Live From The Union Chapel - Damien Rice Album Review
Damien Rice
Album Review
King of pain, does, pain. Live.
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.
File under. Must, must, must have. Really.
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