by François CoutureClouds is the concert performed by Lee Ranaldo and William Hooker at the 1997 edition of the Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville... and it is not. Ranaldo reworked the live tapes extensively, altering the order of performance and, most of all, making crude edits and repetitions -- akin to using the A-B repeat function on a domestic CD player. The results are disturbing at best (and you need to be very optimistic or a dedicated fan to see it that way), downright annoying in the worst passages. Hooker's drumming is badly looped at the beginning of "Junkyard Language," creating a false -- and luckily very temporary -- groove. The ending of "25 Views of Florence" is heavily disturbed by such digital repeats. Oh, and that track's title is part of the poetry recited in "Trees Lie Cut," as if the listener was not enough confused already. One wonders why Ranaldo opted for such anti-artistic decisions: the duo's performance is strong, playing on free power drumming, feedback guitar and the vacuum of silence to make room for the poems. Sound quality is not fantastic (unlike most Victo releases, this one was not recorded by the state radio), but the presence of surprise guests Jim O'Rourke on Farfisa organ and home electronics, and Italian sax player Gianni Gebbia, provided the added value necessary to turn Clouds into a must-have for the Sonic Youth fan and an enjoyable release for the avant-garde/free rock lover. "No Apples Fell" which features all four musicians and very little tinkering gives a brilliant demonstration of the quality of the music performed. Instead, Ranaldo messed it all up, as if he did not care. Why should we?