Well, in my book [read it], this is a very enjoyable listen. While some of the covers are... well... like a bar band doing half-assed covers of songs that they just happen to like, there are other parts of this show that simply astound me. For instance, the Slave presented here is basically fully formed! I'm really surprised that such an immature band could already take on a heady song like that. The Makisupa is basically just a fun reggae jam, of course I suppose that it still is. And hearing them doing Spanish Flea is simply priceless... oh shades of The Dating Game!

The intros are a thing of wonder as well... "We call him the wolfman. Wolfman Mike Gordon on bass" [and 2 people clap]. What a fucking hoot!

Cities, as presented here, is definitely faster tempo than the way that they would end up covering it. Somewhere between the original T Heads tempo and their later slowed down groove. It is very listenable and perhaps the biggest pointer to the funk based grooving that would define this band. I also loved the nod to Deadheads in they lyric change.

Fluffhead is another song that is remarkably well formed in this early incarnation. Much of Trey's written part is already worked out and the zen of the song is right. The vocals on the other hand... well, I'll be kind seeing as that this is a family thing. But I'm certainly glad that Trey decided to take on this vocal himself.

All told, this one is a must [in my opinion]. It really helps in understanding the roots of my favorite band. Nice!