Available at Amazon Japan --- NOTE:  Online stores have been displaying this artwork, instead of the cover scan above. It is not the cover, but rather the front page of a promotional flyer that is handed out with copies of the CD in Tokyo record shops.	Boris and Michio Kurihara - Smile Live This is the third time this year Boris has put out versions of the material from "Smile," and the story leading up to this release bears retelling. First, there was the Japanese version of "Smile," for which Boris gave their You Ishihara produced studio tapes to mixer Souichiro Nakamura, letting him do as he wished. Next came the American version, which was mixed by Boris drummer Atsuo. The two albums were, to put it mildly, quite different, from the totally different track sequences to the cover art (Japanese art here, American here. Nakamura turned the tracks inside out, creating a thoroughly different musical landscape, whereas Atsuo's take emphasized the sonic carnage that has been Boris' calling card for years. The yin/yang approach is a nifty idea, and in a deeper sense, it plays into Boris's ongoing theme of duality: they've arguably been two different projects, one rock (using the name BORIS,) one experimental, (under the non-all capital Boris.) This two-fer approach has popped up in other ways as well, such as "Dronevil," which had two discs made to be played both separately and simultaneously, thus creating two different albums. The split personality of "Smile," however, had some consequences. The far more experimental Japanese version leaked on the internet long before anyone got their hands on the other one, and confusion reigned. Even Pitchfork, after explaining the dual nature of the project, focused overwhelmingly on the Japanese version, all but ignoring the version of the record that its audience could actually go out and physically purchase. Boris themselves (jokingly?) called it their "uncool," "sell out" album. In all the hubub, nobody seemed sure what "Smile" actually WAS, talking less about the music and more about the stories around it. So now there's a third iteration, the live two disc "Smile" (commonly referred to as "Live Smile," although the word "live" appears nowhere on the artwork.) At first, it seems ill advised, not just because of "Smile" overkill, but because the excellent live album "Rock Dreams" came out just last year. But after the confusion, the stripped down kick of "Live Smile" doesn't feel like part three so much as a demand for reappraisal, possibly to clear the air as to what these songs are actually made of. Recorded at a show in Wolf Creek, California, slightly more than one month before its release date, "Live Smile's" track listing duplicates the American running order, adding "Pink," "Rainbow," and "Floor Shaker." These additions, as well as the obvious elevation of playing live, tilt the balance heavily towards the rock end of the material, making a much more straightforward case than the previous two. What was, in Nakamura's hands, a murky, psychedelic adventure becomes a direct kick in the pants, often surpassing anything on either studio version. The two part, 40 minute (!) version of "You Were Holding An Umbrella" alone is transformed from a droney, pleasingly tripped out album closer to an epic, howling typhoon, pushing more noise and warped psych on one hand, and emphasizing the track's prog leanings on the other. The beginning of part two borders on King Crimson territory, a lost, sinister drift with the kind of deep expansiveness that makes Pink Floyd's early 70s output so popular in planetariums. That is, until collapsing brutal Hell rains down from above, returning us to the sort of sonic doom that first earned the band its reputation. It takes off, and it takes off big, annihilating it's brief interlude of bliss with a full steam ahead thrash workout, only to return to the trippiness minutes later. Not only does this final track take up nearly half of "Live Smile's" 90 minute running time, it encapsulates everything Boris had stood for, pre "Smile." The dreamy and the punishing play off each other, resulting in not schizophrenia so much as codependence, uniting the two sides without reconciling them. One thing that is reconciled is the electronics: "Smile" introduced a level of electronic manipulation that was perhaps Boris' most explicit attempt to expand their sonic arsenal to date. Nakamura's mix in turn put a strong emphasis on the unusual and disorienting aspects of the album, most obviously on "My Neighbor Satan," making it jump out not just from the speakers, but from the band's catalog: THIS was Boris??! The version here pares back those playful tricksterisms, causing the dial tone synths to subtly alter the overall sound, not define it. The opening spacey trills of "Statement" become less industrial and more Krautrock, vanishing almost completely once the kickass kicks in. If "Smile Live" was indeed brought into being to act as an anchor to its twin studio counterparts, it succeeds admirably. It doesn't sit between the two extremes of those releases so much as fuse them together, inhabiting an exhilarating center to balance Nakamura's expansiveness and Atsuo's brute force. Also, as a piece, the work benefits from the addition of "Rainbow" to the middle of the running order, the track's sinister coolness offering a welcome breather from the otherwise intense heat of the proceedings. Wata's slinky, aloof vocal rides a cushion of gentle psych, and guest guitarist Michio Kurihara's buzzing, severe solo is even more piercing here than in the track's studio version. Rather than shattering the ethereal mood, it elevates it, turning bliss into a sparking focus. It shouldn't work, but it does, beautifully. The only question that remains is where Boris will go next. As varied, envelope pushing, and multi faceted as the pieces that constitute the "Smile" universe are, they don't necessarily point to the next step. There's also the question of "Mellow Peak," the collaboration with Merzbow to be released next month. Will it be like their previous work together? Boris have cast a wide net, but the specter of repeating themselves seems more and more likely with every new release. "Smile Live" is excellent, and may go a long way towards hushing the nay sayers from earlier this year, but it leaves the future as one big question mark.
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