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Rating:
All three works from the '80s by the former Japan would have deserved to represent the best of the decade. If my preference goes to "Secrets of the Beehive," it is because in it Sylvian manages to arrive at a more accessible musical language, with a return to the song form that, in certain episodes, produces excellent results: listen to "Orpheus" if you have any doubts.
In any case, our composer's music continues to evade any definition: it is "ambient" without the vacuity that characterizes much of that genre; it is "avant-garde" without ever being cold or cerebral; it brushes against pop and jazz, but it would be wrong to label it as either.
However, it is music of great suggestiveness, enveloping, dreamlike. Sylvian works by subtraction, and silence and pauses are essential elements of the musical syntax of "Secrets." His unmistakable deep and cavernous voice, which often, more than singing, whispers the cryptic lyrics, makes the final result even more original and attractive. An essential contribution to the album's success is made by his friend Ryuichi Sakamoto, present with keyboards or arrangements on all tracks.
Besides the already mentioned "Orpheus," a track of mysterious and disturbing beauty, to which two first-rate instrumentalists, Danny Thompson on bass and Mark Isham on trumpet, also contribute, we must at least mention "The Boy with the Gun" prominently featuring David Torn's skillful guitar and Thompson's "smooth" bass chasing the pains of the (no longer) young Sylvian.
In "When Poets Dreamed of Angels," in addition to the mentioned musicians, Phil Palmer joins, who with his guitar gives the track a surprising flamenco rhythm, supporting the author's bold metaphors. "Mother and Child," on the other hand, is the most experimental track, with forays into free-jazz piano.
All the musicians involved in the album offer their superior technical skill without protagonism, demonstrating class and dedication to David's musical creed. Other titles should be mentioned: the miniature masterpiece "September," for example, which masterfully opens the work. But dwelling on individual tracks does not do justice to an album that makes compactness, formal rigor, and balance between the parts its strong points.
Sylvian's music is a "unicum" to be cherished and "the secrets of the beehive" should be revealed only to those who can appreciate them; to those who are not afraid to be alone with themselves.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 September (01:18)
The sun shines high above
The sounds of laughter
The birds swoop down upon
The crosses of old grey churches
We say that we're in love
While secretly wishing for rain
Sipping coke and playing games
September's here again
September's here again
04 Orpheus (04:51)
Standing firm on this stony ground
The wind blows hard
Pulls these clothes around
I harbour all the same worries as most
The temptations to leave or to give up the ghost
I wrestle with an outlook on life
That shifts between darkness and shadowy light
I struggle with words for fear that they'll hear
But Orpheus sleeps on his back still dead to the world
Sunlight falls, my wings open wide
There's a beauty here I cannot deny
And bottles that tumble and crash on the stairs
Are just so many people I knew never cared
Down below on the wreck of the ship
Are a stronghold of pleasures I couldn't regret
But the baggage is swallowed up by the tide
As Orpheus keeps to his promise and stays by my side
Tell me, I've still a lot to learn
Understand, these fires never stop
Believe me, when this joke is tired of laughing
I will hear the promise of my Orpheus sing
Sleepers sleep as we row the boat
Just you the weather and I gave up hope
But all of the hurdles that fell in our laps
Were fuel for the fire and straw for our backs
Still the voices have stories to tell
Of the power struggles in heaven and hell
But we feel secure against such mighty dreams
As Orpheus sings of the promise tomorrow may bring
Tell me, I've still a lot to learn
Understand, these fires never stop
Please believe, when this joke is tired of laughing
I will hear the promise of my Orpheus sing
09 Waterfront (03:23)
On the banks of a sunset beach
Messages scratched in sand
Beneath a roaming home of stars
Young boys try their hand
A spanish harbouring of sorts
In Catalonian bars
They were pulled from a sinking ship
And saved for last
On the waterfront the rain
Is pouring in my heart
Here the memories come in waves
Raking in the lost and found of years
And though I'd like to laugh
At all the things that led me on
Somehow the stigma still remains
Watch the train steam full ahead
As it takes the bend
Empty carriages lose their tracks
And tumble to their end
So the world shrinks drop by drop
As the wine goes to your head
Swollen angels point and laugh
"This time your god is dead"
On the waterfront the rain
Is pouring in my heart
Here the memories come in waves
Raking in the lost and found of years
And though I'd like to laugh
At all the things that led me on
Somehow the stigma still remains
Is our love strong enough?
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Other reviews
By Cleo
Sylvian has something unique, he has a warm and soothing voice, an elegant and rarefied appearance that goes beyond the 'dandy'.
Secrets Of The Beehive is a masterpiece whose review I would like to see appear in the 'evergreen' section.
