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Serpent's Egg [Re-Mastered]

Dead Can Dance - Serpent's Egg [Re-Mastered] Audio CD

A fair review of the Dead Can Dance "Serpent's Egg [Re-Mastered]" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Dead Can Dance reviews here, or go back to the Dead Can Dance tabs.

Band: Dead Can Dance
Title: Serpent's Egg [Re-Mastered]
Rating:

Release Date: 2008-07-22
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: The Host Of Seraphim 2: Orbis De Ignis 3: Severance 4: The Writing On My Father's Hand 5: In The Kingdom Of The Blind The One-Eyed Are Kings 6: Chant Of The Paladin 7: Song Of Sophia 8: Echolalia 9: Mother Tongue 10: Ullyses

This Is A Remastered Version Of The CD
I had the original 4ad versions from the late 80s and there really is no comparison. Seems strange that it isn't mentioned in the information for this title but, the versions of the Dead Can Dance that came out in 2008, are all remastered by Mobile Fidelity and they sound fantastic (using this one as an example, I don't have the others yet) compared to what was before. The dynamics, stereo image and detail are like night and day between the two. This version is beautiful, like color compared to black and white.

If you do not have a SACD player there is no reason to get those versions at all. You will not be able to use that layer of the hybrid CD, you will able to only listen to the regular remastered CD version which is what this is.

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The end of an amazing peak
Utilising simple, exceedingly slow, but funky beats and instrumentation closer to classical music than rock they created two albums with a deep darkness that made even the heaviest black metal sound completely shallow. With 1985's Spleen and Ideal and 1987's Within the Realm of a Dying Sun, Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry, from beginnings in gothic postpunk, created a sound so different that it is a wonder they began where they did. Lisa Gerrard's glossolalic vocals might have captured the attention, but Perry's big, yet never pompous voice was equally good.

On "The Serpent's Egg", Dead Can Dance maintain the same basic formula of their two previous masterpieces, but become of anything even more abstract and inaccessible, with the dense rhythms disappearing in favour of a more melodic instrumentation. This is seen on the powerful, epic organ-based opener "The Host of Seraphim", commonly cited as the band's defining moment and a wondrous piece of work even if a little too long. Second track "Orbis de Ignis" shows further the changes: at times Lisa Gerrard sounds a little like Anne Briggs, and on the harpsichord-drive "The Writing on My Father's Hand" she takes this traditional folk influence even deeper: the single-note rhythm mixes the sound of a harpsichord and a guitar with perfect ease.

The rhythmic beats the band was to use before and after are still seen on "Echolalia", which, however, must rank as almost the best song here with Lisa's amazing, passionate vocal that beats Le Myst�re des Voix Bulgares at its own game. "Mother Tongue" is extremely danceable but, unlike the disappointing work they did later, truly entrancing and wonderfully simple. "Chant of the Paladin", however, is the one disappointment here, being a representation of where Dead Can Dance would go in the 1990s. The warm, soothing "Song of Sophia" is however truly prayerful in tone and lisa sounds right on form.

However, on "The Serpent's Egg" it is the Brendan Perry vocals that provide the true highlights with three brilliant songs. The organ-based ballad "Severance", which can move any listener to tears, makes so many pop singers look like fools with pompous arrangements and is about the easiest listen for a neophyte in the Dead Can Dance canon, being quite catchy in its slow chorus. "In the Kingdom of the Blind the One-Eyed Are Kings" is a remarkably simple folk ballad made up of alternating piano and harpsichord notes and Perry's soulful voice given so much space it expresses emotions conveying the deepest fear imaginable when Brendan sings "chaos in motion". Closer "Ulysses" is the closest song to their previous two albums, but its twinkling harpsichord provides an amazing complement for Perry taking on a different tone amidst beautiful backing from Lisa and simple strings. then, some more typical vocals from Brendan take the song up to a level few have ever matched. The lyrics express the tone of the music's sadness as well as they could: even when Perryis depairing, he does not rant and indeed sounds as warm as Lisa normall would.

All in all, apart from one misstep, "The Serpent's Egg" stands as the last of a masterful trio of albums by one of the most unique duos in late twentieth-century music.

SACD version = AMAZING
How much better can a cd sound? The music on this cd is great on its own. I bought this SACD reissue (along with the other 8 DCD SACDS recently released) with trepidation, wondering if it would be worth the money. It's deep, spiritual, complex, well-crafted music that often transcends expectations. To put it simply, the music is heavenly. It manages to be dark and spiritual, yet uplifting at the same time, without ever seeming corny or overwrought. The band exercises its creativity without restraint, but it's never self-indulgent. The voices complement one another. Brendan is deep, masculine, and earthy, whereas Lisa is otherworldly, wordless, and pure sounding.

Regardless of whether or not you like this type of sound, the SACD version of this disc is amazing. It surpassed any hopes or expectations I may have had. Listening to this program is like listening to it for the first time. Every nuance is brought out, clear, crisp, full-bodied, yet there isn't that sense of the sound having been cranked up as you may notice on other "remasters. " Some companies who remaster old albums seem to believe that "loud" is better. I've bought remasters before and thought they were worse than the originals as they just sound "blaring. " These SACD reissues were left in capable hands as all of them sound astounding.

The band's two earliest releases ("Dead Can Dance" and "The Garden of the Arcane Delights") were maybe my least favorites. They certainly sound better, clearer, more detailed, but the SACD versions tend to underscore the limitations present when they were originally recorded. They tend to be a little more shrill, but that's simply how they have always been in my humble opinion. Don't get me wrong, they're still great cds, but simply not my favorites.

The other 7 sound rich and much warmer, particularly "Within the Realm of a Dying Sun," which to me, always had a cold, stark feeling to it. It sounds amazing. ("Dawn of the Iconoclast" is frightening. ) All of this music has been given new life. The live cd in particular, "Toward the Within," literally takes your breath away (The track "Cantara" is thrilling. ) If you are a dedicated fan of this band you have to consider getting an SACD player and these discs. You won't regret it. For those who don't know, you cannot hear the SACD program on these discs without an SACD player. If you play them on a regular cd player, you won't hear the high resolution version.

I love this cd
I've never heard of them before it. This is the cd that got me turned unto The Dead Can Dance. Now I'm addicted to this group.
I very highly recommend this cd.
I think it's beautifully done. It's one of those rare cds where I actually like all of the songs on it. .

Aonther highly appealing offering
For as brief and seemingly light the album feels compositionally, Serpent's Egg still rests somewhere near the top of this immersive act's most sensual disc's on the whole. A short, repetitious, minimal, but often spectacular album refines further some of the haunting world-goth music this legendary duo helped pioneer. The crisp, diverse instrumentation, transportive vocals, and ethereal production all merge effortlessly to bring another modern mystical classic to their unique and impressive catalog.

You can see a complete list of all Dead Can Dance discography, or go back to the Dead Can Dance tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.