Otto & The Elevators. Album Review. (Re-issue).

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Time moves on, whether we are here to witness it or not. For some Time flows ever onwards, seamless, sedate, continually alluding to motion sickness, the feeling that we are not in control of life, but instead that Time rules against us, the passage of experience lost in the haze and the memories that begin to fade.

Then there are those to whom Time creates cracks for the memory to fall into, not to fade away, but to appear again as a fresh and vigorous reminder, a sentient being unleashed upon the unsuspecting in the future to whom find the return to be one of cheer and celebration. It is to the advent of reissue that that music and Time can perform together with stringent rules, but also with beautiful abandon.

For veteran Milwaukee musician/producer, Time’s fissure is one that honestly compliments and reminds with great effectiveness just how fresh a sound can be when placed against its former self, that the 40th anniversary re-issue of Otto & The Elevators sensational 1975 album recording is one that has been taken care of, maintained through Time and given what is now the artistic generous touch of Gary Tanin.

Whilst originally released in the 1970s, the sound across songs such as Motorhead, Can You Believe Me, Then We Were Happy, I Love Her So Much and I’ll Still Be Here commands attention, a delight to the listener’s ear as the bold and intrepid pulse strikes home with wonder and a sense of the fearless. Some will presume the album delights in this approach because of unfussiness, but it would be more accurate to suggest that humility of the soul, of enjoyment first time round and the pleasure of rediscovery plays a larger, and dramatic part in the story

Time’s fissure is relentless, but it is also a presence that displays loyalty to those who dedicate their lives to keeping memories alive, who see the misery in the faded, yellowing pictures of youth and who wish to keep the sense of precious unhindered by the punishing movement of Time’s other hand.

A sensational piece of art restored and given its rightful place in the glow of modern times.

Ian D. Hall