Sebadoh – The Freed Weed (1990)

The usual story. Boot fair, cheap stall, a complete punt. I'd heard the name Sebadoh, but had little idea what to expect.

This is a 1990 compilation, consisting of 42 tracks - the whole of their second album, Weed Forestin' as well as half the tracks from their debut, The Freed Man.

In music recording, there's hi-fi, there's lo-fi and then there's this. Short, unformed, minimal, often repetitive songs possibly recorded on a 1970s cassette recorder, in a muffled dustbin. Part of me quite admires the chutzpah of releasing this, but not the part of me that has to listen to it. Yet from time to time, there's a little spark of interest, some piece of naïve primitivism almost akin to the Silver Apples.

But mostly not. Mostly it sound like some stoned recordings that should never have seen the light of day. Yet I can't quite bring myself to get rid of it, or even switch it off. It has some hypnotic quality, a feeling that the mist will clear and I'll see the genius of it. But I probably won't.

See what you think. I really don't know.

Link to full album

2* - Perhaps there's something deep here, that will reveal itself. Or perhaps it's two stoned blokes messing around. And I don't know which.