Severe Tire Damage (album)
| Severe Tire Damage | ||||
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| Live album by They Might Be Giants | ||||
| Released | August 11, 1998 | |||
| Recorded | 1994–1998 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Label |
Restless (U.S.) Cooking Vinyl (U.K.) |
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| They Might Be Giants chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |
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| Robert Christgau | B+ |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |
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Severe Tire Damage is a primarily live album by They Might Be Giants, released in 1998. It also features a few studio tracks, including a new single ("Doctor Worm").
The live cuts, some recorded at soundchecks without any audience, feature at least one track from every album since their debut, which include a few old fan favorites that have been reworked since the duo adopted a full backing band. Songs like "She's an Angel", from their debut, They Might Be Giants and "Birdhouse in Your Soul", from their major label debut, Flood, are treated to multiple guitars and a horn section. Conversely, the song "Meet James Ensor" originally appeared on their first full band effort, John Henry (1994) and surfaces here in a bare-bones rendition, with only vocals and an accordion.
Besides the aforementioned lack of an audience on several tracks, some tracks have also undergone studio "retooling" - most notably, "Ana Ng," which appeared in its untampered form (with an uncropped intro and without a heavily distorted voice saying, "I don't want the world...") on the 1994 promo-only release "Live!! New York City." In truth, this 'live album' is not particularly representative of a live TMBG show, failing to show the on-stage improvisation, humor, and audience participation that are characteristic of a They Might Be Giants concert.
A condensed version of this album was released as Live, which featured 10 of the 24 tracks listed here.
All songs by They Might Be Giants unless otherwise noted. Tracks 18 - 24 are hidden tracks.
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Wikipedia