not exactly a cheerful affair, this album feels considerably less dark in tone than the others. Though the format of the unbroken track seems daunting, the songs themselves are far less claustrophobic and overwhelming. Without individual song titles or much distinction between the tracks, the first side is crafted like an epic, slowly unfolding suite rather than a collection of singles. There are discrete compositions here, but the record feels as if it were meant to be listened to straight through as there is no way of isolating the individual songs except by ear. If these tracks were served up individually, this side might rival Live at Rainbows End for accessibility, but as it stands a lot of people are going to be turned off by the long-form approach. Ultimately, this does still feel like the best way of presenting these tracks, as they aren’t as visceral or immediately compelling as cuts from the other two albums and work best when taken in context as a whole unit of sound.
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