Pigface

In what would become a regular Pigface tradition, the band's studio debut was then followed up by a live album some months later -- an understandable approach, seeing as often the studio-takes were regularly transmogrified live due to shifting lineups and new arrangements. The core version of the band this time around remains for many the best, with Martin Atkins heading up a coalition including Ogre, Chris Connelly, Paul Raven, and Bill Rieflin, while the various guests on the tour ranged from Black Francis and Silverfish, to David Yow and En Esch, among numerous others. Collated from seven dates on the tour, and edited into one overall effort, Welcome to Mexico actually ends up being a bit stronger than Gub was -- while some of the performances from that album are missed, like Trent Reznor's vocal on "Suck" (Ogre does the honors here), it's more interesting and varied in the end. Kicking off with a murky semi-ambient drone and moan called "The Love Serenade (I Hate You?)" might seem like a strange way to get an audience going, but Welcome to Mexico veers nicely between improvising oddities and sharp performances of Gub tracks like "Point Blank." The downside is that the recording quality is a little suspect at points -- it's better than most bootlegs, but worse than many official live albums, and the occasionally audible audience comment is disconcerting. A regular bonus of the Pigface tours included the incorporation of individual participants' efforts into the collective, and that's the case here -- Connelly's quietly majestic "Stowaway" from Whiplash Boychild takes an enjoyable and louder bow, while Ogre heads up a thrash through Skinny Puppy's "T.F.W.O." Fun bonus -- the inclusion of occasional club announcements inviting patrons to stay for 'industrial dancing' and the like. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide