Product Review

Double vinyl LP pressing of this expanded edition of the 1980 album from the Avant Garde artist. LESSON NO. 1 unveiled Brancas visionary guitar concepts with two monstrous, side-long compositions that helped forge NYC's downtown Art-Punk sound and acted as a massive influence on countless young groups, including Sonic Youth and Swans. Soon after the release of LESSON NO. 1, Branca began to work on ambitious, long-form symphonies. 'Bad Smells,' included here as a single-sided bonus 12-inch, was commissioned in 1982 as a dance piece for choreographer Twyla Tharp and originally released on a split LP with John Giorno. Featuring Sonic Youth guitarists Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore, 'Bad Smells' is a thrilling multi-section guitar assault that foretells much of Branca, Ranaldo and Moore's work for the next decade.