David Lewis

"1/2 Alive" was only available as a cassette for many years and doubtless one of the swiftest selling titles in the ROIR catalog; I prefer the album, for whatever reason. It consists of home studio demos and live recordings and the sound quality is below par in comparison with Suicide's studio recordings, but they didn't make very many of those and this provides a broader perspective on their work as a whole. The sometimes distant, sometimes coarse and gritty sound quality actually adds some underground cachét for some listeners, including myself, though some may not be able to tolerate it. But the music is intense, engaging; sometimes frightening -- in "All Night Long," Alan Vega takes a simple phrase that could belong to an innocuous '50s hit and spins it into a night of terror. The album also provides alternate views of pieces later made into studio recordings, such as "Dream" (later "Dream Baby Dream") and "Chezazze" (later "Shadazz"). Suicide was an essential component within punk/performance art/Velvet Underground legacy etc and "1/2 Alive" is a great way to move forward with Rev and Vega beyond the limited studio output..