Begun as a collection of live recordings cut in Chicago and Portugal, the songs that comprise
It's Beginning to and Back Again were subsequently reconstructed in the studio to the point of becoming virtually unrecognizable. The material largely reprises tracks from
A Bell Is a Cup... along with a number of new cuts, highlighted by the single "Eardrum Buzz"; while the record is respectable on its own terms, it's impossible to discern its relevance -- neither a true live album nor a remix collection, its original intentions remain lost in the translation. ~ Jason Ankeny