''A Lazarus Taxon'' is a box set by Chicago post-rock group

Tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a turtle shell, shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, ...

, released in 2006 on

Thrill Jockey Thrill Jockey is an American independent record label established by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards and based in Chicago. History Richards started the label in 1992 with $35,000 of family and personal capital, while ...

Release

The set contains three CDs, one DVD and an accompanying 20-page booklet. The CDs contain 33 tracks of hard-to-find material from tour, compilation and non-American releases. The band's out of print 1995 album '' Rhythms, Resolutions & Clusters'', compiled of remixes by friends of the band including

Steve Albini Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal en ...

, Rick Brown, Jim O'Rourke and

Brad Wood Brad Wood is an American record producer located in Los Angeles. He has produced many albums, including Liz Phair's ''Exile in Guyville'' and Placebo's debut. Career Wood is from Rockford, Illinois, United States. In 1988, Wood, along with ...

features as well. Also in the set is other previously unreleased material including a restored remix by the

Minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...

Mike Watt Michael David Watt (born December 20, 1957) is an American bassist, vocalist and songwriter. Watt co-founded and played bass guitar for the rock bands Minutemen (1980–1985), Dos (1985–present), and Firehose (1986–1994). He began a solo ...

that was delivered too late for inclusion on ''Rhythms...'' and subsequently fell victim to a malfunctioning DAT machine. Tortoise bassist Bundy K Brown himself restored the tape, twelve years after it was recorded. The DVD contains most of the band's music videos as well as over two hours of "extensive and rare" live performance footage. The set was compiled by the band themselves.">PopMatters Music Interview , A Lazarus Taxon: the Definition of "Tortoise" Continues to Change Before Our Eyes
/ref> The set's title is derived from the palaeontological term "

lazarus taxon In paleontology, a Lazarus taxon (plural ''taxa'') is a taxon that disappears for one or more periods from the fossil record, only to appear again later. Likewise in conservation biology and ecology, it can refer to species or populations tha ...

", meaning a taxon (or grouping of organisms) that disappears from the fossil record only to reappear again at a later point, which in turn refers back to the resurrection of Lazarus by Jesus in the New Testament.

Track listing

All tracks written by Tortoise except where noted.

Disc 1 (CD)

#"Gamera" – 11:53 #"The Source of Uncertainty" – 3:42 #"Blackbird" – 5:01 #"Sexual for Elizabeth" ( Shingo Annen/Dan Bitney/John Herndon/ Patrick Johnson/ Jon Marshall/Doug McCombs/

John McEntire John McEntire (born April 9, 1970 in Portland, Oregon) is an American recording engineer, producer, drummer and multi-instrumentalist, based in Chicago, Illinois. He is a member of both Tortoise and the Sea and Cake. McEntire started playing dr ...

/ Jeff Parker) – 4:49 #*Tortoise remix of "Sexual for Elizabeth" by

Five Deez Five Deez is an American hip hop group from Cincinnati, Ohio and a part of the Wanna Battle collective, which also includes DJ Hi-Tek, Talib Kweli, Rubix, and Lone Catalysts. The group consists of members: Fat Jon the Ample Soul Physician ( ...

#"To Day Retrieval" – 3:58 #*

Autechre Autechre () is an English electronic music duo consisting of Rob Brown and Sean Booth, both from Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1987, they are among the best known acts signed to UK electronic label Warp Records, through which all of Au ...

remix of "Ten-Day Interval" #"Whitewater" (

) – 5:07 #"Didjeridoo" (

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

) – 4:33 #*Tortoise cover version of a

piece #"Autumn Sweater" (

Georgia Hubley Georgia Hubley is an American percussionist, vocalist, and visual artist. She is one of the two founding members of the indie rock band Yo La Tengo, and is married to the group's other founding member, guitarist/vocalist Ira Kaplan, with whom ...

Ira Kaplan Ira Kaplan (born January 7, 1957) is a co-founder, vocalist, guitarist and songwriter in the American indie rock band Yo La Tengo. He is married to the band's co-founder Georgia Hubley. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, Kaplan formed Yo La Te ...

James McNew James McNew is an American musician. He has been the bass player for the rock band Yo La Tengo since their 1992 album, ''May I Sing with Me''. He was previously a member of the band Christmas, being featured on their third album ''Vortex''. He ...

) – 7:07 #*Tortoise cover version of a

Yo La Tengo Yo La Tengo (YLT; Spanish for "I have her") is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley (drums, piano, vocals), and James McNew ...

song #"Wait" (Jeff Parker) – 4:27 #"A Grape Dope" – 4:12 #"Restless Waters" – 3:41 #"Vaus" – 5:01 #"Blue Station" (Doug McCombs/Curtis Roads) – 5:34

Disc 2 (CD)

#"Madison Area" – 3:27 #"TNT" – 10:03 #*

Nobukazu Takemura Nobukazu Takemura (竹村延和 ''Takemura Nobukazu'') is a Japanese musician and artist. Born in Hirakata, Osaka in August 1968, he became interested in music at a young age by listening to the radio, and began to make music at home with a tap ...

remix #"Why We Fight" – 4:23 #"Elmerson, Lincoln, and Palmieri" – 2:39 #"Peering" – 5:11 #"Goriri" – 6:40 #"As You Said" (

Ian Curtis Ian Kevin Curtis (15 July 1956 – 18 May 1980) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He was best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and lyricist of the post-punk band Joy Division, with whom he released the albums ''Unknown P ...

Bernard Sumner Bernard Sumner (born 4 January 1956) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is a founding member of the bands Joy Division, New Order, and Electronic. Sumner was an early force in several areas, including the post ...

Peter Hook Peter Hook (born Woodhead; 13 February 1956) is an English musician, best known as the bassist and co-founder of the rock bands Joy Division and New Order. Hook often used the bass as a lead instrument, playing melodies on the high strings wi ...

/ Steve Morris) – 4:21 #* Tortoise cover version of a

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after attend ...

song #"CTA" – 5:07 #"Deltitnu" – 5:50 #"Adverse Camber" – 6:00 #*A different

remix of "Ten-Day Interval" #"Cliff Dweller Society" (Dan Bitney/ Bundy K. Brown/Dan Fliegel/

John Herndon John Herndon is an American musician and artist. Based in Chicago, he plays drums and percussion, and works as a producer for instrumental hip hop under the name A Grape Dope. Career John Herndon is a member of the bands Tortoise and Isotope 217, ...

Doug McCombs Douglas McCombs is an American musician who plays bass and guitar with the instrumental rock band Tortoise and leads the instrumental band Brokeback. He is also the longtime bassist for the rock band Eleventh Dream Day. In 1997, he formed Pullma ...

) – 15:23 #"Waihopai" – 4:13

Disc 3 (CD)

Tracks 1-7 previously issued as '' Rhythms, Resolutions & Clusters'' (1995). #"Alcohall" – 4:03 #*

remix of "On Noble" #"Your New Rod" – 4:18 #*Rick Brown remix of "Flyrod" #"Cobwebbed" – 4:38 #*Casey Rice remix of "Spiderwebbed" #"The Match Incident" – 5:31 #*

remix of "Ry Cooder" #"Tin Can Puerto Rican Remix" – 4:24 #*

remix of "Tin Cans and Twine" #"Not Quite East of the Ryan" – 5:08 #* Bundy K. Brown remix of "Spiderwebbed" plus elements from other tracks #"Initial Gesture Protraction" – 4:47 #* Jim O'Rourke remix of "His Second Story Island" #"Cornpone Brunch Watt Remix" – 4:18 #*

remix of "Cornpone Brunch" featuring extra bass guitars by Mike Watt and Kira Roeseler #"Jetty_99" – 5:48 #*iTunes bonus track

Disc 4 (DVD)

#"Salt the Skies" (video) #"Dear Grandma and Grandpa" (video) #"Glass Museum" (video) #"Seneca" (video) #"Four Day Interval" (video) #"The Suspension Bridge at Iguazú Falls" (video) #"Monica" (video) #*Live at Primavera Sound, 2005 #"Gamera"/"Glass Museum"/"Reservoir"/"

Djed The ''djed,'' also ''djt'' ( egy, ḏd 𓊽, Coptic ''jōt'' "pillar", anglicized /dʒɛd/) is one of the more ancient and commonly found symbols in ancient Egyptian religion. It is a pillar-like symbol in Egyptian hieroglyphs representing sta ...

"/"The Equator"/"Vaus"/"Cornpone Brunch" #*Live in Toronto, 1996 #"Ten Day Interval"/"Othello" #*Live at Deutsches Jazz Festival, 1999 #"Seneca" #*Live on "

Chic-a-Go-Go ''Chic-a-Go-Go'' is a public-access television cable TV, cable television children's dance show that airs on Chicago Access Network Television (CAN-TV). The show bills itself as "Chicago's Dance Show for Kids of All Ages". Show description The ...

", 2005 #"Salt the Skies" #*Live for "Burn to Shine", 2004

Personnel

Performance

*Dan Bitney * Bundy K. Brown *John Herndon *

David Pajo David Pajo (born June 25, 1968) is an American alternative rock musician. He has played a wide variety of music, loosely fitting into several other genres such as hardcore punk, math rock, post-rock, electronica, folk rock and indie pop. Though ...

– guitar * Jeff Parker *

Kira Roessler Kira Roessler (born June 12, 1961) is an American musician and two-time Emmy Award-winning dialogue editor. She is best known as the bassist for the influential hardcore punk band Black Flag from 1983 to 1985. Since the mid-1980s, she has been ...

– bass guitar *

Shing02 , better known by his stage name Shing02, is a Japanese hip hop recording artist, record producer, activist and investor who was described by Patrick Neate as one of the Japanese emcees who "has addressed important issues from Japanese ethnicity ...

– rapping

Production

– production * Sean Booth – remixing *Rick Brown – remixing * Rob Brown – remixing *

Brendan Canty Brendan John Canty (born March 9, 1966, in Teaneck, New Jersey) is an American musician, composer, producer and film maker, best known as the drummer for the band Fugazi. In 2007, ''Stylus Magazine'' ranked Canty at #29 on the list of "50 Gre ...

– remixing *Dan Fliegel – composer *Lenny Golzalez – photography *Baldomero Gordillo – liner notes *Christopher Green – direction *

– composer *

Fat Jon Jon Marshall (born September 8, 1975), better known by his stage name Fat Jon the Ample Soul Physician, is an American hip hop producer and rapper from Cincinnati, Ohio. He is a member of the American hip-hop group Five Deez. He is also one ha ...

– composer, lyrics *

– composer *

Alan Licht Alan Licht (born June 6, 1968) is an American guitarist and composer, whose work combines elements of pop, noise, free jazz and minimalism. He is also a writer and journalist. Biography Licht was born in New Jersey in 1968. His earliest mus ...

– liner notes *

– composer *

Arnold Odermatt Arnold Odermatt (25 May 1925 − 19 June 2021) was a Swiss police photographer whose work spanned more than 40 years. Originally trained as a baker, he was a photographer for the Nidwalden cantonal police from 1948 until his retirement in 1990. ...

– cover art, photography, sleeve photo * Jim O'Rourke – remixing * Pace Rock – composer, lyrics *Andrew Paynter – photography *Marty Perez – photography *Casey Rice – remixing *Sheila Sachs – design *

– remixing *Saverio Truglia – photography *

– remixing *Julian Weber – liner notes *

– remixing

Charts

References

External links

*
''A Lazarus Taxon''
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lazarus Taxon, A 2006 compilation albums 2006 live albums 2006 video albums Tortoise (band) albums Thrill Jockey compilation albums Thrill Jockey video albums Music video compilation albums Live video albums