Of course, almost silmultaneously to this idea I hit snags. How often is too often? Is it the same for each record? And isn't wilfully depriving oneself of listening joy a little, you know, stupid?
Well, yes it is. However, during the Chap's gig at Cargo in East London, I realised that I hadn't listened to Ham in such a long time. When they played 'Now Woel' in their encore I was instantly transported back to the time when I first heard the record, when I bought it for the simple reason that the cover featured a tiger wearing a pink mask (see it here). It was quite overwhelming, in part due to the fact that I'd not listened to it in a few years.
Of course, what happened next was I went home and listened to my old Chap records. Sod the diminishing returns I may have to endure due to repeated listening. Anyway, you can't second guess how you might feel about a record in coming years. For example, two records I played far too much in my adolescence are K by Kula Shaker and OK Computer by Radiohead. The former, when I played it for the first time in about a decade the other day, made me feel quite odd. And not in a good way. In an embarrassed way. But when I did the same with the latter it reminded me of the very first listen in my parents' living room on the day it came out. And it felt good.
Perhaps if I could clone me another me I could experiment on how different listening habits affect my experience of that music. As that's not currently possible, I think it best not to dwell on such a silly thought.
Anyway, the Chap. An album launch for Well Done Europe. I'm listening to that record for the first time right now, learning that they bracketed last night's set with new songs.
'We'll See To Your Breakdown' is what one might expect from the Chap - start-stop drums, stabs of cello and violin, female and male vocals combining beautifully for the chorus: "You will never have a job..." Last song was 'Maroccan Nights' (is that a misspelling or an alternate spelling?), an all-too-short song full of brightness and Adam Ant Drums.
In between these two was a mixture of new, old and very old, the majority of the set being made up of 2008's Mega Breakfast, a highlight being 'Fun and Interesting'.
What strikes me now about the set and how it compares to recordings is how different they are from one another. Live and on record they share some qualities - the humour, the wonderful song structure, the indescribable guitar and bass licks. But there are significant differences. On record, on all the recordings I have heard, the music is almost clinical. The sounds are very precise and clean. But on stage, The Chap are almost unhinged. Without losing too much of the tightness they have on record, the band exude real fun that they don't in the studio. Once could watch the drummer's face with the sound down and still be entertained for the duration. The dance routines. the DANCE ROUTINES.
When one hears the recordings one can be forgiven for thinking that they were recorded with each of the members keeping one eyebrow firmly raised. It is only when one sees them live that it clear that both eyebrows are raised and they are screaching 'CLUBBING' as loud as they can.
I'm going to listen to the new record a bit more before making my mind up, but it is already apparent that it is very different from hearing those songs live (as it is with the other albums).
In the meantime, I look forward to seeing them in England again. The Chap are now a firm favourite of mine. Keep up to date with them here: http://www.thechap.org/
If you're not familiar with the Chap, I recommend you start with Ham. If ever an album can be judged by its cover, it is this one.
