So much for saving the best for last. This year’s Pitchfork Music Festival, setting up camp Friday through Sunday in Chicago’s Union Park, seems intent on breaking the unspoken rule by the time the first night closes. Indie rockers Slint, Wu-Tang Clan rapper GZA and art-rock pioneers Sonic Youth each will perform one of their albums in its entirety Friday evening. The fan-favorite concept comes courtesy of Pitchfork’s collaboration with All Tomorrow’s Parties, an English-based organization whose “don’t look back”-themed events invite artists to play seminal albums in full.
But All Tomorrow’s Parties isn’t alone in its thinking. The idea has caught on with bands staging their own tours. Patti Smith, Slayer and Metallica are a few of the names who have given start-to-finish performances of noteworthy records.
Locally, Sonic Youth’s appearance is creating the biggest buzz. And for good reason. The New Yorkers will play their 1988 double-album “Daydream Nation,” a landmark union of underground noise and song-based structure recently chosen by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Historic Registry. Coincidentally, Geffen Records just reissued it as a two-CD/four-LP deluxe edition.
Sonic Youth’s undertaking brings to mind other definitive post-punk-era albums that should be performed live and receive special treatment. In compiling such a list, a few guidelines were needed. Because the only feat more indulgent than playing a record in full is having the nerve to pull off a double album (a record that fills at least two slabs of vinyl), extra-long players were chosen. Finally, in deference to Pitchfork’s adventurous spirit and can-do practicality, these records still sound cutting edge and could feasibly be played by the original artists.
Husker Du “Zen Arcade”
(SST, 1984)
(Two vinyl LPs)
A concept album in which the protagonist leaves home and encounters an even crueler world outside, “Zen Arcade” remains a watershed that forever changed underground music and hard-core aesthetics. Recorded in less than four days, the 23-song epiphany is a diverse masterstroke of primal emotion, folk subtlety and sheets-of-sound melody. Husker Du’s former players are notorious for feuding, which is one reason the low-fidelity set has never been remastered.
Minutemen
“Double Nickels on the Dime”
(SST, 1984)
(Two vinyl LPs)
Minutemen’s “Double Nickels on the Dime ” is a congenial response to “Zen Arcade.” Rejecting the fixed-time signatures and straight-faced seriousness of their punk contemporaries, the California threesome stamped 44 punctual tunes with jazz dynamics, funk flexibility and whimsical humor. Guitarist D. Boon’s car-accident death in 1985 put an end to the Minutemen. Yet bassist Mike Watt and drummer George Hurley have performed as a duo. Few records are as deserving of a spiffy reissue.
Prince “Sign ‘O’ the Times”
(Paisley Park, 1987)
(Two vinyl LPs, Two CDs)
Initially conceived as a triple album, “Sign ‘O’ the Times” prevails as an eccentric assortment of sharp pop, sexual funk, club-hopping R&B, psychedelic soul and freewheeling rock. Regularly cited on best albums lists, the work presents Prince in all his glory. Plus, the guitar lines are sleeker than those on “Purple Rain.” If ever a single studio release warranted a lavish behind-the-scenes boxed set, this qualifies. Just don’t count on Prince’s striking a deal with Warner Bros. to allow it to happen.
Tom Petty “Wildflowers”
(Warner Bros., 1994)
(Two vinyl LPs, One CD)
Tom Petty’s second “solo” effort is a single-disc affair. But it’s always been available as a double LP. And when in 2003 Petty embarked on a series of intimate club shows, the standouts were the rarely played “Wildflowers” cuts. Stripped-down and carefree, the collection hasn’t a bum note amid a warm tapestry of relaxed pianos, acoustic guitars and brushed drums. Without trying for a certain sound or style, Petty made his most personal statement. To hear the studio leftovers and solo takes would be some kind of wonderful.
Smashing Pumpkins “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness”
(Virgin, 1995)
(Three vinyl LPs, Two CDs)
The album that rocketed Chicago’s multi-gender quartet into the stratosphere is a testament to frontman Billy Corgan’s desire to grab the rock-star crown. So sprawling that even its flaws seem ambitious, this 28-track blockbuster of orchestral pomp, gothic pop and metal bombast is the last great splash of the mainstream alternative explosion. And who wouldn’t rather see original guitarist James Iha instead of the replacements Corgan recruited for the latest iteration of the band? Akin to the entire Pumpkins catalog, “Mellon Collie” yearns to be remastered.
Wilco “Being There”
(Reprise, 1996)
(Two vinyl LPs, Two CDs)
Since this country-rock treasure appeared, Wilco has evolved into a different beast. Only two members remain from the “Being There” sessions, and the group’s current experimental proclivities are only faint outlines here. Which is why the local act’s current lineup should take a fresh stab at these rich arrangements for what, in many instances, would be the first time. Given leader Jeff Tweedy’s prolific songwriting, plenty of unheard extras could round out an expanded edition.
Sleep “Dopesmoker” (a.k.a. “Jerusalem”)
(Tee Pee, 1999/2003)
(Two vinyl LPs, One CD)
One seemingly never-ending dirge + droning heaviness = nodding-off bliss. The subject of myriad rumors (i.e., the labyrinthine song was diagramed on chalkboards), originally intended for a 1995 release and issued piecemeal against the group’s wishes in 1999 as “Jerusalem,” the legend that became “Dopesmoker” upon its official release in 2003 prompted the band to break up rather than cede to record-label demands. Riff maestro Matt Pike has the chops to pull off a live rendition of this ceremonious trek to doom paradise.
OutKast “Stankonia”
(La Face, 2000)
(Two vinyl LPs, One CD)
Hip-hop has never been synonymous with double albums. OutKast is the exception. Before the Atlanta duo topped it with 2003’s “Speakerboxx/The Love Below,” the shower of funk, pop, beats and Dirty South elan on “Stankonia” had the nation bobbing its collective heads to “B.O.B.” and reeling to the sleek apologies of “Ms. Jackson.” Andre 3000 and Big Boi have split , but what better way to reunite and return from the film disaster that is 2006’s “Idlewild”?
Radiohead “Kid A”
(Capitol, 2000)
(Two vinyl LPs, One CD)
It begins with singer Thom Yorke warbling about waking up and sucking on a lemon. From there, things only get weirder. The point at which the Internet’s influence on record sales became undeniable — “Kid A” debuted at No. 1 despite its uncommercial makeup — Radiohead’s finely textured art-rock experiment signaled the advent of listener democracy. Electronic ambience, modulated intricacies and brass passages have prevented Radiohead from tackling a majority of the magnum opus onstage. Yet the twisted sonic architecture is ideal for Millennium Park’s Pritzker Pavilion.
Drive-By Truckers “Southern Rock Opera”
(SDR/Lost Highway, 2001)
(Two CDs)
The word “opera” is always a clue that grandiosity is on tap. “Southern Rock Opera” doesn’t disappoint. A smart, perspective-altering song cycle that addresses the duality of Southern culture, mythology, politics and history through the story of a fictional band, the album brought the previously anonymous Truckers critical accolades and a devoted following. The Alabama sextet has previously aired the narrative in its entirety — and in Chicago at the Hideout in 2001. Time for an encore.
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Symbols key: Originally released on: Two vinyl LPs, Three vinyl LPs, One CD, Two CDs
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ctc-arts@tribune.com
COMING FRIDAY Greg Kot’s Pitchfork Festival lowdown, including why the bands matter and how to take it all in.
