DEAD CAN DANCE (1981-1998)

Unfortunately this box set is long out of print, yet there is so much on this box set for Dead Can Dance fans to salivate over. It's probably a bit much for the casual fan, but die-hard fans (like me) this is a wonderfully comprehensive overview of DCD's 12 year history.

One of the notable items to be excited about is the inclusion of the DVD. This includes the concert performance Toward the Within (with interview footage), along with five promotional videos ("The Host of Seraphim", "Frontier", "The Protagonist", "Yulunga", and "The Carnival Is Over"). The videos are rich with imaginative direction and ideas (especially "Carnival"), such a far cry from the rubbish that passes as music videos these days. It's a shame DCD didn't produce more of these.

The audio CDs also offer new and exciting additions to the DCD cataloge. "Labor of Love" and "Threshold" find DCD closer to a conventional Rock band unit, complete w/ guitars and drum machine rhythms, and thus got tagged early in their career as "Gothic Rock". DCD surprised everyone when they made a stunning foray into exploring music from various cultures and time periods, thus producing diverse material from the Italian 14th century dance-step of "Salterello" to the percussive African rhythms of "Nierika".

The most valuable item on this set is the inclusion of the final track that Perry and Gerrard recorded together as DCD, called "The Lotus Eaters". This song was to be included on the band's follow-up to the Spiritchaser album, but the rest of the proposed album's music never materialized, leaving this bittersweet glimpse of what musical directions DCD might have taken next. Lisa Gerrard weaves her stunning voice in and around the leisurely pace of the drums and Brendan Perry's guitar playing. The impact of the break-up of DCD is felt greatest on this song.

The packaging of this set alone deserves a star. It comes in a thoughtfully designed sleeve, with the 4 discs included inside a hardbound book of landscape photographs and text information.

(Adapted from my Amazon review)