Baby Animals
Il Grande Silenzio
Liberation Blue Acoustic Series


1991 dear reader, was a year for rock. Consider; the 'Gunners released the slightly pompous double 'Use Your Illusion'; The Black Crowes, 'Shake Your Moneymaker'; Nirvana, the generation turning 'Nevermind' and the Baby Animals eponymously titled debut. It included Rush You, Early Warning, Painless, Working For The Enemy and One Word - not bad considering the debut was 10 tracks. The 11 track 'Il Grande Silenzio', produced by ex Noiseworks Justin Stanley, sees not only the above five tracks given a major reworking, but also 2 off DeMarchi's solo effort and two new band tracks, with the balance made up from the band's last album 14 years ago.

The new tracks Stitch and U Still Need Me contain enough riffs to trace a line back to 1991 while DeMarchi's solo tracks, Submarine and Satellite could well have been outtakes from the debut album, as they contain that atypical Baby Animals phrasing and structure.

However it is the five debut album tracks that contain the greatest interest. As an avid collector of the Lib Blue Acoustic Series, I've become accustomed to hearing different treatments of well known songs, some remaining true to the original, others receiving a few tweaks around the edges here and there. But nothing prepares you for the new dynamics Stanley has got out of the Baby Animals' early material.

One Word opens the proceedings, and sees DeMarchi's voice being the prime instrument, the harmonica and dobro replacing the full on turn to 11 rock of the original Mike Chapman production. The opening bars of Early Warning (sounding eerily like Working For The Enemy, which with its owls, tumbleweed wind fx and violins goes all country!) is weirdly ethereal in its structure, while Rush You could easily have been a Black Crowes track, the southern rock guitar, percussion and backing vocals suggesting a great time was had by all. By far the highlight and the track given the most amazing transformation is Painless, with tabla percussion and Indian drone guitar creating a whole new aural soundscape, and wait till you get to the chorus and bridge. Amazing stuff!

Was I impressed with this release? Absolutely! Has it been on constant play? You bet! Will I be attending their upcoming reformation shows during January 2008? No as they are only playing Perth, Melbourne and Sydney. However, for the time being 'Il Grande Silenzio' is keeping me more than satisfied.

Mark Liebelt