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Rating:
There is always a sense of restless contrast in everything that Mark Oliver Everett's mind, aka Mr. E, brings to light. There is always an underlying tension that pervades his music, even when - as in this case - it is wrapped in apparent lightheartedness. There is always something that recalls unresolved issues, more or less hidden among the notes of his songs. Therefore, what is shown on stage carries with it all the experiences from behind the scenes, on the stage of life.
Thinking about it, these are the reasons that made me fall in love with the music of Eels, even though their musical production has suffered from some inconsistency in the past. Nevertheless, I couldn't resist even this time from their latest work, and for three other reasons as well. The first is that this is their first official live album, which naturally piqued my interest. The second is that this album follows and connects to "Blinking Lights And Other Revelations", which was for me one of the most beautiful albums of the past year. The third reason, perhaps the most interesting one, derives from the peculiar musical structure of the album, which does not flatten itself pedantically on studio works. In fact, the live album is characterized by the particular and happy combination of a string quartet with sounds of guitars, double bass, piano, celesta, pump organ, lap steel, autoharp, melodica in an original blend that does not betray the spirit of the Eels. On the contrary, these particular arrangements that Mr. E has chosen actually enhance his music, giving it new breath and freshness.
Recorded in 2005 at the Town Hall in New York, the live album opens with just an acoustic guitar and the slightly strained voice of Mr. E., soon joined by strings that immediately give the sign of the stylistic figure of this mostly clean, bare, dry music, but never trivial, managing to keep alive throughout the listening experience a melancholic and sometimes dark, other times vibrant atmosphere. Few exceptions to this scheme: unsettling music box interludes, evolutions of frenzied strings, dry percussion, country rock digressions are some of the pieces that complete the musical picture which is overall not uniform, over which however floats constantly the personality of Mr. E with his warm and slightly hoarse voice narrating his world of moods, craziness, and memories. The selection of the songs starting from the latest studio work well synthesizes the history of the group, plus we find an interesting cover of "Girl From The North Country" by Bob Dylan, giving an idea of what Mark Oliver Everett’s cultural references might be.
Beyond the acoustic dimension, the "theatrical" element is another characteristic value of this album, highlighted by the discreet applause of the audience between songs, almost not wanting to affect the intimate atmosphere of the listening experience. On the other hand, to better grasp this characteristic, it might be better to get this concert on DVD, although doing so - at least for me - runs the risk of regretting even more not having seen it live. The choice is yours.
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