Dead Bees on a Cake

[sexandpolitics]

What do you think?

I bought the cd at a pawn shop for $2 and now I can see why.
I think that this was a "Yoko Ono and John Lennon" mistake. There is no doubt that every decision we make is influenced by the things we love and respect... But I stand by this 100%, love is cheese, love is blind, and love fails. So, it is quite a challenge to express love in a profound way when you're whispering "Oooh, baby" in the mic. Does anybody know what I'm talking about? I feel like Ingrid was an intrusion on David's passionate process and he was just a willing recipient.

[sonic_chronicler]

Some great songs on there IMHO

Sonic

[proggrl]

Hmmm... I'm gonna say give it some time and a few more listens. First time I heard it I thought it was good, not great - pretty much put it down and went back to Secrets and Gone to Earth, etc. But picked it up one day and headed to the beach with it for a proper listen. Thought it was the most beautiful thing I ever heard - just simple and peaceful. I love it - stands as a work of art in its own right for me!

[Silver Moon]

Most people consider it their least favorite. And so did I for a while, but on my way to school one day it was the only CD in the car, so I popped it in... It was great!!! It was very calming to the nerves on the way to school. I love the song Darkest Dreaming. I also love the different music styles the songs had. Midnight Sun is great. Though I love this album, his other solo albums are still my favorite! And about Ingrid... I don't care for her breathy voice that much on his work. I like Stina Nordenstam's contributions far more, even though I don't like her voice that much either!! But she is very good on Nine Horses...

-K-

[sheisnot]

Funny, I was just thinking about this earlier today, how most DS fans consider DBOAC a disappointment. I've never understood this. "Midnight Sun", "I Surrender", and "Darkest Dreaming" are some of David's finest works, in my opinion, and the rest of the album ain't nothing to sniff at, either. I think the only song on the album that I don't really care for so much is "All My Mother's Names". I will also admit that aside from her appearance on "Heartbeat", I generally do not care for Ingrid's breathy vocals--sometimes that phone sex voice just irritates me. With that said, I don't think she was allowed to overpower the album; I think DS made judicious use of her voice for the most part. Also, you have to put her contribution into the proper context. For the most part, David and Ingrid lived a solitary life with their children (according to some interviews and his comments on "Time Spent"). Why not make an album about the most important things in your life at the time--love, family and spirituality?

Let's face it: he'll never make another "Secrets of the Beehive". He's just not there anymore. He's moved on. I think artistically "Dead Bees On a Cake" was a successful follow-up to SOTB and deserves more recognition than it gets.

[Poisoned_Apathy]

Well, probably I don't listen to it as often as I listen to Secrets or Brilliant Trees , but I love it. I think it's really a beautiful album. It's very calming and smooth , plus there are a lot of great songs on it. I love 'I surrender' , 'Darkest Dreaming' or 'Krishna Blue' , but the whole album is a nice listen in its entirety.

[baht habit]

I was slightly disappointed by Dead Bees On A Cake upon first listen,...though I will freely admit that I approached the disc with a certain predisposition: I was expecting a more organic or acoustic style to the material in the manner of the Slow Fire tour. There are some songs on the disc that I will probably never enjoy, and overall I find the cd a bit too longwinded to keep my full attention. I took the liberty of widdling down the tracklist and rearranging the order of songs in an attempt to create a more cohesive effort. I know that rearranging an artist's creation is somewhat sacrilege, but I felt it necessary
here is how I arranged my cd-r:
1- Pollen Path - I opt for a jarring opener, probably the most experimental track on the disc featuring a vocal by Sylvian. Both the idea of "welcome" and the connection to the album title makes for an obvious beginning in my opinion. And the sound of Marc Ribot's guitar slides quite easily into...
2- Dobro #1 - retains the slot in the second spot. Correct or incorrect to do so, I've also renamed this song "Summers With Amma". The piece is much too interesting and deserves a legitimate name rather than a mere description.
3- Midnight Sun - remains the third track. Sylvian in a bluesy mood.
4- Krishna Blue - I moved this one up because it constrasts nicely with the earthy feel of Midnight Sun. A sort of yin - yang thing.
5- The Shining Of Things - still following Krishna Blue. The orchestration harkens back to Secrets of the Beehive. Fripp's favorite on the disc.
6- God Man - Shakes the listener out of the serenity of The Shining Of Things. I like the slinky and sleezy groove.
7- All Of My Mother's Names - a spirited tribute to the late great Miles Davis, circa late 60's-early 70's....indian raga meets jazz. I really like Marc Ribot's erratic soloing. This piece over any really challenges the listener and I always prefer a challenge.
8- I Surrender - though this song breaks the flow of the disc with it's plastic R&B sound, is amazingly repetitive and is slightly annoying with it's lyrical references to past songs and projects, I included this one for the valiant performances of Kenny Wheeler and Lawrence Feldman. I could have easily included Thalheim or Wanderlust in it's place, but I figured that one poppish R&B number was more than enough, and the presence of Marc Ribot on this particular track gives it a continuity in line with the rest of my choices.
9- Darkest Dreaming - a perfect closer, as on the actual cd. a sense of melancholy and a sense of elation.

So that is how I listen to Dead Bees On A Cake. and I really like it now...all killer no filler

[sheisnot]

Wow, it's amazing how differently people hear songs. I never heard plastic or R&B in "I Surrender".

[krausy]

Wow, it's amazing how differently people hear songs. I never heard plastic or R&B in "I Surrender".

I hear the R& B influence in it, but I think it is more jazzy, and never ever plastic. I remember several months ago hearing this song for the first time while driving home from work one night and just being blown away---then the next night I heard "Wanderlust"..................I was toast for the rest of the week!!!!

I also like "God man" great groove!!

So I guess my vote is this album is a winner---I think I am more inclined to have my favorite songs on a particular album rather than an album as a whole, at least when it comes to David's solo work.

[baht habit]

Oh well, I had better clarify my earlier description of I Surrender.
It is indeed built upon an R&B feel, not that of what is considered R&B these days, but more like the soul of the late sixties-early seventies,...sort of akin to a slow jam by Isaac Hayes. And it is evident that Ingrid's experience with R&B and soul music influenced Sylvian while composing a few of the songs to be considered for inclusion on Dead Bees (I Surrender, Thalheim, Wanderlust, the one he gave to Ingrid titled Whose Trip Is This?). I like the jazz based chords and the funky little guitar licks thrown in from time to time, which are very much similar to the sounds preferred by soul musicians during the seventies.
But I didn't mean that the track was 'plastic' in a disposable way. I should have chosen my word there a little better. I was attempting to make a reference to the repetition of the mechanical and tinny drum sound (a processed sample of Billy Cobham's groove on Mahavishnu Orchestra's I Know You Know) of the track in comparison to the usually fuller sound of any rhythm instruments or programs on the remainder of the tracks I picked for inclusion.

[Silver Moon]

I agree with you Baht Habit- About the R&B vibe coming from those songs. At first it kind of puzzled me... But it isn't really R&B with DS, he creates his own genre!

I haven't tried your order yet- I will though on itunes tonight. I'm sure I'll like it because those are my favorite songs on the CD!

-K-

[tallulahtaurus]

I adore Dead Bees on a Cake.

Especially Pollen Path...the slow quiet section is tremendous. The Shining of Things grabs me too, the sad lament of it...exquisite perfectly pitched melancholy - but nor depressing. The same of course going for "Darkext Dreaming"

The immediacy and kick of God Man was what hooked me in though - that song doesn't sound like him... It was shocking to me somehow.

I mean the album as a whole to me is exquisitely done and suffused with love and mellow and I enjoy that. Given that I rather saw much of his work prior as rather 'interesting' - that is cold - but intriguing - the spirit behind this feels so different.

The lyrics aren't the best, the vibe is no longer terribly original or experimental or awe inspiring - God Man may not sound like him but it does sound like standard rock fare... well to me anyway...

It has this comfortable spirit through it and makes me happy more than it makes me feel awe -

Brilliant Trees makes me feel awe... and Gone to Earth does too...
I don't know how it can not be liked. I mean All of my mother's names is dire but the rest is gold.
I surrender...lol...I am so cheesy...

[japanfan]

Dead bees is an awesome album! I Surrender is one of my favourite Sylvian tunes and i hope he plays it at the up and coming tour.

[baht habit]

All Of My Mother's Names...'dire'? I can only assume that free form acid jazz is not to your liking as far as what you prefer to listen to for entertainment. As I had stated in my earlier post, the track is indeed challenging, but I don't think that 'dire' is a fair assessment, ...even if that person giving the assessment doesn't prefer that style. Sylvian obviously set out to capture the mood of the late sixties/early seventies freedom of Miles Davis' bands and I think he succeeded brilliantly, while even bringing that artistic freedom up to date into the modern era. The song obviously doesn't fall within your tastes, but 'dire' seems harsh to me, since that suggests some sort of failure and in my opinion, the track is in no way a failure.
oh, by the way, after seeing this thread again, I was wondering if anyone else had ever bothered to resequence the disc with the track list I suggested above? Coincidentally, I myself happened to listen to it just the other day while cleaning up around the house and still find it to be a much more cohesive listen than the actual release.

[Silver Moon]

'All of my Mother's names' is actually my second favorite on Dead Bee's to Darkest Dreaming! I absolutely love it. To me it sounds a bit sinister. It still has David Sylvian's sound even though different instruments are used. It's one of my favorite DS instrumentals.

-K-