On the Shelf 122; Marc Almond
Jul. 29th, 2014 09:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bedsitter23We're obviously Marc Almond fans here.
Marc has one of the most interesting careers of anyone in the music business. He is the voice of one of the most beloved pop singles of all time, but has made some artistic moves that are clearly the kind of projects only few would dare.
Marc has stayed busy over the years, and now that it's ten years since the accident that risked his career, and retirement is constantly mentioned, he has stayed pretty busy. There have also been some strong moments in the post 80s catalogue. 2003's album of Russian covers Heart on Snow is amazing, the 2002 Soft Cell reunion disc Cruelty Without Beauty as strong as a comeback as anyone could hoped, and 2010's Variete proved relevance into another decade.
Some of Almond's works have gotten plenty of attention, while some floats under the radar. I try to keep up, but not always successful.
His newest "album" The Dancing Marquis is a total of eight songs and two remixes. More aware fans will recognize them as two recently released Eps. For me, I am discovering it as Almond's most recent work in an album form.
Almond can be inconsistent, and his persona is one that can benefit him (the Waits-ian character of "The Exhibitionist) and can distract (the Liza with a Z of Stardom Road). Though, I constantly want to make comparisons to my other musical hero (Morrissey), I realize as similar as they are, they are still worlds apart.
Of course, I just want to know if the music is good. The truth is on this collection of songs it is very good. i don't think there's anything here that would make the short list of best Almond songs ever, but fans should be pleased.
Almond gets contributions from a strong cast- Tony Visconti, Jarvis Cocker, and Carl Barat.
Clearly, these songs play to Almond's persona of being a once-great entertainer in the most overdramatic way possible. It suits him and always has. One can almost picture the Mozzer doing something similar, but songs like "Death of a Dandy" and "Love is not on trial" seem to capture what Moz wants to do, but also shows where his recent compositions fall short. Marc has clearly been in his tune with his inner Judy Garland in a way that Moz never has. That's the difference of course. Moz may have prompted that he wanted to perform with Tom Jones, but Marc has fully embraced it.
It's to Marc's favor. The title track is a swinging hit that shows Marc in the full swagger that he's known for. While the people you might consider his contemporaries (Moz, Pet Shop Boys, OMD, et al) have had some good tracks in recent years, I can't say any have a better song.
"The Last Tasmanian Tiger" is the most Bolanesque song I have heard in years. Moz may be a huge T Rex fan, and again, he suffers in comparison. This might be a perfect Moz song, but I can't picture this year's Moz wrapping himself around this song like Marc does,
The real treat of the bunch though is the Cocker penned "Worship me Now". Like "Tiger" and "Marquis", it shows Marc embracing his inner diva. But it has also has a great Non Stop Erotic Cabaret vibe. It's everything you want in a Marc Almond song. Oh, poor Morrissey, your new album has to sit on the shelf beside this one.
Marc has one of the most interesting careers of anyone in the music business. He is the voice of one of the most beloved pop singles of all time, but has made some artistic moves that are clearly the kind of projects only few would dare.
Marc has stayed busy over the years, and now that it's ten years since the accident that risked his career, and retirement is constantly mentioned, he has stayed pretty busy. There have also been some strong moments in the post 80s catalogue. 2003's album of Russian covers Heart on Snow is amazing, the 2002 Soft Cell reunion disc Cruelty Without Beauty as strong as a comeback as anyone could hoped, and 2010's Variete proved relevance into another decade.
Some of Almond's works have gotten plenty of attention, while some floats under the radar. I try to keep up, but not always successful.
His newest "album" The Dancing Marquis is a total of eight songs and two remixes. More aware fans will recognize them as two recently released Eps. For me, I am discovering it as Almond's most recent work in an album form.
Almond can be inconsistent, and his persona is one that can benefit him (the Waits-ian character of "The Exhibitionist) and can distract (the Liza with a Z of Stardom Road). Though, I constantly want to make comparisons to my other musical hero (Morrissey), I realize as similar as they are, they are still worlds apart.
Of course, I just want to know if the music is good. The truth is on this collection of songs it is very good. i don't think there's anything here that would make the short list of best Almond songs ever, but fans should be pleased.
Almond gets contributions from a strong cast- Tony Visconti, Jarvis Cocker, and Carl Barat.
Clearly, these songs play to Almond's persona of being a once-great entertainer in the most overdramatic way possible. It suits him and always has. One can almost picture the Mozzer doing something similar, but songs like "Death of a Dandy" and "Love is not on trial" seem to capture what Moz wants to do, but also shows where his recent compositions fall short. Marc has clearly been in his tune with his inner Judy Garland in a way that Moz never has. That's the difference of course. Moz may have prompted that he wanted to perform with Tom Jones, but Marc has fully embraced it.
It's to Marc's favor. The title track is a swinging hit that shows Marc in the full swagger that he's known for. While the people you might consider his contemporaries (Moz, Pet Shop Boys, OMD, et al) have had some good tracks in recent years, I can't say any have a better song.
"The Last Tasmanian Tiger" is the most Bolanesque song I have heard in years. Moz may be a huge T Rex fan, and again, he suffers in comparison. This might be a perfect Moz song, but I can't picture this year's Moz wrapping himself around this song like Marc does,
The real treat of the bunch though is the Cocker penned "Worship me Now". Like "Tiger" and "Marquis", it shows Marc embracing his inner diva. But it has also has a great Non Stop Erotic Cabaret vibe. It's everything you want in a Marc Almond song. Oh, poor Morrissey, your new album has to sit on the shelf beside this one.
