Dead Can Dance: The Carnival Is Over

Australian-English act Dead Can Dance is one of those alternative acts that never quite broke through to the mainstream. Still, they expertly crafted and composed compositions and musical soundscapes steeped in world music that appealed to the more thoughtful listener. And Dead Can Dance certainly has a following.

Vocalists Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard did have their fair share of success on alternative radio particularly with the positively fantastic The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove and later the inspired American Dreaming (from Toward The Within).

One selection by the group that always moved me was The Carnival Is Over from the near perfect Into The Labyrinth (1993) collection (I wanted to call this post The (Robot) Carnival Is Over - see last post here). Perry offered unforgettable vocals for both this track and The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove.



I always thought their was such a beautifully captured sadness to The Carnival Is Over and Perry and Gerrard convey the haunting emotion affectingly and effectively. It emotionally channels a tribute to the carnival and a window into a kind of secret world through the eyes of an outsider. It's a gem as are the aforementioned selections. I'm very much a casual fan of the group, but Into The Labyrinth and Toward The Within (1994) are exquisitely crafted productions, the latter a beautifully recorded live effort.

The song would have worked well with HBO's Carnivale (2003-2005) and it would have worked well for the closing credits of Robot Carnival. At least I'd like to think so. Though it really would have been more fitting on HBO's Carnivale. Here are those moving, lyrics from one of the finest songs of the 1990s.



The Carnival Is Over

Outside, the storm clouds gathering
Moved silently along the dusty boulevard
Where flowers turning crane their fragile necks
So they can in turn, reach up and kiss the sky

They are driven by a strange desire
Unseen by the human eye
Someone is calling

I remember when you held my hand
In the park we would play
When the circus came to town
Over here

Outside, the circus gathering
Moved silently along the rain swept boulevard
The procession moves on the shouting is over
The fabulous freaks are leaving town

They are driven by a strange desire
Unseen by the human eye
Someone is calling
The carnival is over

We sat and watched
As the moon rose
For the very first time

Foster The People: Torches & Supermodel

"I have tried so hard not to be like them. I have found they don't ever say what they mean. There is a truth. There is a light, if you'd follow me there. I've been searching for the directions and I'm convinced the world doesn't know what it needs. There is a hope for the hopeless, I can promise you that."

 

-The Truth, Foster The People (possibly my favorite song on Supermodel)-

It's not always exactly what is sung by the burgeoning Mark Foster but how the track is delivered through voice modulation. Foster is proving a master behind the microphone as much as the studio as the front man behind trio Foster The People.



I understand why people write reviews for recordings immediately upon release for the sheer fact they need to be timely with these things. Their respective publications or web sites require up-to-the-minute coverage in all of the latest and greatest music releases. But one thing I'll never understand is how these writers can offer a fair assessment on a product after just a few simple spins. Perhaps the verdict is based upon just one listen. I don't know. I do know this - a proper assessment of any recording, while entirely subjective anyway, takes a little more time to appreciate. The music has to simmer upon the ears like a fine Italian gravy on the palette.



Another aspect of the music critic that never sits well with me is how they write about a new act like some kind of hot property that only they know about. These new faces are hoisted high atop pedestals. Within the span of just a few short years and just one additional album release later, the sophomore effort, and suddenly the once hot act is relegated to banishment with the pedestal kicked out from under. The music is quickly written off as some kind of sophomore slump or the work of newly anointed has beens. The writers almost seem eager to usher in the new wave of hot new properties at the expense of legitimate talent. When it comes to music and the music industry, it sucks being old. It's too bad that's the perception created too. But, like science fiction, the reality is much different. Fans of science fiction are more than happy to give genre pictures a fair shake where critics are quick to write them off, discard them or simply write about them in almost unfounded fashion with no basis or real appreciation or understanding for the genre. The same holds true for music fans who know a good thing when they hear it and are more than happy to remain loyal to an artist's journey when critics have quickly marched on.



Foster The People is one of those bands for this music listener that will hopefully stick around. Of Monsters And Men is another.

When Foster The People arrived with the studio trickery of Torches (2011) it was something of a revelation for me. Upon hearing Pumped Up Kicks and ignorantly downloading the Free Download of the Week on iTunes, Helena Beat, I was quickly turned on to this new band I was about to carry a torch for myself. iTunes has introduced me to a few bands this way.



With Torches, the trio of genre mix-master/vocalist Mark Foster, bassist Cubbie Fink and drummer Mark Pontius had meticulously crafted an album of sparkling alternative pop so refined and so unique it was painful to listen to - in a good way. Foster admitted he spent excessive effort and time getting Torches just perfect and, truth be told, it was, in my opinion, one of the five best recordings of 2011. Acts certainly have the chance to do that with the first one.

Without wasting another moment I downloaded the entirety of Torches and quickly discovered the recording was a flawless masterpiece of alternative pop that seemed to take its cues from the glory days of masters of the 1980s as much as it was infused with Foster's ingenous ear for a melody and crossing genre lines within music. It was a sonic experience.



Call It What You Want, Houdini, Waste, Life On The Nickel, Don't Stop (Color On The Walls), Miss You, Warrant, I Would Do Anything For You, Broken Jaw and of course Helena Beat and Pumped Up Kicks were simply flawless. It became required iPod listening on my summer runs.

I became so obsessed with all things Foster The People that I purchased the bonus track edition of the CD.  Yes, another CD clutters my basement. Not good. But I had to have those songs. The Best Buy (and it pains me to mention the name of a company that has no understanding of customer service) exclusive included Love and Chin Music For The Unsuspecting Hero. And you guessed it, those latter two songs were amazing too. Foster The People had adopted this listener and my foster days were over.




Since that arrival I waited with baited breath for the next release to come from Foster The People like a giddy school girl. That day arrived with Supermodel (2014). And, to be expected, once again the critics were quick to jump and pounce on their once heralded new band as nothing more than yesterday's news. How fleeting fame.



Alternative Press gave it one star and called it "All flash and no substance."  Spin answered with "the songs suck." Rolling Stone countered with two stars.  I never did care for Rolling Stone, but I bet Bob Dylan gets five stars. Others were notably more fair. Q Magazine called it an "album of transition." That's arguably a better posture toward the record, but better yet, it's really not.  Supermodel is simply not the same as Torches and that should be celebrated. I'm not delusional. Supermodel doesn't quite rival the flawless pop gems of Torches, but it still has some killer moves and grooves and it takes a little acclimation passed the super star gloss on the surface of those songs. Case in point, my son, the Boy Wonder, also was not a fan of the Supermodel recording and initially had a strong negative, knee-jerk reaction, but one week later and he's had a change of heart.  Nevertheless, he still ranks it below Torches and that is certainly understandable. Artists have a long time to work on those debuts, but Supermodel is more than outward, surface appearances.



I've been listening to Supermodel. I've been absorbing it every day since its release one week ago. It's easy to submit to you that Supermodel isn't nearly as precious and perfect as Torches in its production. But even Mark Foster admitted he was in a different place while making the project and was less concerned with studio perfection, and rather embracing of the imperfections. Supermodel is indeed imperfect and when compared against Torches it may not seem quite as sparkly. There is an edge to it. It's a little more raw and guitar driven in spots, even spare, but as the recording begins to work its way into your mind you can't help falling in love with this beauty too.



Immersing myself into the sounds of Supermodel has been an experience and there is no shortage of good songs here either. A new band would be proud to sport this Supermodel on its arm if it was their first date. But as second albums go, the verdict is in, Foster The People continues to amaze and grow artistically. That's a tough line to walk, but Mark Foster and company pull it off even slowing things down demonstrating the act's less synthetic and more vulnerable side.

The problem is Supermodel isn't as instantly catchy or hook-laden as Torches. The melodies are there, but they take a little more work down that runway. Are You What You Want To Be?, Ask Yourself and Coming Of Age grow on you and are lead off winners to the recording. Pseudologia Fantastica is another grower. This song and others ask you to throw out some of your preconceived notions of the band and expand the horizons a bit more. Best Friend is quite possibly the one song that is accessible in the context of Torches and oddly the least interesting.



And just when you think the remainder of the album is going to go down hill like the Supermodel image of the album cover with a female purging, the production keeps growing stronger to its inevitable end of the iTunes bonus track Tabloid Super Junkie. Yes, I pre-ordered to get that one. It's gone now.

The album finishes on a glorious high with The Truth. Things get delicate, unexpected and even moving with Goats In Trees and Fire Escape, the recording's natural conclusion.

Like the trigger word Supermodel, there's a lot going on here and the effort will likely force different reactions in different listeners. But it is a stick of audio dynamite. Like Foster's penchant for mixing styles, he has a way of introducing his new sounds with echoes of the past. Hints of New Order, Supertramp and The Fixx - I swear I hear their influence whether through vocal play or musicianship.



So, if you're looking for smart, good-looking pop sounds look no further than Foster The People's latest Supermodel. Like the white, blazing hot sounds of Torches, Supermodel is shining down another catwalk with retro style and shimmering new sounds. There's nothing not to like about this girl. It may not be as meticulous as their debut but their's nothing unpolished about this diamond. With this girl another classic face is born in music.

It's a delight to witness the evolution of a band happening before your very ears. Depeche Mode had an interesting arc from those early synthetic glory days. But despite any of the electronic wonder of Foster's sound there is indeed much blood pulsing through every beat of the band's first two recordings. *// There are some artists you enjoy so much you wish they had an instant discography as big as those amassed by The Beatles or Duran Duran. In time. So of course following my appeasement for all things Foster The People my next thought was, what's next and when?

Eurythmics: Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) And Touch

"It's savage and it's cruel and it shines like destruction

Comes in like a flood and it seems like religion

It's noble and it's brutal, it distorts and deranges

And it drenches you up and you're left like a zombie"

-Love Is A Stranger, Eurythmics-

This girl can sing. She still has the voice. Sweet dreams are made

of this stuff indeed.

From the moment singer Annie Lennox arrived on the world stage in the music video for Sweet Dreams (1982-1983) with her close-cropped red hair, while androdynously attired in a business suit, a star was born.  Launching the haunting electronica, the Eurythmics mastered the visual medium as much as it did the music.  The image of Lennox in a board room juxtaposed by farm pastures and a dairy cow as well as classical instruments signalled a group that embraced a collision of ideas new and old.  There was indeed a sexy intelligence to their style clashing the old world with the new in both sound and style.  Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart's Eurythmics were born. For years Lennox appeared to channel David Bowie's visual style with a love for altering character for each performance. She was indeed a big part of what made the 80s so vibrant.



Singer Annie Lennox reunited with David A. Stewart for The Beatles tribute (scheduled for Feb 9) performed in Los Angeles following the Grammy Awards.  I hardly believe she'll miss a beat performing Fool On The Hill, but have yet to see it. And by God, that voice hailing from Aberdeen, Scotland, always sent goose bumps up the spine. Seeing her together with Stewart again will no doubt be a thrill.  Their last recording together was Peace (1999).  The duo's first recording together came as The Tourists in 1979.  Their first Eurythmics recording was In The Garden (1981). The two met in 1975. It's been an astounding forty-year partnership or association making beautiful music.



Annie Lennox was well into her early twenties when she started to get noticed joining studio genius David A. Stewart for The Catch and then The Tourists (1977-1980). It was a slow start.

It was 1981 before the duo of Lennox and Stewart forged the Eurythmics and released their debut, In The Garden, under the duo's now famous moniker. Lennox, born in 1954, and Stewart, born in 1952, enjoyed a romantic partnership along with their creative link in the early going.




With the arrival of Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) (1983) the Eurythmics hit pay dirt, their stride and sound. Next to acts like Duran Duran, Eurythmics was one of those outfits that could turn a tune, craft a pop confection with artful mastery. The 1980s seemed to tap into something magical and some real talent (Thompson Twins, Tears For Fears) burst forth engineering some of the world's damn near finest pop music ever made. Somewhat surprisingly, the arrival of the Eurythmics was late by today's pop standards where teenage pop, Disney and Nickelodeon divas are churned out at a restless pace beginning in their teens.  But when the Eurythmics hit big they seemed to find their niche with a unique sound for a colorful duo within the equally vivid 1980s.




By the time Eurythmics released Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) Lennox was nearly thirty years old and Stewart in his thirties. That's a fairly astounding feat and one that would unlikely repeat amidst the ageism of today's pop worshipping society where youth is king and raw talent with real intelligence takes the proverbial back seat with those obsessed with image.  Thankfully, Lennox and Stewart kind of had it all and age never became an albatross. As the old adage goes, some of us are just late bloomers.



Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) is a well-crafted masterpiece and its dark, almost brooding synth-heavy constructions still have a sense of artistic adventurousness, innocence and naivete about them. Stewart and Lennox put their vision into the music and their visual presentation with every release. Every album and every single sported a new character and a new look. Lennox had it all over Lady Gaga long, long ago. Fearless with visual reinvention Lennox voraciously approached character portraits in her music like a New York theatre performer. Her androgynous, red-haired, business man with lipstick was almost creepy, but ushered in the 1980s at the dawn of MTV and the Reagan era capturing a single visual moment in image as powerfully encapsulated as any band of the era. The title track's accompanying music video, as noted earlier, offered the juxtaposition of the corporate world and the aggressive nature of technology against our agrarian roots and our traditional past through the incorporation of Holstein cows and rolling green pastures. It couldn't have been a more perfect fusion, from traditional string instruments to electronica, Eurythmics were making a massive statement both musically and visually.



It's easy to forget about the classics. I often step away from my favorites only to return to them years later and rediscover just how powerful they once were and still remain.  That's not always the case, but Eurythmics qualifies.



The Eurythmics arrived with creative overload after years of building a reputation, working hard and attempting to bring their special brand of music and theatrics to the fore. The arrival of MTV seemed perfectly suited for the intent of Lennox and Stewart. Together they thrived.  The multi-instrumental talent of Stewart was supported by the complex muse and voice of Lennox, which yielded a decade of classics.

The audio and visual excitement truly began with their sophomore effort, Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This). The driving, pulsing title track is backed by a production of greats. The weird but catchy Love Is A Stranger instantly recalls Brian DePalma's Dressed To Kill (1980) with its flair for the visually provacative. There was indeed a machine-like quality pushing through the heart of the production reminiscent of a milking parlor for cows. Stewart could ride a single avant garde sound elevating it to epic pop, while Lennox could take word repetition to artistic new heights and the amalgamation of the two always worked to great effect.



The pre-Twin Peakish Jennifer, The Walk, I've Got An Angel, Wrap It Up with Scritti Politti's Green Gartside, I Could Give You [A Mirror], the Spanish-influenced This Is The House, Somebody Told Me, and the Blade Runner-esque noir of This City Never Sleeps round out a collection that must be experienced to be fully appreciated. It is a massive audio experiment.

Now, something relatively unheard of then, and even now, happened. Eurythmics released the Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) production in January 1983. Bursting with ideas the duo returned with their third recording the same year with Touch [1983] in November that same year and more experimental than ever. It's astounding when you stop to consider it.



In many respects, Touch is a natural evolution and continuation of the previous recording, a real sister project to Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) which is why the powerfully somber lead single Here Comes The Rain Again was the natural lead. It seemed the natural choice in spirit given their initial success.



After that single, Touch is a plethora of near experimental synthesizer and it would become an effort even more rewarding with each new listen. Touch is an underrated masterpiece chock full of amazing songs from Who's That Girl to Aqua, Cool Blue, Regrets, The First Cut and No Fear, No Hate, No Pain [No Broken Hearts]. The Eurythmics had indeed been touched in 1983 and like Howard Jones with Human's Lib (1984) and Dream Into Action (1985), Lennox and Stewart had delivered two consecutive, near perfect recordings that remain unique aural experiences untouched by time thanks in part to clever arrangements and an ageless voice.



At the height of their musical powers Eurythmics took a bit of a detour commercially, but not artistically or creatively. The duo was on track and with little fanfare returned in 1984 with the soundtrack to Michael Radford's dystopian 1984 starring John Hurt and based on the novel by George Orwell, 1984 For The Love Of Big Brother [1984], was a thrilling studio effort combining score-like compositions with that haunting Lennox voice all too fitting to the world of Orwell despite the controversy surrounding the production and Radford's insistence he wanted nothing to do with a Eurythmics' score for his film. Although a commercial failure, like the film, the soundtrack by Eurythmics for that film should be revisited. The score is filled with some of the most beautiful 80s era synth with which you'll ever immerse yourself. Julia, Doubleplusgood, I Did It Just The Same, For The Love Of Big Brother and the intended lead single Sexcrime [nineteen eighty-four] are all standout examples of the compositions expertly designed for the project by the duo.



With Eurythmics firmly planted on the pop music landscape it seemed the world was theirs for the taking. Be Yourself Tonight [1985] arrived to mixed reviews despite an overtly commercial stance on the effort. Some, if I recall, referred to the work as an unfocused or schizophrenic affair. There are indeed many styles in play for the effort. With the title firmly speaking to the act's identity many noted Eurythmics were hardly being themselves with relying instead on guests like Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin in supporting roles among others. Still, tracks like It's Alright (Baby's Coming Back), Conditioned Soul and Would I Lie To You are sparkling examples of a duo at the height of their creative prowess.



The rock-inspired Revenge [1986] had a few notable selections, but remains perhaps my least favorite Eurythmics effort in their oeuvre.

Perhaps one of their most underrated arrivals was the wonderful Savage [1987], which delivered an almost retro-styled throwback to what made Sweet Dreams and Touch so delicious. For me, Savage was an inspired revelation filled with uber-cool, synth pop confections. I would be hard-pressed not to include Savage among their very best moments noting classics like You Have Placed A Chill I My Heart, Beethoven (I Love To Listen To), Shame and Heaven to name a few.



We Too Are One [1989] was another hit and miss record more in keeping with Be Yourself Tonight and Revenge, but stronger than the latter. In fact, the recording would be their last for a decade and included some of the duo's finest pop numbers in Don't Ask Me Why and Angel. But a break seemed in the offering. The duo did return with Peace [1999] and a beautifully conceived and stirring title track. But since then it has remained relatively quiet for Lennox and Stewart as a duo.

As everyone knows, Lennox went solo and received scores of accolades and awards beginning with Diva [1993].  With Why and Cold Lennox seemed to float with an elegance and a confidence she finally seemed willing to flaunt from the shadows of her mentor Stewart. Medusa [1995] was a strong covers album as cover recordings go. Bare [2003] and Songs Of Mass Destruction [2007] had their moments. With her release of A Christmas Cornucopia [2010] she continues to shine and prove she can sing better than most young birds today.



Stewart was no slouch either producing some of the damn near finest pop records in a decade. Not only was he responsible for crafting the Eurythmics brand, but was the man behind perhaps one of my favorite solo albums in music history in Daryl Hall's Three Heart In The Happy-Ending Machine [1987]. Also notable was his work on Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers Southern Accents [1985] and the massive pop hit that was Don't Come Around Here No More backed by its creative, fantasy-inspired, Alice In Wonderland music video. He also worked on Deep In The Heart Of Nowhere [1986] for Bob Geldof with Annie on This Is The World Calling, produced some terrific music for Lily Was Here (1989) and worked recently with Stevie Nicks.  Yes, the man is a pop genius.



Once again reflecting back on the very best of the 1980s. It's easy to make the call on Eurythmics as one of the most potent pop forces in the universe for a period of time. They may not have broke new ground, but Stewart and Lennox gift for reinvention and the theatrical combined with incredible pop music made for a few recordings that remain essential to any music fan's library.

Hearing Lennox with that radiant, powerful, special voice brimming with emotional range brings you back to days long gone when pop music felt creative and not merely phoned in. It existed once upon a time in the 1980s when everything was colorful and a bit sci-fi. It's always good to see signs of life in new artists like Foster The People or in returning legends like the incomparable, award-winning Annie Lennox and Eurythmics.



Eurythmics Discography:
In The Garden (1981)
Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) (1982-83)*
Touch (1983)*
Touch Dance (1984)
1984 (For The Love Of Big Brother) (1984)
Be Yourself Tonight (1985)
Revenge (1986)
Savage (1987)*
We Too Are One (1989)
Greatest Hits (1991)
Live 1983-1989 (1993)
Peace (1999)
Ultimate Collection (2005)*

Annie Lennox Discography:
Diva (1992)
Medusa (1995)
Bare (2003)
Songs Of Mass Destruction (2005)
The Annie Lennox Collection (2009)*
A Christmas Cornucopia (2010)
*essential

Lana Del Rey: Born To Die: The Paradise Edition

"I hear the birds on the summer breeze, I drive fast
I am alone in the night
Been trying hard not to get into trouble, but I
I've got a war in my mind
So, I just ride"

-Ride (enjoyed this summer on a beach)-

Rarely does a female voice come along that is so deceptively simple, so deceptively graceful that it lulls you in with its raw power.  The strength of that siren's call lies with Elizabeth Woolridge Grant also known as Lana Del Rey, singer, songwriter, model, cinematographer and all around fascinating new voice to grace a turgid pop scene.

Del Rey and her music is the antidote to a seemingly rote pop landscape. Her music drifts ebbing and flowing with the grandeur of nature's wondrous forces.  Her words drip over the body like a melted milky way over finger tips on a hot summer's day.  Rey is a throwback to another time.  She is an untamed, raw, pure talent that gently infiltrates the mind with melody but with the sweet caress of a twisted Lynchian character out of another world like Twin Peaks (1990-1991). She embodies the mysteries surrounding a character like Laura Palmer and channels the mood captured fleetingly by American composer Angelo Badalamenti (a David Lynch mainstay) and Julee Cruise in a song like Falling.  The difference is, vocally, Del Rey is a powerhouse talent with the kind of modulation that made someone like Stevie Nicks special for decades.







 

I've been listening to Lana Del Rey since her appearance on Saturday Night Live (January 2012).  She was inappropriately skewered by many including NBC Nightly News' Brian Williams, a self-proclaimed music aficionado. He saved his very best venom for her following that debut dubbing her performance "the worst in SNL history."  That statement said everything you need to know about Williams' as an analyst.  I'm sure he's watched every performance on SNL.  Others chimed in about said problematic performance.  I've seen it. To this day I can't understand the disdain she received.  Nerves aside, she was nothing short of stunning.



This unusual, intriguing bad girl who has been associated with the likes of crazy old Axel Rose is a bit of a puzzle.  How many singers can fly under the radar like this?  Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga (the list goes on) have made a career of de-robing or making waves for attention's sake.  It's all about pop fame and the Benjamins.  I don't diminish these pop stars or claim they lack talent, but it's all about approach and the harnessing of it. Lana Del Rey is simply different.  Other offer an aural pop assault, while Rey delivers an aural wonderland bold enough to deliver something spare with a focus on the voice.  Beyond being downright sexy, she's an understated, graceful diva that manages to float along the airwaves on the audacity of sheer talent alone. She has received none of the commercial support many enjoy.  No American Idol. No America's Got Talent. No The X Factor. No buoy from the American public calling into vote.  No gimmicks. Yes, Del Rey delivers on talent alone and her quietly rising star initially propelled her on the shoulders of Video Games which was originally viral.



Her music videos speak as much to her style and approach as her voice.  Gorgeous cinematic pleasures capture her beauty and the caress of each song on film.  It's no surprise she's self-dubbed her style as "Hollywood Sadcore."



Her songs themselves gently lilt along on strings and modern beats to a paced groove.  Musically her selections are more complex than they appear, but it is her voice, most of all, that is the most layered instrument of every track offering variations in cadence.  Each listening seems to unearth new mysteries or new wonders.  She lures listeners like the mythical voice drawing ocean ships to their rocky doom.



I tend to discover music before most of my pop-reared family.  Bastille and Josh Kumra were two of my recent discoveries.  My son turned me on to Imagine Dragons.  Of Monsters And Men's My Head Is An Animal (2011) was derided by my family initially when it was in heavy rotation in the vehicle.  It wasn't until it broke on pop radio with Little Talks that my son had a change of heart.  Likewise, my daughter and The One To Be Pitied finally gave Lana a second look upon hearing sleeper hit Summertime Sadness on radio this year.  Why are people slaves to the radio?  Hasn't the Internet changed all that?  Summertime Sadness made the rounds on pop radio and garnered a little, much deserved attention even if it's not one of her very best from her instant classic Born To Die (2012; fifth best seller of that year) recording.  It's still incredibly good.



Well, like Of Monsters And Men's My Head Is An Animal, Born To Die defies pop conventions.  Taken as a whole, these recordings are experiences.  They lend themselves well to unique selections, but it's when they are listened to from start to finish that one is immersed into their sonic world.  My Head Is An Animal and Born To Die are immediately epic in this fashion.



Born To Die was already a perfectly assembled selection of songs that was only enhanced with the coupling of the Paradise Ep (2012).  The Ep was easily a natural complement to Born To Die musically and stylistically as the songs seemed born of the same sessions.  Thus Born To Die was reissued as a deluxe edition dubbed Born To Die: The Paradise Edition. Waste not a moment and purchase this 15 + 8 = 23 track sensation.  The songs register low and beautiful with playful bursts and include Born to Die, Off To The Races, Blue Jeans, Video Games, Diet Mountain Dew, National Anthem, Dark Paradise, Radio, Carmen, Million Dollar Man, Summertime Sadness, This Is What Makes Us Girls, Without You, Lolita and Lucky Ones.  The Paradise Ep compounds the musical experience with Ride, American, Cola, Body Electric, Blue Velvet, Gods And Monsters, Yayo and Bel Air.  Believe it or not, for a short period, the re-recorded Yayo was extracted from Rey's first recording Lana Del Rey a.k.a. Lizzy Grant (2010).  That effort appeared on iTunes briefly and will no doubt find its way to re-release one day, but is as elusive as the reason many music fans still don't get this girl. Funny enough, the American singer is bigger outside the USA.  Despite songs of obsession, co-dependency, drugs, greed and sex, like England's The Beautiful South, she often masks the dark subject matter in yearning, emotional melodies as the latter has done in pop delight.  The selections from Born To Die and Paradise ultimately push the envelope lyrically and she will continue to be a lightning rod.



Lana Del Rey is going to be around for a long time with her unique anti-pop style that young and old will discover and for which they ultimately hunger for.  Expect big things from her.

Some will emulate her while others will make every effort to tear her down.  Her controversial approach to making music with a good deal of freedom doesn't fit within the pop cliché.  If you can't fit into their perception of a tidy little pop box prepare for destruction.  She has a gift and only time will tell if the singer can tame the demons and keep them in check while she delivers some of the best pop music to reach consumers in years.



Boy George (Culture Club) delivered a strikingly emotive rendition of Video Games with the kind of care he delivered for The Crying Game (1992).  The rendition is elusive but you can find the video, directed by Mike Nicholls, out there on the web.  George misses more than he hits but he actually interprets his version of the Rey song spot on.



Rey's rendering of Blue Velvet and its strangely Lynchian music video just begs for a casting call.  In fact, David Lynch said of the singer, not that she was born to die, but that the charismatic, self-styled, visionary singer was "born out of another time."  There is indeed a Lynchian inspiration to the artist.  It's no surprise that cinematic flair and her surrounding mystery should be further echoed by a tattoo on her right hand Trust No One.  The X-Files would be proud.



With a penchant for cinematography Del Rey fearlessly lends her music videos cinematic flourish and visual nods to the 1950s and 1960s Americana which further underscores her old school qualities as a vocalist.

 

Born To Die: The Paradise Edition is about as perfect a recording as recordings go by female artists today.  Del Rey is a little too left or right of center to be on mainstream radio and I love her for it.  She is making no efforts to placate pop radio sticking with a style that is entirely her own.  And given her cinematic aspirations it should come as no surprise she would land herself working on a soundtrack to a project by Baz Luhrmann.  Artistically, she's an ideal choice, one that makes perfect sense. She recently delivered Young And Beautiful to the director's The Great Gatsby (2013) which potentially yielded her the most attention to date on US radio.  It even kick started renewed interest and a resurgence in Summertime Sadness. Perhaps her next recording will catch fire and the attention of the masses, the ones lulled to sleep by the endless rotation of Katy Perry.



Despite her young age, Del Rey sings as if she has lived an eternity.  Attending boarding school for alcohol dependence at fourteen can have that affect. The One To Be Pitied, despite being moved by her voice, finds her lyricism to bleak and dreary.  The name assigned to the recording should tell you something I suppose.  Sometimes though I have to look beyond the words and experience the sound, the voice and the cinematic power of her music.  To immerse myself in the music without hanging on every word is sometimes enough for me.  When I do stop and listen, at the very least, Del Rey has something to say.



She also went to New York City for metaphysical studies of God and science where she discovered a gift for music. Though young and beautiful, she draws from her experiences while peering into the window of fantasy.  Lana Del Rey beats entirely to her own drum and there is something inviting yet forbidden about the sensual qualities in her music.

Look no further than the cover art as Del Rey adorns a red top shrouded by a penetrable, buttoned up, conservative white blouse.  It's tempting, inviting and somehow knowingly dangerous. This is indeed an intoxicating combination from one of America's unique female talents.



Sometimes its difficult to differentiate between certain pop singers, but the voice of Del Rey is instantly recognizable.  The strength of that voice is immediate and undeniably Del Rey.  She is one of a kind today in a category of her own.  That's a rare achievement.  Lana Del Rey is crafting the stuff of pop dreams.  Her songs are of the deliberate, considered, poetic and timeless variety.  Sad music or not, she's offers listeners a lot to be happy about.

Honestly, purchase Born To Die: The Paradise Edition and behold the birth of a lively American talent.

*This is the first entry to prompt a change in the label from the 80s heavy approach under the 80s Music label to now 80s Music Plus.  We'll be opening things accordingly when inspired.