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Recording Review: 'Saturday Night Live: The Musical Performances, Vols. 1 and 2'
Friday, September 24, 1999 By Scott Mervis, Weekend Editor, Post-Gazette
Even when "Saturday Night Live" was at its worst -- like when Joe Piscopo was the best they could do -- you could always look forward to that time right around midnight when they brought out the musical guest.
From classic singer-songwriters to new wavers to rappers, "SNL" has been a prime forum for showcasing or breaking a musical act. Certainly, it was the most fun in the early days, before MTV, when it was the only game in town.
For instance, anyone who tuned in on Feb. 10, 1979 will remember the bizarre appearance by a stark and little-known New York band called Talking Heads. Less than a year later, it looked like Martians had landed when The B-52s took the stage with "Rock Lobster."
Unfortunately, neither of them turn up on these two volumes, for one reason or another. But that's to be expected when the nearly 1,000 musical performances from the show's history are condensed down to 30.
The most historic among the batch appears toward the end of Vol. 1, when Elvis Costello, the first of the punk rockers and a last-minute replacement for the Sex Pistols, appeared on Dec. 17, 1977. Midway through the first verse of "Less Than Zero," the song the record company wanted him to play, Elvis stopped and declared "I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen, there's no reason to do this song here" and ripped into a spitting version of "Radio Radio," a bold statement in the transitional period of '77.
Though everything on these two CDs is rock solid, nothing else rises to that level of an "event." No matter how ragged Nirvana's version of the earth-shattering "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was in January 1992, it would have been more significant than the version of "Rape Me" included here from a year and half later. Likewise, if you're a Paul Simon fan, you'd probably rather hear his duet with either George Harrison or Willie Nelson than "Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes" played to perfection.
So, those hoping for a novelty package will be disappointed. Also, because "SNL" is a forum for artists to debut their new singles, almost all of these songs are played faithfully to their original versions.
But the mission here was to show the diversity, while keeping it accessible (Frank Zappa and Ornette Coleman need not apply). For the most part, the boomer artists are ganged on Vol. 1 and the younger generation on Vol. 2. You get James Taylor doing "Secret O' Life," the Grateful Dead's "Casey Jones," David Bowie's amazing "Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)," Hole's "Doll Parts," Dr. Dre's "Been There Done That," Mary J. Blige's "Reminisce" and everything in between.
The good news is that there are more volumes to come -- and they promise to capture some of the show's more esoteric moments.
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