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Brian Eno-THE BBC SESSIONS 1974-1976 CD (Il Cane Lento, Giacomo Leopardi, 26, 95127 Catania, Italy)

It may seem strange that I would be reviewing this "grey area" Italian bootleg in the middle of the week especially whilst in the midst of my weekend run of "classic" boot reviews, but considering that this particular job just might be semi-kosher if you pick it up on the streets of ol' Wopadagoland I felt that breaking my very own rule especially this once would be hokay. Besides, I had nuttin' else to write about other than some old moldies hanging around so why not? Eno actually cooks hot mid-seventies Velvet worship on the Winkies tracks which do have a nice primal pounce to 'em that really does come close to '75-vintage Television (check out his cover of "Fever" which reminds me of the Outsets' take and even tops the McCoys!). However, the 801 numbers even with Phil Manzanara trying to make it all sound like the old Roxy Music with Eno at the helm, still have that late-seventies sterile English art rock approach to 'em that might bring back less-exciting import bin memories but won't give you cause to heave. As a special bonus, the bootleggers actually stuck on a couple single-only sides that are hard to find on legit CD even to this day, mainly the slightly-satisfying version of "Wimoweh" as well as Eno's scabrous punk-scronker "Seven Deadly Finns" which is probably better known for Craig Bell's review in CREEM's "Rock-A-Rama" column than for the record itself!