Nice Cleveland Plain Dealer piece by John Petkovic, leader of of the hideously great and uderrated Cleveland band Death Of Samantha . Legend of Cleveland musician Peter Laughner comes alive with fascinating boxed set (photos)
Death of Samantha is a band that needs to have their catalog reissued, but folks should check out the still available live in the studio monster If Memory Serves Us Well. Great band indeed. Interesting that Mauceri though that Laughners relentless work ethic might have been a way of trying to get to sobriety. Don't know if I agree, I've known too many people whose pursuit of oblivion knew no barriers, but it is another (very much welcome) take on the story. But, all that aside, this set is a great study of the creative process in all its beauty and destructiveness, seen through the music and words of one immensely talented and troubled young man. Better than any book could hope to be.
My take is that he just wasn't in the right place in time to get sober. Too young, too impressionable. Most likely suffering from unchecked depression. And, his parents were reportedly alcoholics, so there's a genetic link, too. To have that kind of physical damage at only 24 from abuse is nuts. He was probably going full tilt for years, which again, makes his output all the more incredible.
Yeah, listening to his songs, I would say depression was a factor, maybe a bit of OCD. If he started out with drink/drugs really young, it's entirely possible for that to have happened. Depends on the person.
Death of Samantha were my introduction to Laughner's music, I think, when they covered him on their 'Where The Women Wear The Glory And The Men Wear The Pants' LP. Thanks for the link!
Thanks. I reread the first edition of Velvets to Voidoids which states Peter L went to New York and rehearsed/auditioned with Tom Verlaine/Television during a period when Richard Lloyd was considering leaving Television. Lloyd changed his mind and stayed so no need for Peter anymore. Still awaiting the vinyl or cd box here at chez Torch. One of the boxes from Smog Veil is somewhere in the UK and the other has not yet been given to USPS who are posting from the USA.
The cd box arrived from Smog Veil yesterday which is pretty good time from the USA to my house. Single was included and the box was well packaged. Started with disc one and played These Days first as I have never heard Peter's version. Excellent as expected. The book looks good too. Great release.
i was glad to see ( i counted ) a dozen copies of this set ( mixed LP and CD version its the same package because of the book i guess ? ) at my local store last night . i guess i am not a big fan enough to shell out the equivalent of 125 usd they are asking for ( CD version same price as Vinyl ? ) but looked like a cool set
I'm kind of disappointed that they didn't include the Take The Guitar Player For A Ride versions of Ain't it Fun, In the Bar, and Amphetamine, but whatever. Really looking forward to hearing this set when it arrives next week.
Yep. Thus, Take The Guitar Player For A Ride remains essential (the LP version with “Visions of Johanna” even moreso), as does the Rocket From The Tombs collection. Even the 1982 Koolie Productions LP still has a couple exclusive songs, but at least they’re on YouTube (and, in my opinion, not terribly interesting). And then there’s the very rare Notes From A Cocktail Napkin LP from 1970, from which nothing has appeared on later collections. Here’s a song from that LP (recorded in 1969, earlier than anything on the new box):
That’s an impressive record store! Not a bad price either. In the US the CD version is cheaper than the LP (generally priced at about $100) but that’s just about the same price US buyers are paying for the LP edition. Today I was at what is generally considered the best record store for new releases in Minneapolis, The Electric Fetus. To my surprise, they weren’t stocking it at all, though there are at least a couple other local shops where I wouldn’t be too surprised to see it (more likely the vinyl version).
its Gibert Joseph store in Paris , the largest independent outlet . And its "front gondola " display which makes it cool .
Cleveland's Case Western University's WRUW radio show Dare Waves featured the box(and lots of other great sounds) on their last show, which you can stream here Archives - WRUW
Speculation is that Smog Veil couldn’t reach a deal with the license holders. Label head Frank Mauceri has said they had more than 10 discs worth of material, so we can always hope that there’s a Vol. 2 with the TTGPFAR tracks.
The vinyl box arrived at my house earlier today and I must join others in praising Smog Veil for the attention to detail with this set. I have so far only examined and played the first disk but I am delighted with the quality and the sound is better than I was anticipating. The book also looks terrific and I am looking forward to delving into that when I have a little more time.
A few years ago, I was able to make a nice needle drop of “Notes From a Cocktail Napkin”. Oddly enough, Terry Hartman did not have a copy of it but a mutual friend did. It is a fun little artifact. From what I understand, recording the album was Peter’s idea. He wanted to get something released before Terry went into the service.
Pickiest of nits: One one of the LP jackets, (4, maybe?) one of the tracks is listed under two different recording dates/sessions.
Very cool. I haven’t had the opportunity to hear the whole thing. How extensive is Peter’s contribution? I’ve never been quite clear if it was him backing Terry, Terry backing up Peter, or a basically even partnership.
A bit off topic, but I just stumbled on this 1982 Cleveland Plain Dealer article that covers the circumstances behind the Koolie LP. I don’t believe this article is reproduced in the Smog Veil box but perhaps I missed it. http://straighttovideo.org/wp-content/uploads/Jane-Scott-Laughner.pdf
I´ve had the 5-CD box for a few days now. No bonus 7", ordered too late... But I guess Venus De Milo is the main track on there, and I have it on CDr (from the "Ann Arbour Tapes"). How are the other tracks? Overall, this is a fantastic set with a great book! Though, as a CD buyer, I think it should have contained even more music. There´s space for over 25 minutes more on each CD. I get that it´s more "hip" to buy vinyl these days, and more easily sold, too. Also more practical/economical to make the vinyl/CD box in the same size. It just feels a bit underwhelming with around 50 minutes of music per CD... Especially knowing that there´s much more that could have been in the box - some of which I´ve heard/have. Anyway, Smog Veil did a wonderful job giving us examples of all aspects of Peter´s music!
"Fat City Jive" (Radio WMMS 1972): This is where Peter shows his traditional folk/country/blues inspirations/background, including a couple of early self-compositions. Personally, I´m not into this "old-time" american folk and country music, though blues is more to my liking. I think many of tracks on the first session here is too rushed or hurried somehow, I prefer the slower, more "serious" tracks. That´s not to say Peter rushes it (or does he?), it´s more that it`s not my bag. The second session sounds more "mature" and better to me. Slightly deeper voice as well. (Maybe the different sound/mastering is a part of it...) So, this is the disc (=first session) where Smog Veil´s choices and what I would have picked differs the most throughout this set. I really miss Mama Tain´t Long For The Day (Blind Willie McTell) and City Lights (Terry Hartman), and would also have included Biscuit Roller (Michael Hurley) - instead of Hesitation Blues/Willin´/Please Mrs Henry/Mean Ol´ Frisco/T For Texas/Fat City Jive. Though I understand they wanted to present the "whole picture" of Peter, I won´t return to those tracks. The second session I hadn´t heard before, and I like it more, especially Love Minus Zero, Eyes Eyes, The Eyes Of A New York Woman and These Days. From the Song Notes in the book I see that Peter also played Do It and Pale Blue Eyes at this November session. Were there even more tracks played, and if so, what tracks? Oh, and why did they place the song Fat City Jive (from the September session) near the end among the November tracks...? To me, it doesn´t fit in there, and the different in sound emphasizes it... Dont´t get me wrong - I wouldn´t want to be without this, and I´m grateful for the release!
I think you got it all right, except for: Pledging My Time - different. The previous LP version is a "live" take w/bass, by the sound of it most likely from the same session as Baudelaire/Rock It Down/Sylvia Plath. (In stereo, Albert Dennis on bass) Lullaby - very similar but different... The new version is longer and in stereo w/obvious echo. Maybe the same take in different mixes?
