Exposé Online banner

Exposé Online

Not just outside the box, but denying the existence of boxes.
Covering music from the fringes since 1993.

Reviews

Boud Deun — Pronounced Booed Dee-un
(Cuneiform Rune 3405, 1997/2026, DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2026-08-22

Pronounced Booed Dee-un Cover art

If you know, you know. If one ever witnessed a performance by this Warrenton, Virginia quartet, there is no question, you know — just skip to the bottom of this review and follow where the link takes you, you probably don’t need to read this review. On the other hand, if one never got a chance to hit any of their east-coast gigs or festivals in the 90s then you might not know how great this band was in a live setting, and this set, recorded live at Orion Studio in April 1997 is powerful documentation that this instrumental powerhouse (bassist Mat Eiland, drummer Rocky Cancelose, violinist Greg Hiser, and guitarist Shawn Persinger), could transcend their studio recordings, which numbered three at the time, and deliver a mindblowing set that could leave an audience speechless. This recording came near the end of their short four-year lifespan as a group, much of which was a preview of material from their final studio album The Stolen Bicycle that was released the following year, and in particular the fifteen-part suite “Churches.” The casual observer may dismiss the band as a Mahavishnu Orchestra knock-off, but in truth they were far more funky and edgy, often grouped with the Rock In Opposition bands, or as being too similar to The Dixie Dregs, though the members’ backgrounds are more varied and you won’t hear much hint of country here, and then King Crimson as well, who were a lot more metal in their mid-70s incarnation, while Boud Deun is far more nimble and not so heavy, a tasty purveyor of freewheeling jazz-rock. But in a live setting, one will hear it all: fusion, prog-rock, and manic abandon, a sense that one is riding on a speeding train around a dangerous curve just about to jump the tracks. And then there are some quiet moments too, brief pauses in the chaos to let the smoke clear, then they go back to it all for another round. Some may have heard this before — you know, the old tape trading circuit — but for myself it was all new and is a fresh reminder of when I saw them at Towson, packing a one-hour set into a 40-minute duration.

Filed under: New releases, 2026 releases, 1997 recordings

Related artist(s): Boud Deun, Shawn Persinger (Prester John)

More info
http://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/pronounced-booed-dee-un-churches-live-boud-deun-at-orion-april-5-1997

 

What's new

These are the most recent changes made to artists, releases, and articles.