2001
GAD 2103 - Pixies / Complete B-Sides
Released May 03 2001
try it
Like the rest of 4AD's Pixies retrospectives, Complete B-Sides is equally exciting and frustrating: Many of their B-sides are just as good as their album tracks, so it's terrific to see them collected onto a single disc. But a number of factors make it somewhat disappointing, not the least of which is that Complete B-Sides is available only as a U.K. import, due to U.S. licensing problems. That won't dissuade Pixies diehards from seeking it out, but many longtime fans probably already have these songs, either on the original singles or on the bootlegs that proliferated while 4AD inexplicably sat on them. At any rate, Complete B-Sides mostly delivers the goods, kicking off with a ferocious version of "River Euphrates" from the Gigantic single. Witty, spooky Doolittle B-sides like "Manta Ray," "Weird at My School," and "Into the White" are so good that it's a shame they weren't saved for Bossanova, when the band really could have used them. Meanwhile, the Neil Young cover "Winterlong," which also appeared on The Bridge tribute, reaffirms the Pixies' ability to turn any artist's songs into their own. Not every song here scales these heights -- "Bailey's Walk" and "Dancing the Manta Ray" are slightly less inspired bits of Doolittle-era pop perversity, and the snappy, strutting "Santo" and demented cow punk of "Build High" weren't quite ready for prime time, but they're still more interesting than many other bands' A material. Quirky cuts like "Make Believe," David Lovering's strangely charming tribute to Debbie Gibson, give the collection extra personality. The album also features some fun, if not extremely informative, comments about each track from Frank Black, as well as the clips for "Here Comes Your Man" and "Allison," which will only make fans clamor for the next logical Pixies release: a video collection. Though it doesn't quite do justice to the band's legacy, Complete B-Sides does a good job of filling in the gaps in the Pixies' body of work. - Heather Phares, All Music Guide
CAD 2101 - His Name Is Alive / Someday My Blues Will Cover The Earth
Released August 07 2001
try it
Over the years, His Name Is Alive's sound has spanned everything from musique concrète-tinged soundscapes to ethereal pop, gospel, and Hendrix-channeling guitar pyrotechnics. In a less-talented group, these stylistic shifts would seem unfocused, but with His Name Is Alive, constant change is their style. So it's not unusual that Someday My Blues Will Cover the Earth is another departure, but it is a bit surprising that the group -- which features Warn Defever, Lovetta Pippen, and Flashpapr's Fred Thomas this time around -- picks one style and sticks to it for the whole album. It's still more surprising that the style is smooth urban ballads -- in a way, it's His Name Is Alive's most startling change since they lightened and brightened their music on Mouth by Mouth. However, it's not necessarily a step forward for the group; with their similar beats and tempos, songs like "One Year" and "Our Last Affair" are the musical equivalent of treading water. The album's best moments come near the beginning, when the concept of His Name Is Alive doing sleek urban pop like "Nothing Special" still seems fresh. The slinky, sexy "Happy Blues" and "Write My Name in the Groove" -- which sounds like a dreamy, distant cousin of TLC's "Waterfalls" -- also make the album momentarily convincing. But overall, it sounds too spare and restrained, especially when compared to artists like Aaliyah, Alicia Keys, and the aforementioned TLC, whose work expands the boundaries of urban music in much the same way that His Name Is Alive redefines experimental pop. Someday My Blues... isn't a bad album: It showcases Pippen's remarkable voice and offers a bit of variety too with the smoky "Solitude" and "Karin's Blues." But compared to the rest of their work, it's His Name is Alive's least satisfying effort since Livonia; with any luck, their next experiment will be more successful. - Heather Phares, All Music Guide
MAD 2105 - Piano Magic / Son de Mar
Released August 06 2001
try it
Acclaimed veteran director Bigas Luna (Jamon, Jamon) asked Piano Magic to record the soundtrack to Son de Mar (The Sound of the Sea) after hearing a song from Low Birth Weight at a record shop. Evidenced by the 38 minutes of warm, ethereal beauty found on this disc, Luna's discovery of Glen Johnson's group can be seen as the very definition of a happy accident. Johnson has said that one of the aims with Piano Magic is to provide a soundtrack for memories. The six untitled pieces here are just that. The key word is "subtle"; each track is instrumental, filled with doleful strings, repetitive and subtle melodies, ticking clocks, wordless female vocals, and breezy atmospherics like distant church bells. Small waves wash ashore and recede, just like most of the musical elements. Despite the ambient nature and the fact that it's a score to a movie (it uses elements from the group's release for Darla's Bliss Out series), Son de Mar is a hypnotic, bewitching album that warrants not just repeated plays, but full-on addiction. You don't have to be anywhere near an open window beside a shoreline on a summer day, because this takes you there. Son de Mar also doubles as the first fruits of Piano Magic's addition to the 4AD roster; one of the label's smartest moves since its inception, the versatile collective ably carries the torch for the likes of Dead Can Dance, This Mortal Coil, and Dif Juz. - Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
Dead Can Dance / 1991 - 1998 Box
Released November 19 2001
try it (disc 1)
try it (disc 2)
try it (disc 3)
This multimedia box set celebrates the 17-year affiliation between Dead Can Dance and the alternative-friendly 4AD label. In addition to key album tracks, Dead Can Dance 1981-1998contains a handful of previously unissued performances spread over three audio discs. Also included is a single-sided video DVD containing the This multimedia box set celebrates the 17-year affiliation between Dead Can Dance and the alternative-friendly 4AD label. In addition to key album tracks, Dead Can Dance 1981-1998 Mark Magdison documentary Toward the Within session recorded on November 19, 1983, for broadcast by , as well as six promotional music videos. Few pop music artists define themselves by virtue of reinvention. However, the mere existence of Dead Can Dance is firmly entrenched upon an evolutionary amalgam of the '80s noir industrial scene with sonic styles and patterns indelibly rooted in world music. Although augmented by various supporting musicians, at the creative and artistic center of Dead Can Dance has remained the team of Brendan Perry (guitar) and Lisa Gerrard (vocals). Possessing an uncanny combination of punk D.I.Y. mentality with an ethereal sense of instrumentation and delivery, the duo forged new boundaries ranging in style from European folk -- from the Middle Ages and Renaissance most specifically -- to very contemporary-sounding worldbeat. Their seven studio albums and Garden of the Arcane Delights EP are amply represented during the three-and-three-quarter-hour running time. These include tracks such as "The Song of the Seraphim," "The Carnival Is Over," "Sanvean," "American Dreaming," and "The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove" -- an initial college radio hit that became the group's entrée into alternative rock. Among the rarities is a complete John PeelPeel nine days later. Two of the performances -- "Labour of Love" and "Orion" -- are previously unissued tunes. Other radio rarities include "Sloth" and "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" from Perry and Gerrard's August 10, 1993, appearance on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic. The DVD is a dual-layer disc containing the 70-minute Toward the Within performance documentary as well as the promo videos for "The Carnival Is Over," "The Host of the Seraphim," "Yulunga (Spirit Dance)," "Frontier," and The Protagonist." For both the casual enthusiast -- not looking to invest in every album -- as well as the completist, the sonic and visual breadth covered on this compendium go far beyond A Passage in Time -- the only other compilation featuring the insightful works of this tragically underrated band. - Lindsey Planer, All Music Guide
0 comments:
Post a Comment