BLRR
The Long Dead Sevens : The white waltz & Other stories (UK,2008)****
I listened at least twice very attentively to this release (for I missed the lyrics and couldn’t grasp the whole range of intentions at first). Already from the start it was clear how much the lead singer exposed a slightly scraped-crooning, baritone voice with a dramatic darkness in his voice and singing, which for its attractive colour and specific provoking qualities brings almost too obviously Nick Cave to mind. Where I had the impression Nick Cave sings a bit more from his ‘inner voice’ to choose his subjects, -I still think his ‘classics’ are by small numbers mostly spread over his releases,- The Long Dead Stevens songs sounded at first listen more theatrical than that, and less of a vision of someone with a need to come out of its loss, imaginations of a more gangster-like cabaret expression, where the singer loves the place for it’s decay. But after deeper investigation while listening, and looking behind a few ‘Western’ typed dramas, which are without much of a judgment, like a fatal pose, hidden in blues and Americana caves of shelter the hidden person behind that is the drunk and self-destructive, who has in an almost religious need for relief. Every arrangement of each track builds up with powerful drama, mixing slide guitars with acoustic guitars or banjo, with drums and some congas, and a bit of violin and classical compositions (with just tiny hints to contemporary classical music), at the edges. The guest backing vocals by Sarah Miller gives a bit of that Cohen feeling of her arrangements, a flavour which suits these songs perfectly. They asked Boris Wilsdorf (Einstuerzende Neubauten’s producer) to do the final production, a reason and interest why they might have added just a little bit of enforced experiment (a watercan percussive sound on one of the last tracks), nothing absolutely essential, -because in fact the songs are its force of music-, except for the last, more experimenting track, where even there each added element is more like an (effective) pulsation (reverb sounds of orchestrations, haunting voices, a sort of bass heart beat, violin, drones from a machine, …), before some last waltz-like violin arrangement and song concludes the score.
The Long Dead Sevens is Paul J. Rogers : acoustic/electric guitars, soundsculpture, melodica, broken zither, ... percussion, backing vocals ; Nick Cliff : vocals ; Jenny Hames : piano, keyboard, violins ; Nick Hames : drums, percussion ; Ian Turner : banjo, steel slide/ resonator guitar, bass, 12 string; guest backing vocals by Sarah Miller (currently backing vocalist for Tony Christie), and the Cantemus Chamber Choir (for a small appearance) ; with Matt Fisher : engineering, and Boris ‘Mephisto’ Wilsdorf (Einstuerzende Neubauten’s producer who has also worked before with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and also The Tiger Lillies) for co-production.
