Seventeen years ago I saw Clutch for the first time. They were great, and a while later I got a copy of their excellent album The Elephant Riders; it was, and is, a fantastic record. For reasons I can't put my finger on, I didn't buy any more of their albums until 2015, when this double-LP copy of From Beale Street to Oblivion came out on Record Store Day. Nearly two years later, I still don't know any more of their albums.
I like Clutch. They really are a very interesting band and I enjoy listening to them. However, I just have shocking amounts of apathy when it comes to seeking out any more of their albums. Had this not been an RSD release, there's a very good chance it wouldn't be sat in my record collection (I've had a bad habit of buying albums on RSD that I wouldn't on other days just because I'm pleased that there are releases I'm slightly interested in. Everyone seems to be buying so much that I often feel a bit ridiculous getting up so early to buy so little. It's a stupid reason, I know, but I'm easily suckered into buying things it seems). I think a part of me wanted to hear more Clutch, but another part of me felt that I was perfectly happy with just having The Elephant Riders. I see their albums in shops from time to time, but they're never "bargains", and often quite the opposite. That said, this album was £25 so clearly the RSD-factor played a large part.
Annoyingly, From Beale Street to Oblivion didn't come with an mp3 download code, so I've not played it anywhere near as much as I should have. That said, on the times I do remember to put it on, it's great. There are a lot of huge songs on here, which is great - You Can't Stop Progress is a great opener and The Devil & Me, Electric Worry, Opossum Minister are all brilliant and have a great groove to them (which is something Clutch are very good it). I have no idea of how it sits in Clutch's back-catalogue both in the sense of a timeline, but also in popular opinion - is this one of their best? Who knows. Again, I could research it but just can't be bothered. I feel like I might over many years buy more Clutch albums, but it'll be on days where there really aren't any other albums I'm after (which rarely happen), or if it's unusually cheap (which also rarely happens).
Strangely, White's Ferry and Rapture of Riddley Walker swapped on the track-listing from how the songs actually play. The rest of the release is quite nice, there's a whole additional LP of bonus tracks, half live at the BBC and half live in Australia (mostly songs from this album - the Australian recordings are far more exciting than the studio ones at the BBC). Both records are on purple vinyl. It makes for a long listen - I'd be inclined to say the album itself could lose a few songs, but I am a fan of shorter albums these days.
Format: Double 12", gatefold sleeve, picture sleeves
Tracks: 21
Cost: £25 new
Bought: Truck Store, Oxford
When: 18/04/15
Colour: Purple
Etching: none
mp3s: no
