Scabdates
Scabdates | ||||
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Strummer | ||||
Producer | Omar Rodríguez-López | |||
The Mars Volta chronology | ||||
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Scabdates is the second official live recording from the band The Mars Volta. It was released on November 8, 2005 and features music recorded between May 2004 and May 2005 during the tours in support of De-Loused in the Comatorium and Frances the Mute. In 2011, NME magazine named it one of the 50 greatest live albums of all time.[1] The "And Ghosted Pouts" section of "Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt" was used in the film Get Him to the Greek.
Overview
Only three of the band's songs are represented on Scabdates, which mainly comprises expansions on musical themes which appear elsewhere in their work, or entirely new segments altogether, such as the lengthy exposition on "Cicatriz"; which, when combined with its introduction "Haruspex", accounts for over 48 minutes of the album. Its lengthy
Portions of the album include overdubbing and tape effects that were not part of the original live recordings. "Abrasions Mount the Timpani" features field recordings of mewling babies and airliner announcements that Omar recorded on the road, while "Cicatriz" incorporates an eight-minute psychedelic sound collage of other Mars Volta live performances (notably performances of "Eunuch Provocateur" and "Cassandra Gemini"), alongside field recordings of the band and others talking and laughing. The album, like many live albums before it, was also mixed to sound as if it came from one performance.
Rodriguez subsequently commented on the compilation of the album that:
I listened to my favorite live records, and said, "Okay, that's nice. What would I want as a fan?" When I was a kid, I always wanted little moments about the band on tour, so I could imagine them in my head. You hear our live record, and it starts with sound check and our technicians speaking about what's wrong with the microphone. And then there's us backstage, and then it goes into the concert, and then in the middle of a song, I put in some conversations we had on the tour bus. All these things are really appealing to me. A lot of people who were upset said, "This is not a live album. It includes all this other bullshit. And it has overdubs!" It has no overdubs, it was just mixed in a creative way.[2]
Reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Pitchfork Media | (3.5/10) [7] |
PopMatters | [8] |
Punknews.org | [9] |
Rolling Stone | [10] |
Sputnikmusic | (2/5) [11] |
Tiny Mix Tapes | [12] |
Ultimate Guitar | (8.4/10) [13] |
The Mars Volta have freely encouraged the trading of bootlegged live performances, but Scabdates was lauded by many fans for its superior sound quality and for being the first official recording that captured the Volta's lengthy experimental workouts during live performances. Some critics were not impressed with the band's jam sessions, with IGN describing the album as "sonic meandering which some regard as genius and others find to be a futile exercise in pretentious instrumental masturbation."[6]
The album scored a 58/100 on Metacritic, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[3] Some reviews were positive: Under the Radar gave it a score of seven stars out of ten and called it "One of those rare live offerings: a document that actually complements the band's catalog."[3] NME gave it a score of seven out of ten and called it "marvelous".[3]
Other reviews were pretty average, mixed or negative:
As of February 2007 it has sold 64,000 copies in United States.[16]
Track listing
Like
Finalized track listing
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Abrasions Mount the Timpani" | 4:07 |
2. | "Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt" (Gust of Mutts - And Ghosted Pouts) | 13:23 |
3. | "Caviglia" | 2:46 |
4. | "Concertina" | 4:17 |
5. | "Haruspex" | 5:24 |
6. | "Cicatriz" (Cicatriz - Part I - Part II - Part III - Part IV) | 42:58 |
CD pressing
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Abrasions Mount the Timpani" | 4:07 |
2. | "Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt" | 5:57 |
3. | "Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt A. Gust of Mutts" | 2:34 |
4. | "Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt B. And Ghosted Pouts" | 4:52 |
5. | "Caviglia" | 2:46 |
6. | "Concertina" | 4:17 |
7. | "Haruspex" | 5:24 |
8. | "Cicatriz" | 8:16 |
9. | "Cicatriz A. Part I" | 2:34 |
10. | "Cicatriz B. Part II" | 7:39 |
11. | "Cicatriz C. Part III" | 4:29 |
12. | "Cicatriz D. Part IV" | 20:01 |
Source of recordings
- 05/12/2004 – Wiltern Theatre– Los Angeles, CA
- "Haruspex"
- "Cicatriz"
- 05/13/2004 – Wiltern Theatre – Los Angeles, CA
- "Caviglia"
- 05/05/2005 – Roseland Ballroom – New York City, NY
- "Abrasions Mount the Timpani"
- "Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt"
- 05/06/2005 – Roseland Ballroom – New York City, NY
- "Gust of Mutts / And Ghosted Pouts"
- 05/10/2005 – Avalon Ballroom – Boston, MA
- "Concertina"
Personnel
The Mars Volta
- Omar Rodríguez-López – guitar, field recordings
- Cedric Bixler-Zavala – vocals
- Juan Alderete de la Peña – bass guitar
- Jon Theodore – drums
- Isaiah Ikey Owens– keyboards
- Marcel Rodríguez-López – percussion, synthesizers
- Adrián Terrazas-González – wind instruments, percussion (2005 dates only)
- Pablo Hinojos-Gonzalez – sound manipulation ("Concertina")
Recording personnel
- Jonathan Debaun – recording, engineer
- Omar Rodriguez-Lopez – mixing
- Howie Weinberg – mastering
- Roger Liam – mastering assistant
Artwork
- Danielle Van Ark – photographs
- Sonny Kay – design, layout
- Omar Rodríguez-López – art direction
- Cedric Bixler-Zavala – art direction
Charts
Chart (2005) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA)[17] | 87 |
US Billboard 200[18] | 76 |
References
- ^ "Pictures of The 50 greatest live albums of all time - Photos". Nme.Com. 2011-03-09. Retrieved 2012-03-08.
- ^ Hyden, Steven (2008-01-29). "Omar Rodriguez-Lopez of The Mars Volta | Music | Interview". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2012-03-08.
- ^ a b c d e f g Critic reviews at Metacritic
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ "Entertainment Weekly review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2009-04-25. Retrieved 2013-05-18.
- ^ a b "The Mars Volta - Scabdates". IGN. 2006-01-14. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.
- ^ a b Pitchfork Media review
- ^ PopMatters review
- ^ Punknews.org review
- ^ Rolling Stone review
- ^ Sputnikmusic review
- ^ Tiny Mix Tapes review
- ^ Ultimate Guitar Review
- ^ The Austin Chronicle review
- ^ Prefix Magazine review
- ^ Mitchell, Gail (10 February 2007). "The Rock Roster". Billboard. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
- ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 177.
- ^ "The Mars Volta Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 24, 2022.