Opal - Rimini, Italy 1988-03-26 (concert)

I uncovered this gem just yesterday, almost 30 years to the day from when it was recorded.  I already reviewed "Happy Nightmare Baby", where I briefly mentioned that Opal continued for a while with Hope Sandoval in place of Kendra Smith before transitioning to Mazzy Star.  I had found a handful of mp3s online from the Hope/Opal era, but this is the first full concert video had I found. The video quality is not great, but considering this was an underground band in a small club 30 years ago, well you just have to be happy that you have something at all.

As mentioned in my "HNB" review, while Opal is similar in style to Mazzy Star they still had not developed the more lazy, acoustic sound that would become more prevalent in the Mazzy Star catalog.  That plus the fact that it is a live recording, the sound is heavy and sometimes harsh and thus casual Mazzy Star fans will not particularly enjoy it.  I had previously mentioned that Opal's sound could be "triangulated between The Doors, The Velvet Underground, and Black Sabbath".  Here, they make those influences explicit with  consecutive covers of "Indian Summer" by the Doors (which appeared on "Early Recordings") and "Heroin" by VU.

The set list is interesting in that it includes many songs from "HNB", including my favorites "Rocket Machine", "Magick Power", "Happy Nightmare Baby", and the indomitable "Soul Giver".  I think "Indian Summer" is the only song from "Early Recordings" or the bootleg "Early Recordings Vol. 2".  Other songs include: "Ghost Highway" and "Blue Flower" would show up on "She Hangs Brightly", a cover of "Killing Moon" (Echo and the Bunnymen), a cover of "Soon Be Home" (The Who), and a couple of other songs I can't place.  At least one song, "Where did you run to", is from Hope's high school band, Going Home, with Sylvia Gomez.

And since it's still Women's History Month, I should acknowledge not only Hope Sandoval, but also Suki Ewers (playing keyboards in the screenshot above), who has been a multi-instrumentalist in Opal, Mazzy Star, and the Warm Inventions (in addition to a solo career).  With the death of drummer Keith Mitchell last year, Suki is the only member, outside of the core of David Roback & Hope Sandoval, who can trace her involvement back to Opal and the late 80s.

Opal, live in Italy, 1988-03-26