The Chameleons - Dali's Picture / Auffuhrung in Berlin (Live) (2022)

One of the many posthumous released overseen by now-defunct Imaginary Records, Dali's has to be the most frustrating in that there's no real clue what the tracks' exact origins are; certainly nothing is said anywhere on the album packaging regarding it. The best assumption to make is that they're demos for the debut album Script of the Bridge, though the presence of very early tracks like "The Fan and the Bellows" and "Things I Wish I'd Said" tends to suggest an earlier recording date even than that. As examples of how what turned into keyboard lines or studio shadings on album were originally played live, charmingly rough takes on classic numbers like "Second Skin" - here called "Dreams in Celluloid," much faster paced, with noticeably different lyrics and ending than the final studio version offer much to the interested listener. Obscure tunes like "Everyday I'm Crucified" and "Love Is" appear here, as does a totally otherwise unavailable song, the title track itself, a fast-paced, soaring number. As a marketing move to motivate purchases, the inclusion of "Dali's Picture" stinks, but as yet another of the many examples as to how wonderful the Chameleons were even with their throwaways, the song itself is yet another reminder of their underrated talents. © Ned Raggett /TiVo