First live album from Ireland’s self-confessed musical miserablist Damien Rice.
For those of you who haven’t experienced his live shows, this is just the ticket.
Actually, having seen him live, he’s quite a chirpy chap, unlike his songs.
Melancholy is deep at the heart of his work. No-one does melancholy quite like
Rice. This one’s a bit late coming onto the market though. It has been available
at his shows.
Recorded in February 2003 before he zoomed into mass popularity, it features
songs from O (his only album up to then) which spent 80 weeks in the
UK album chart (selling 2 million worldwide, 1 million in the UK alone) and
three never before recorded tracks, including Silent Night by long-time
collaborator Lisa Hannigan, who no longer works with him.
Sadly, an announcement on March 26 2007, said their professional relationship
"has run its creative course."
London’s Union Chapel is the intimate setting for this gig. Nowadays he’s doing
huge arenas like Manchester’s ENA. So we have to ask: why not release one from
his incredible 2007 tour? Nevertheless, we still get some great, great music,
which is what he’s about. A shrill of whistles and cheers greet him. In customary
fashion, it’s a Delicate start.
Acoustic guitar and melancholic violin for this most stunning of ballads. The
atmosphere is set for a great gig. The song that brought his attention to me,
and millions of others it would appear, is one of the most brilliant songs ever
written - The Blower’s Daughter is next, in all its glory, sounding as
good, if not better, than the studio version.
Another classic from O is the superb single Volcano, giving Hannigan
a better chance to shine, which it has to be said, was missing from recent
shows. Then come two songs which only appear here, both excercises in sadness
and, beauty. Hannigan makes Then Go her song, which is so fragile it
could snap at any moment, with Baby Sister just as atmospheric and
tender, and there’s more of a duet feel here.
Livening things up, more in the recent gig format, Hannigan’s treatment of
Be My Husband is something to behold, including the bongos. Then
follows one of O's killer tracks – Amie, which you need to track
to the very end to hear how to fold-up a song with touch and finesse.
Hannigan almost steals the show (again) with the haunting Silent Night.
Rightfully, they get a whipped up ovation, and if they were seated, they’d
soon be on their feet. That’s the beauty, sometimes, of a live album. Sometimes
they suck. But when they’re great, like this, you’re not distracted by stage
antics, and focus on the music.
Few can do it. Some don’t even know where to start. Damien Rice knows how.
To touch our hearts and souls.
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2008.
