Raw and Rare, a collection of live BBC recordings from 2001 and 2002 -- plus a couple recorded at Detroit's own Lager House for good measure -- finds
the Von Bondies in their element. The group's ferocious attack is captured just as well, if not better, than on their debut album,
Lack of Communication; there's an added snap and electricity to these performances that remind one what all the fuss surrounding Detroit's garage rock scene was about in the first place. Nearly all of
Lack of Communication and the band's early singles are reprised here, including particularly stellar versions of "Lack of Communication" itself, a swaggering, menacing "Sound of Terror," an explosive version of "Please Please Man," and a slow-burning rendition of "My Baby's Cryin'," sung by Marcie Bolen. There are two versions of both "Cryin'" and "It Came from Japan," which might be a little excessive, but at least they're all equally good performances and they don't take away from the album's flow. However, there's still room for more than competent covers of
the Compulsive Gamblers' "R & R Nurse" and
the Sorrows' "Take a Heart" as well as frenetic takes on their own "Vacant as a Ghost" and "Unknown," one of the appropriately scuzzy, fuzzy tracks recorded at the Lager House.
Raw and Rare is an especially interesting document, considering that it came out not long before their second proper album, Pawn Shoppe Heart, produced by
Jerry Harrison; while it's doubtful that their future output will be anything approaching slick, this album is a welcome reminder of
the Von Bondies' rawest roots. ~ Heather Phares