Cheap Dead Can Dance - Toward the Within (Video) (Mark Magidson (II)) Price

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Customer Reviews of Dead Can Dance - Toward the Within

I have not heard anything like this mixture of music before or since. This band would be equally at home in ancient Egypt, on Babylon 5, or in Vahalla. The way they weave Celtic, Germanic, Turkish, Egyptian, African, and who knows what other influences and instruments with synthesizers and electric bass is unique beyond verbal description.

Lisa Girrard's voice is unbelievable. The video is wonderful because they do closeups while she is singing, and it is quite powerful to see her actually producing these sounds. Her voice is like one would imagine a valkyrie - the power of a tsunami with the delicacy of a hummingbird all at the same time. When you hear some female singers, like Kate Bush, Tori Amos, Enya, etc., you see goddess archetypes like Diana or Isis. With Lisa it is more like Kali. This is feminine energy, but it hits you like a freight train in the chest. Which is not to say it is harsh or ragged. Quite the contrary, she exhibits a control over her voice that is remarkable. She weaves soft Celtic lilting notes with deep, powerful tones, modulated by a Turkish or Berber-style vibrato that is amazing. Think German opera blended with belly dancing music and you will be in the ballpark, although that description really misses the true power and beauty of the songs. This is a woman who makes you feel the goddess in your gut as well as your heart, like Ann Wilson, Tina Turner, Janis Joplin, etc., but with a decidedly surreal twist. Lisa often sings in a language she creates herself, which adds to the mystique of their music. In some ways, she reminds me of Nina Hagen, although Hagen went from opera to more average punk rock. The power and control of their voices feels similar to me. (Your mileage may vary.)

I don't care for the more traditional folksongs, although they are very well done. The quality of the other musicians is superb, and again, watching them in the video gives you an added perspective to the way all the different influences weave together. I love the way the drummer, Ronan, runs in place in time with the music. This man lives his percussion!

If you like world music with a heavy touch of other-worldliness, try out this video. It is not for the faint of heart or those who like common, run-of-the-mill music of any flavor. This is very different stuff indeed.

Like watching Jesus take part in a forgotten ritual
This program opens with an amazing film that celebrates the creation of the world and its people. There's nothing in this film that you haven't seen before - time lapses of clouds, aerial films of smoldering volcanos, a waterfall pouring into a rainbow, natives dancing, and dervishes whirling - but the composition of the images, and Lisa Gerard's haunting performance of "Yulunga," make this opening seven minutes of eternal bliss.

The rest is concert footage and interviews. Most of the band is unremarkable; the band looks like they've strolled in for a few beers and stuck around to make some music. But Gerard radiates power when she sings; you cannot help but worship her, she looks like a glowing white Athena and her voice is the call of Kali.

Especially when she sings in her own language, and there are no understandable words to disturb the left hemisphere of your brain. Gerard's sparing facial expressions are like drops of water passing over marble. The slow changes to her lips and her eyes are all you need to understand well enough what she is singing about.

The interview footage comes, really, as a needed break from all the holiness of the music. The two singers seem then to be quite ordinary, and if truth be known, full of it - to explain any kind of inspiration, you can only make up a story that is somewhere around the truth. But the music defies, and does not need, any explanation.

Magnetic & dynamic sounds that would 'irk' a skinhead ...
The first time I saw this production was on laser disc, on a wonderful screen (with a wonderful date!).
My mother was very much into this elusive band ... But I was not patient enough to listen to the sounds she played for myself.
Then I saw this movie on 'disc'. I had tears in my eyes, but looked like those people in the movie 'Batman' who were dying from the 'laughing disease!" Do you want to feel like Saliere' and elated at the same time? Watch this video!
I finally found myself envious of someone, one of the major performers of the band - Lisa Gerrard.