Pere Ubu-The Tenement Year; Enigma Records, 1988

 

Nightmare scenario: some Entity within the Media Borg deems it an acceptable and good idea to resurrect Pere Ubu, with the band being fronted by a passable facsimile of David Thomas and any surviving member who needs a paycheck or some such worldly perk. Disaster Amnesiac has had this script run through my imaginings in the months since Thomas's passing earlier this year, and while it's one that improbable (how much money would be realistically expected from an enterprise such as that?) it is within the realm of the possible. Think about all of the unlikely reunions that have been concocted from the slowly fading carcasses of the 20th Century's high water mark bands, or the infinite repeat settings of Farewell Tours and Classic Rock Radio for example. As stated it has a lot to do with dough and no one, not even the most committed warriors of poetic vision and suchlike seem to be immune from its appeal. There's no way that I'd presume to know the minds of the likes of people who touched the genius that was Pere Ubu, in all of its five decades of incarnation within the orbit of David Thomas so we'll just have to wait and see about all that. What can be accessed are the varied and manifold recorded documents of Ubu. Touching again on the passing of the band's singer, that event has by no means been forgotten and his group's records have been in even more rotation that is usual in my physical environment, and specifically their records from the late 1980's through to 1993. It's 1988's The Tenement Year which has been blasted the most so yes let's unpack it a bit. The opening track, Something's Got To Give pushes the listener right away into big drum sounds from the tandem team of Scott Krauss and Chris Cutler while displaying the group's high level skill at song construction before going into a jam space with a stunning guitar solo. Such a strong starting statement! George Had A Hat follows with its fast paced riff and chanting. Then David intones "ok!" and the band bugs out again into the wild jamming that Disaster Amnesiac has read was directly influence by the Allman Brothers. Electronics and guitar men Jim Jones and Allen Ravenstine pair off in the higher registers while bassist Tony Maimone pile drives the part into beautiful oblivion. Pere Ubu's adept walking motions start off Talk To Me, and David Thomas just sounds so beautiful in the vocal department. The melodic nooks and crannies which the man explored with his voice and lyrics! Jim brings the twangy Surf guitar timbres, essential within the broader Ubu matrix and of course they work. Colorful melodeon by John Kirkpatrick is featured on the lovely chanty that is Busman's Honeymoon and it's very mysterious with its moves like the sea swaddled in fog. Yet another guitar jam out is pushed by the tight rhythm section before it concludes. Psych Rock is a huge elements of Say Goodbye, which starts off pensive before it evolves into a classic Pere Ubu anthem. More characteristically excellent vocal moves from Thomas while the background vocals give strong support of and for it. It's no surprise, just how locked in the ensemble playing is on this song, and its concluding moments offer airs of rarefied mystery in which to delight. Music rooted directly within the best of the 1960's Garage Psych manifests from Universal Vibration, with its cheekily naive sounding title. Disaster Amnesiac has certainly heard Thomas echoing Keith Relf, let's put it that way. Greasy guitar solo action leads the way. Once the critic Chuck Eddy derisively described the Ubu sound as being the same as that of Jethro Tull. I hear that similarity within the song, and that's an entirely good thing! The band heads into Eastern European modes a bit for Miss You while also quoting the Beatles. Thomas seems to have never forgotten to check in on Pop Culture references for his styles. He also hits the high notes with such skill. Maimone's bass playing has a standout feature on this one while he's pushed by the intricacies of Krauss and Cutler. This band was hitting on all cylinders. Dream The Moon his with a kind of Techno Pop range and a signature Pere Ubu rant and more of the bass-driven portions.  Ravenstine's electronics are all over this one, and over thirty five years later and it still sounds futuristic. The Dub Housing era is evident within Rhythm King and what's not to like about that? It's such a singular rhythm, and it was theirs, so why couldn't they quote themselves? The Ramones and Motorhead always did! I've read that there's a huge Ukranian influence within Cleveland, and the former's cultural signatures strike out from this tune. Alternative ontologies are the subject of the lyrics for The Hollow Earth, and its well executed Prog Rock makes sense therein. This is Prog which sounds eminently catchy as the mysteries of hidden worlds are plumbed. The  drumming has features that would not be repeated within Prog until the 1995 iteration of King Crimson. Pete Townsend's riffs are referenced but the listener will still know that this is an entirely Pere Ubu world being discovered. David Thomas you always gave so much to think about with your words! The Tenement Year concludes with We Have The Technology, a powerful and sweetly sentimental Pop song which predicts the Internet Age post social media kind of perfectly. That lovely chorus would have been so cool to be heard on FM radio in 1988 and '89! Why did that not happen? Probably had something to do with how squigey the synth sounds are and that most people have fucking sissy ears. Oh and that Enigma Records were a complete tax dodge type of scenario as Disaster Amnesiac recalls. 

Let's get back to that notion of Pere Ubu being resurrected for filthy lucre. Disaster Amnesiac has no idea whether or not it would occur. I can't see myself being enthusiastic about it, but then again who knows? It's my understanding that the band was a corporation bound by the arcane laws of the City of London, and doesn't that mean that some entity could purchase the rights to their name and branding? Perhaps in the next decade "Pere Ubu" will be plying their trade in China or Khazakstan or Seattle to a public which is perfectly fine with spending money on "An Evening With" or "The Return Of"? Again, stranger things have transpired! Until then I will be listening to any and all of their catalog, and The Tenement Year will likely be listened to more often than most. A perfect Pere Ubu album it is.