The Smoking Popes have released a live album of their breakthrough album, Born to Quit. Recorded in front of a small audience at Bombsight Recording Studio, the Caterer brothers and Mike Fulemee celebrate thirty years of their breakthrough album, and the results are spectacular.
From the first lines of “Midnight Moon,” it’s clear that Josh Caterer’s voice still holds up after all these years, which shouldn’t be a shock if you’ve followed his career. The Smoking Popes have done their best to emulate the original sound and tone of the instruments on the album. There’s almost a Beatles or Smithereens feel on the guitar parts. I have never played in a band with my family, but it seems that bands with siblings who are in sync with their influences seem to meld in a different way than the friends you meet and play music with. The humorous lyrics of “Rubella,” intersecting symptoms of an infection and the feeling of falling in love with someone, still work. The impatient “Gotta Know Right Now” has its third verse sung by Deeana Belos of Sincere Engineer, giving it a bit of underlying humor over a verse some could find problematic all these years later. This is an album about young, stupid love, which is why it connects so well. Nothing shows this better than the song “Mrs. You and Me.” Those strong feelings of thinking you’ve met the one you want to spend the rest of your life with. “Just Broke Up” tears down those reasons pretty fast, citing a clingy girlfriend. However, when its last line in the first verse declares, “I have no regrets at all,” it definitely means there are plenty.
“My Lucky Day” laments those optimistic feelings that help brighten your day when you’ve fallen in love. While fan favorite “Need You Around” extends the sentiment by confessing these feelings. Like most people, this was my gateway into the Smoking Popes, and the song has aged like wine. It’s still the sappy but sweet confession it was meant to be thirty years later. “Can’t Help the Teardrops (From Getting Cried)” is an about-face from “My Lucky Day.” Is this the consequence of making the confession in “Need You Around”? The record closes out with “Adena” and “On the Shoulder,” the latter being the longest track on the album. If you’ve heard the Smoking Popes’ next album, Destination Failure, it transitions greatly into its opening track.
For those revisiting the album since its release, this live session is an amazing way to document it. The original cover shows an out-of-shape man from the neck down holding a pose to show off his “muscles,” but the Live Session album shows an in-shape fighter with tape on his hands. The image is fitting. The recordings do not deviate too much from their originals, but these songs sound great. The only thing that sounds awkward is the two seconds of crowd applause that gets cut off, which makes me believe they did multiple takes of songs rather than play it all the way through. There’s no commentary on the song about to be played or banter between the band. It’s an interesting choice, but ultimately doesn’t affect the songs too much. I’ve always said that the Violent Femmes’ first record should be issued to teenagers as a way to navigate what it’s like being that age. Born to Quit should be required listening on the same level. The album is out now on Anxious and Angry Records.
