The New David Thomas Album Is Wonderful.

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18 Monkeys On A Dead Man's Chest. I'm no expert when it comes to his solo stuff, and people who are may say that it isn't anywhere near as good as this one or that one, etc. but I'm digging it. Really cool atmospheric & dreamy numbers as well as some great freakout stuff. He could show those newjack spazzcore psych bands a thing or two (mainly i'm thinking of frog eyes, whose new album i liked, but not the singer's solo thing which kinda bugged me with the "they'recomingtotakemeawayHAHA" act and which proves that it's not as easy to sound convincingly unhinged as you may think. ANYWAY, this is the shit. I've already played it 4 times since I got it yesterday. The slow, seasick non-yelping stuff is most of the disc and it's beautiful. Excellent production too. Best song just might be "Nebraska Alcohol Abuse". Smog Veil has been rocking me lately what with the Numbers Band release and the 70's live Ubu thing. If you are an Ubu fan you need this one.

― scott seward (scott seward), Tuesday, 17 August 2004 15:48 (twenty-one years ago)

Thanks, scott.. If you're diggin' the Jimmy Bell, then you can sell me just about anything.

― dave225 (Dave225), Tuesday, 17 August 2004 15:57 (twenty-one years ago)

wait, the ubu live thing -one man drives while the other man screams- was just hearthan, not smog veil.

― scott seward (scott seward), Tuesday, 17 August 2004 15:57 (twenty-one years ago)

hell, i just looked (and put it on) that jimmy bell thing isn't on smog veil either. so disregard my confusion. they put out the RFTT stuff and now this one.

― scott seward (scott seward), Tuesday, 17 August 2004 16:16 (twenty-one years ago)

It is good isn't it? In fact I really must give it another listen.

If anything I think I actually prefer some of his recent solo / Two Pale Boys / etc. stuff to the stuff he's been doing with Pere Ubu!

If you haven't got any of his other solo / Two Pale Boys / etc. albums, the good news is that of the (11) he's released, the only one that I'd immediately say is even better than "18 Monkeys On A Dead Man's Chest", is "Mirror Man"; but it's also definitely worth getting the (unbelievably cheap for what it is) 5CD "Monster" boxset, which comprises all of his first five solo albums plus an (absolutely amazing) unavailable-anywhere-else live CD.

Once you've done that of course, you might as well just get (in descending order of greatness) "Surf's Up!", "Bay City" and "Erewhon" and (I believe) you've got the lot!

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 07:56 (twenty-one years ago)

david thomas = genius.
and i'm going to attend the pale boys' concert very soon!

― Marco Damiani (Marco D.), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 08:04 (twenty-one years ago)

Scott, smogveil.com and Morphius.com are hand/glove. The latter sent me the promos of One Man Drives(which sounds a lot better than even remastered LP version from back when, and is dynamic as Hell. Listen on yr. best headphones and a laptop, which tend to pump the sound past linegering Live rec. fog into YOU ARE THERE THEY ARE HERE immediacy) and Jimmy Bell's (which also benefits from CD sonics and now you don't gotta get up and tune the rec over, but still my pmression is same as it ever was: the Doors and friends jamming on "L.A. Woman" for quite a while-which is okay by me; more than okay but never thought it was awesome, just mebbe important in it's time for unusual approach: Xgau tagged it as *kinda* Velvets/Dead, so mebbe an influence on Television the band?) 18 Monkeys (just do a google Advanced search on that Exact Phrase and see what you get) isn't out til Oct domestically (keep checking Morphius.com), on Cd that is, though (complete album) is avail as download, on itunes I be thinkin'.The import is on Amazon. Smogveil's also source of Rocket From The Tombs (both CDs); Morphius of The Homosexuals; go to one and y site and you'll see link to t'other.

― Don Allred, Wednesday, 18 August 2004 13:37 (twenty-one years ago)

but it's also definitely worth getting the (unbelievably cheap for what it is) 5CD "Monster" boxset, which comprises all of his first five solo albums plus an (absolutely amazing) unavailable-anywhere-else live CD.

Beware! Thomas made significant changes to some of the albums contained therein. Sometimes, as in "More Places Forever," the changes (mostly remixing) are benign if unnecessary; but he absolutely ruined "Variations on a Theme," muddying the sound with Jim Jones guitar overdubs and changing his vocals tracks, mostly for the worse. "Variations" was a splendid album, containing some of his best collaborations with Richard Thompson and the Cutler/Cooper combo--well worth seeking out a vinyl rip on Soulseek.

― nono, Wednesday, 18 August 2004 15:31 (twenty-one years ago)

three weeks pass...

i saw David Thomas & the Two Pale Boys last night and it was awesome.
A dark, dark cabaret indeed, hosted by Quinlan from "Touch of Evil" singing his favourite torch songs. Thomas' presence on stage is just terrific (no pun on his size intended, of course).
They did also a couple of covers, the Beach Boys' "Surfer Girl" and Neil Young's "Running dry".

― Marco Damiani (Marco D.), Saturday, 11 September 2004 07:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Heh heh, nice...the Surfer Girl cover was on a Pere Ubu album some years back.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 11 September 2004 14:48 (twenty-one years ago)

five years pass...

Really excellent improv set last night with Chris Cutler and John Edwards on double bass. Fantastic it was - mysterious and funny and dark.

― GamalielRatsey, Sunday, 30 May 2010 07:58 (sixteen years ago)

That sounds really enticing. I hope I get to see Cutler perform live at some point (i am in NYC so I suppose I stand a decent chance).

― 99 anna hay-uff jussa woan' do (Jon Lewis), Sunday, 30 May 2010 17:28 (sixteen years ago)

fifteen years pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct4nYdVP3nk

Interview then a long David Thomas & the 2 pale white boys performing and then Thomas interview again. From 1997. Critic Carl Wilson linked it on his substack

― curmudgeon, Friday, 11 July 2025 14:59 (eleven months ago)

Oh it was for MTV !

― curmudgeon, Friday, 11 July 2025 14:59 (eleven months ago)

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