at a glance...

Hometown: Boise, ID
Formed: circa 1992

Personnel:
Doug Martsch -vocals, guitars
Brett Nelson -bass, guitar
Scott Plouf -drums
Jim Roth -guitar
Sam Coomes -keyboards

Bands In The Family:
Farm Days, The Treepeople, Quasi, Caustic Resin, The Halo Benders, The Spinanes

Notes:
Built To Spill is many things to many people, but to Doug Martsch, BTS's founder and songwriter, BTS is the lasting endeavor of many years of band swapping and indie notoriety. Doug started out in Farm Days in Boise and later collaborated with other local heroes to form the infamous Treepeople. Treepeople enjoyed its own brand of success but eventually dissolved, but in 1993 Doug and his new incarnation, Built To Spill, made their debut with Ultimate Alternative Wavers. Quickly developing a devoted following BTS put out their now legendary second album There's Nothing Wrong With Love. And in 1997, once again changing their lineup, BTS put out their highly acclaimed third album and first major label release, Perfect From Now On. Keep It Like A Secret is their second release for Warner Bros. Live, culled from three '99 performances, is their latest release.

Links:
Interview with Doug Martsch
Built To Spill Mothership
Built To Spill Photo Gallery
We Love Built To Spill

The first time I heard a live Grateful Dead recording, I thought - what's the deal with Jerry's scratchy voice, why would anyone prefer this to the pristine Workingman's Dead? Then I saw a show. Suddenly, the crisp and tailored studio versions seemed downright inadequate, unjust and, dare I say, lame.

The best live albums are bold statements of confidence, and Built To Spill are excellent performers. You exit their shows in a cloud wishing that all your friends had been motivated to attend, because like anything else, you really did "have to be there" to fully comprehend the band's otherworldly sound. Live is an invitation to glimpse from a distance the swirling pulse of excitement and complexity that is Built To Spill live.

Observing neither limits nor laws, Live opens with "The Plan," just like everybody's favorite release of 1999, Keep it Like A Secret. The urgent guitar is weaving a sticky spider web that keeps getting more intricate and elaborate. If you're not a hardcore Neil Young fan, you may not notice immediately that "Cortez the Killer" is being sung by Doug Martsch, or that the band behind him is not Crazy Horse. For some, Neil's Live Rust version of "Cortez" is sacrosanct, but Built To Spill unabashedly pull off a soaring cover. Perfect From Now On's "Randy Described Eternity" and "I Would Hurt A Fly" build on the fantasy, mayhem, and darkness of both tracks. Lacking any superfluous moments, the brave 19-minute "Broken Chairs" borders on psychedelia; around 11:30 into the song they slip across into hard, distorted, and spacey feedback and never return.

Can a live CD truly capture the essence of "the moment?" Sometimes it depends on the timing of that moment. Today I may pop in a studio Dead album, and once again it's cool to hear how they felt the songs should sound when they had all the time necessary to wax and polish. Some folks have problems with Doug Martsch's voice, and Live will not make them converts, but this colossal, jam-packed album proves the band from Idaho can play dignified arena rock. Will this become a staple in your record collection? Depends how much you enjoyed the show.