Dead Bees on A Cake - A flawed beauty?

[Simonp]

I've been listening to this album a lot recently and it's always been my least favourite Sylvian release but there really are some beautiful songs on there - "I Surrender" "Thalheim" "The Shining Of Things" "Darkest Dreaming" "Wanderlust" and of course the lovely Dobro track. Anyone else think this album could have been a classic if Sylvian has been a bit more ruthless about what songs made the final cut? I mean this album would have been fantastic if "The Scent Of Magnolia" opened it and "Pollen Path" was replaced by "Cover Me With flowers".

[godisinthesilences]

Simon I couldn't agree more with you. ALthough i do really like Cafe Europa.... and I do love Praise....

[Silver Moon]

My 2nd favorite song on there... Besides Darkest Dreaming, is "All of my mother's names" ... it reminds me a lot of his instrumentals. But no one every seems to mention it! Anyone else agree?

-K-

[baht habit]

I definitely agree that had Sylvian practiced some sort of self-editing in regards to Dead Bees On A Cake, then the album would have benefitted highly.
I've probably already bored most with my preferred sequence of songs, but I'll dare to exhaust the rest:

1 - Pollen Path
2 - Dobro #1
3 - Midnight Sun
4 - Krishna Blue
5 - The Shining Of Things
6 - Godman
7 - All Of My Mother's Names
8 - I Surrender
9 - Darkest Dreaming

I personally find that this tracklist creates a conceptual mood throughout that the actual cd lacks.

[Burnsjed]

Sadly I rarely, if ever, give this a play.
Though it does have a some very very strong tracks on it, but for me they kinda get lost in the blandness of what surrounds them.

[proggrl]

I still really don't get what problems people seem to have with this album. I think it's brilliant and beautiful and every bit as good a DS album as SOAB.

There. I said it and I'm sticking to it.

[camphorvan]

I think there are some fantastic tracks on this album. At one point it was going to be a double and I reckon it would have worked better than a single CD release. A kind of white album for the millenium - lots of different track stylings throughout; a really weighty piece of work. A little more time and the two other dobro's could have made it on, plus Scent of Magnolia and some perhaps more esoteric stuff would have found a more comfortable home. Shame it didn't happen.

I love the packaging of this album - particularly the inner art work; hopeful, calming etc. Some of my favourite tracks ever include The Shining of Things which I think is a magnificently sad but hopeful song. Also, I love I Surrender - that cello and flute work wonders; talk about darkness and light! Also, Darkest Dreaming. I tire now of Godman etc, although it's still deeply funky.
As a single, I think it would have been better to tighten it up and exclude tracks like All My Mothers Names, which I think works terrifically in the context of Camphor, but not so well on DBOAC.

Dead Bees seems to to be the last time Virgin made any effort with Sylvian at all; Camphor's track info is wrong; silly mistakes that weren't checked. The only flaw I think is the lounge lizardness of Cafe Europa, the out of contextness of All My Mother's Names.

A great album with some track exclusions in my view.

[camphorvan]

Oh actually...Pollen Path I think rocks, but perhaps out of place on that album. I love the craziness of it....

[Stoobie]

Must admit to liking DBOAC, reminds me of my visit to Colorado the same year. I call it his American Album, prefer it to Blemish anyday.

Now theres a comment to discuss............

Stoobie

[mikaels]

...because I seldom put it on, but when I read your song list, I wonder why, because they are all great...
Somehow, it is not a album as much as a bunch of songs, some of which are quite good, if that makes any sense.
But it is no Brilliant Trees, or Secrets...

[baht habit]

I absolutely agree that Dead Bees in it's actual form (70 minutes) is more a collection of songs composed over a number of years rather than a cohesive piece of art, in stark contrast to the overall mood that Sylvian was able to create with earlier releases.
I figure that is why I felt compelled to break it down and find some thematic continuity within the set. I thought the potential for being a solid release is already there and necessary editing was in order. With the exception of the obvious conclusion of Darkest Dreaming, the album's track list is poorly sequenced in my opinion. Pollen Path seems to me to be a logical opener, the music jars and alerts the listener to pay attention and the lyrical content seems like a welcoming mission statement for the rest of the album. It's true effectiveness is diminished by being placed so far down the tracklist on the cd.

[javier]

Great thread.
Like BahtHabit I agree with some track removal and tweaking to the track order this becomes a gem of an album.
My preferred ordering:

Pollen Path
Midnight Sun
Dobro #1
Godman
All Of My Mother's Names
The Shining Of Things
Praise
I Surrender
Krishna Blue
Darkest Dreaming

Alphabet Angel could maybe slide in after Godman.

Thalheim is a difficult track - could possibly remain in there before Krishna Blue - it's a lovely song but to me it always seems in between places - the instrumentation could almost be a cool spacious Gone To Earth outtake but the vocal melody for me lacks warmth and tends towards the blandness of Wanderlust and Cafe Europa. The whole thing ends up sounding a bit languid and sluggish.

[proggrl]

Thalheim is a difficult track - could possibly remain in there before Krishna Blue - it's a lovely song but to me it always seems in between places - the instrumentation could almost be a cool spacious Gone To Earth outtake but the vocal melody for me lacks warmth and tends towards the blandness of Wanderlust and Cafe Europa. The whole thing ends up sounding a bit languid and sluggish.

Mmmm You just poo-poo'd my 3 favourite tracks from there (OK, maybe I Surrender is prefered over CE). Luckily there are enough Great tracks on it - you can't go wrong. I still enjoy it - beginning to end and I think I'm going to go put it right now. Probably turn it up at Thalheim and Wanderlust!

I also fixed your track list - this could work quite nicely:

Pollen Path
Midnight Sun
Thalheim
Dobro #1
Godman
All Of My Mother's Names
Cafe Europa
The Shining Of Things
Praise
Wanderlust
I Surrender
Krishna Blue
Darkest Dreaming

[baht habit]

Great minds think alike, Javier Our preferred tracks are nearly the same. I like to have Dobro 1 follow Pollen Path, since Marc Ribot's guitar part during the coda of Pollen Path slides so well into Bill Frisell's guitar playing on Dobro 1. And though you seem to have songs with a more mellow temperment dominating the second half of the sequence of songs you came up with, I made an effort to vary things a little more dynamically. I especially enjoy the jarring effect that is created by the filthy funk of Godman following the serenity of The Shining Of Things. I see we've both listed All Of My Mother's Names following Godman...again, great minds think alike. What makes those two songs so impressive, in my opinion, is the brilliant drumming of Orris Warner...the groove on Godman is gold and his work during the pure jazz section of All Of My Mother's Names is impeccable. I recall reading that his drum take on that track beat out Mark Mondesir's drum take on the same section, and Mondesir is definitely no slouch when it comes to jazz either.
Happy New Year to you all!

[godisinthesilences]

Thalheim is a difficult track - could possibly remain in there before Krishna Blue - it's a lovely song but to me it always seems in between places - the instrumentation could almost be a cool spacious Gone To Earth outtake but the vocal melody for me lacks warmth and tends towards the blandness of Wanderlust and Cafe Europa. The whole thing ends up sounding a bit languid and sluggish.

Mmmm You just poo-poo'd my 3 favourite tracks from there (OK, maybe I Surrender is prefered over CE). Luckily there are enough Great tracks on it - you can't go wrong. I still enjoy it - beginning to end and I think I'm going to go put it right now. Probably turn it up at Thalheim and Wanderlust!

I also fixed your track list - this could work quite nicely:

Pollen Path
Midnight Sun
Thalheim
Dobro #1
Godman
All Of My Mother's Names
Cafe Europa
The Shining Of Things
Praise
Wanderlust
I Surrender
Krishna Blue
Darkest Dreaming

I gotta agree with progrl here... the three tracks removed were my favourites. Not being a particular lover of weird guitar twangs dobro could be skipped aside from david's lovely vocals. Not a huge lover of God Man or midnight sun.... but over all i think the album is one of his best.
Don't you think artist's put albums together in a way like an artist hangs a gallery show? I know I have a particular story or idea i want to get across so the order in which my work is shown and hopefully viewed is in that order. I find people don't get my work when they remove the context in which it should be viewed in.