Beauty & The Beast
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Here is one of the best cds to come out this year, Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Ballad of Broken Seas. Isobel started off in Belle & Sebastian but left the band to pursue a solo career. With 1 cd under her belt, Isobel recruited the whiskey laden voice of Mark to produce an unlikey combination. You may think of it as oil and water but the 2 blend together very well. The cd starts off with "Deus Ibi Est" and Mark singing, you would think its another one of his solo cds. Mark is pulling a Leonard Cohen here, deep vocals, half talking half singing. Isobel pops in with some lush background vocals over an acoustic and simple drum beat. Song 2 "Black Mountain" is a dark and depressing guitar song with Isobel doing the vocals, it reminds me a bit of Nick Cave. Song 3 "The False Husband" is a beautiful duet between the 2, Mark's vocals are accompied by a heavy orchestra while Isobel's flutters away like a butterfly in the sun. Think of a silent movie featuring a couple arguing and making up, the soundtrack between the 2 would be the music you hear. Track 4 "Ballad Of Broken Seas" reminds me of Mark's solo just a bit more upbeat with the cello and piano. The bluesy/folk sound of it makes me think it could have come off I'll Take Care of You. Track 6 "Ramblin' Man" is a bar brawl wrapped up into a nice little song. Isobel adds some swagger to her vocals here, this brings images of the 1800's saloon's of the wild west. Track 9 "It's Hard to Kill a Bad Thing" is a beautiful instrumental with strings, bongos, and a strumming acoustic guitar. The cd finishes with "The Circus is Leaving Town" a slide guitar, hammond organ and Mark doing all the vocals.
This cd jumps moods and tempos a bit, it goes from dark & brooding to whimsical charm but never sounds like its manufactured. The emotions are real on this cd and this unlikely pair pulled it off and gave us one of the best duet cds ever recorded. I was suprised to hear as much Mark as I did I was expecting background vocals and a bit here and there. Without looking at the name anyone listening would have thought it to be one of his solos with some unknown girl helping out. I just hope pitchfork likes it as much as I do, I have a feeling they will since Belle & Sebastian are one of their faves.
Posted by mardenhill 2/05/2006 03:00:00 PM
3 Comments:
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6:40 PM
This album is so, so good - absolutely one of my favorites this year. I thought the exact same thing about the similarities to Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen. It's hard to tell with Pitchfork - I've been wondering myself what they would think. Great blog by the way.9:35 AMThat's a great story. Waiting for more. Fda panel breast implant meeting 2005 georgia state dance championship Moving company keene moving companies san diego ca6:04 PMExcellent, love it! airline jobs Freight+brokerage refrigerators ge
