II & III

This is my absolute favorite CVB record. Featuring an eclectic mix of post-punk rock, country/rock, pop, country, folk music of various strands (including Russian and Greek) and ska in its unique brew of alternative rock, with their trademark sarcasm and humor, it holds the listener’s interest all the way through. The bonus tracks are mostly fine, nothing absolutely essential, though “Vampire Club” should have been released on the original. I would have preferred keeping the original running order, appending the extra pieces instead.My personal favorites include “Four Year Plan”, “No Krugerrands for David”, “(We’re a) Bad Trip”, and “Sometimes”, but that will depend on my mood. Their transformation of the inherent creepiness in Sonic Youth's "I Love Her all the Time" into a countrified, longing-to-understand love song is a testament to their inventiveness.While the original LP was no sonic masterpiece, the cd version suffers in comparison, however, there are exceptions. That is, some, especially on “SIDE 2” are even less distinct than the original, though others are comparable.5 stars for the contents; 3 for the sound quality.

If you're a fan of CVB, you've probably already heard this gem, but if not, let me enlighten you. I and II is the second album released by Camper Van Beethoven. Dustpan and We're a Bad Trip are standouts, but the album may have too many great songs to name them all here. Alls I can say is that this is a fine record for any fan of the band or of unique music.

I have to say I bought this album becuase I'm a big fan of cracker if you like cracker you will love ths album, if you lik folk and country music you wil like this albumb if you just want to hear something different then the crap thats played on todays radio then you should all love this album it's very interesting though you hav to really listen to it for a few songs beforre you wil reall like ithope this helps happy days to everyone

What more can I say? CVB is(was?) a wonderful band at this time and the music is danceable, mostly pretty upbeat, and a lot of interesting and fun to listen to going on in it, I highly recommend it to anyone familiar with their sound.

I know that some Cracker fans will disagree, with I always thought David Lowry's previous band, Camper Van Beethoven was much better. Certainly, they were more inventive, wilder, and more fun. Take a song like "ZZ Top Goes to Egypt", and there you have it! The songs on this album cover a gamut of styles, which is one of the things I loved about CVB. You can dance and swing and sing-a-long. Music that takes you to places and brings you back again. Tunes to make you smile. I still think their debut album is their best, but this is a mighty close second. Fabulous album!

I think this is the best album Camper Van Beethoven has done. I've been on the verge of buying the Cigarettes & Carrot Juice box set (which features this album and four others, all excellent) for a while now. The box was the only way that this music could be bought when I first came across it. Then I saw the new reissues with extra tracks when I was out shopping the other day. I'm a sucker for extra tracks. I usually prefer to have them at the end of the disc with some buffer space, rather than mixed in with the album as they have been here, but the new track listing seems to work pretty well, with the exception of the repetition of "(We're a) Bad Trip." It doesn't hurt the album much, though, it just leads to the inevitable need to explain it to my wife when she says "Didn't we already hear this song?" All the bonus tracks are worth having and I'm glad to have this new extended version of the album.

Geniale è un termine decisamente abusato e non solo in musica.Ma come li puoi definire i Camper Van Beethoven se non geniali?Lasciamo perdere etichette come indie o alternative con i quali sono sempre stati identificati. Ok è vero, negli anni 80 (il decennio in cui la band si è formata e in cui ha dato vita ai suoi capolavori) questi due termini avevano un senso, identificavano realmente uno stile musicale e anche un approccio etico alla musica, ma i Camper andavano decisamente oltre, giocavano con troppi materiali diversi, miscelavano troppe cose, erano francamente inclassificabili.Taglienti e pungenti, ironici e sarcastici, a volte semplicemente divertenti e cialtroni, sempre e comunque originali.Già chiamare il loro secondo album "Ii & II" la dice lunga sul loro particolare sense of humor.E quindi cosa abbiamo in questi deliranti 55 minuti di musica? Beh citando in ordine sparso direi folk music, ska, country, punk, musica etnica, r'n'b, psicheldelia e pop, il tutto shakerato in un particolare cocktail free form.Hanno amato Frank Zappa i Camper e anche i Grateful Dead, e a mio avviso hanno adorato i Kaleidoscope soprattutto quelli di "Side trip".Come suona il tutto? Magnificamente, in maniera esaltante oltre che esilarante. E questo per una ragione molto semplice..... la musica dei Camper è credibile perchè conoscono le materie che trattano e questo fa di loro dei musicisti fatti e finiti. E anche geniali.Se volete avere un'idea di cosa poteva creare questa band di folli californiani questo album è semplicemente imperdibile, cosi come il loro esordio "Telephone free landslide victory", due album davvero imprescindibili. Non solo, metterete nella vostra discoteca personale due opere estrose e bizzarre come poche . Fatelo....

Very good record.