Memento: The Very Best of Dead Can Dance Review

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(More customer reviews)Honestly, this music is almost pointless to describe. It really needs to be heard, felt, and absorbed to blow your mind. But in words, it is a unique blend of folk, electronica, goth, and world music. In one word, I'd say it sounds ancient. This is actually their second collection. "A Passage In Time" is one track longer than this, however "Momento" includes tracks since, like the earthy "Yulunga". Existing fans might simply choose which disc has more of their favorite songs. New fans will love either. As with any "Best Of" I miss quite alot, but as a sampling of their work, "Momento" is wonderful.

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Cofounded in Australia in the early '80s by Irish punk bassist/singer Brendan Perry and Australian vocalist Lisa Gerrard, Dead Can Dance transplanted to London in 1982 and quickly became globally renowned for their stylistically diverse and groundbreaking music as well as their incredible live shows. Fusing atmospheric, ambient pop, spiritual undertones, and alt-electronica with world beats and European folk-both contemporary and centuries old-their string of album masterpieces kicked off in 1984 with a self-titled debut. After disbanding in '99, Perry went solo and Gerrard became a prominent film composer, celebrated for her Golden Globe winning score for Gladiator, among other works. Their cult following thrives, and Rhino's new compilation coincides with the band's reunion, their first together in many years.

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Doolittle Review

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(More customer reviews)If asked what my favorite cut from this album is, I am very nearly at a loss. This disc is simply relentless, with one astonishingly polished, robust, inventive, glorious cut after another. We like to talk about albums that have no filler, but this is one of the few that justifies that description. If there is a critcism that could be made of this album, it is that it is too consistently brilliant to digest properly. By the way, if forced to chose a favorite cut, I might go with "Gouge Away," but I wouldn't go too far out of the way to defend my choice, and I might feel differently on a different day.
Black Francis aka Frank Black aka Charles Thompson (his real name) is the heart and soul of the band, writing all the songs and taking most of the lead vocals, in the performance of which he often literally screams out the lyrics. The man comes across as taut, angry, and more than a little manic. Though his singing and songs make this the classic it is, the rest of the quartet carries their load as well. Kim Deal adds some wonderful back up vocals throughout, and provides solid bass, never being simply a pretty face. David Lovering lays down solid beats throughout the album, crucial in a project that depends so strongly on powerful rhythms. And Joey Santiago plays great guitar on every song, providing an energy and texture that perfectly compliments Black's great songs.
I have a couple of friend's who don't like this disc, and I am powerless to explain this. This is one of those albums that, when fully digested, becomes part of one's emotional and musical furniture, a disc that I go back to again and again and again. And it remains as vital and as fresh sounding today as it did when I first discovered it fifteen years ago.

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Japanese limited edition in an LP-style slipcase.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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