Hunter S. Thompson

Released as a five-disc set boasting over 100 tracks of audio recordings from Duke's vault, taken specifically between the years 1965 and 1975, The Gonzo Tapes: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson is an extensive listen: extensive, but exhaustive in every sense of the word. While Thompson was on his assignments, whether it was on location for Rolling Stone or during a phone call with his editor, he documented everything; muttering thoughts onto cassettes haphazardly as his pill-propelled mind raced, before coming down to earth and typing his notes into fully realized stories. Thompson was an obsessive archivist and the basis for all of his written works was his tape recorder. Having a key to this vault and a chance to hear all these original tapes should be, in theory, a dream come true for his fans. It seems like a no fail. Here we have a raw voyeuristic look into the mind of a genius writer. Unfortunately, because the content at hand is so completely indecipherable, the collection falls way short of expectations. If it wasn't already hard to understand Hunter's speedy and sporadic lock-jawed ramblings in live interviews, the excessive background noise (air ducts, cover bands, outside conversations, howling Hell's Angels, Andrew Lloyd Webber albums, his lawyer's pan flute) makes his slur even more difficult to understand, as do the random mic bumps and variety of recorder settings (the pocket of his Hawaiian shirt is one, the sink of a bathroom while he showers is another). Even with a solid, 42-page booklet of notes, diehards will have a tough time determining exactly what is taking place, leaving one to wonder if this content should have only been pulled from its basement resting place for its original purpose of supporting the film documentary Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, and then laid to rest. Museum curators will get a kick out the historical value (especially the two and a half hours of material that would ultimately make up Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), aspiring writers will find his technique of getting ideas to print inspirational, but casual listeners will find it frustrating trying to decipher the babble from the static. ~ Jason Lymangrover, All Music Guide