Crushed Velvet Apocalypse

New to the dots? This is perhaps their most accessible album. CVA reaches into the melodic past and foreshadows what is to come. A blend of cascading, musical brilliance and impending doom creates a mental image both astounding and terrifying. LPD is THE music to play alone. If you are fond of depth in your music, buy this cd!

The Legendary Pink Dots is a minoritary band. If they had made their music in the 70's they would be, I think, now as classic and mythical as Pink Floyd or The Velvet Underground. But since they made their music in the 80's and 90's, an age in which easy listening is what people prefer and it's very difficult for good innovating bands to become as successful (I think that if pink Floyd or The beatles would be bands of this age they wouldn't be as legendary as they are), The Legendary Pink Dots is then a selective band.
And they are one of the best bands that ever put their feet on the earth. They defy styles and genre: they can be psychedelic, industrial, pop, rock, atmsopheric, acoustic, etc... it's a band that doesn't get trapped in a monodimensional music. They truly innovate and push frontiers forward.
Once said this, it happens that 'Crushed Velvet apocalypse' is maybe one of their best (and this is a difficult task since they have about 30 albums!) It's one of their more psychedelic albums, every song is a jewel in its own style.
'I love you in your tragic beauty' is a perfect ay to begin the album. An eminently acoustic song, the lyircs and singing are so so good while the fragile acoustic guitar completes a magnificent song. Melancholy, sadness turned into a song.
'The green gang' is quite another thing. With a 4 minute long instrumental intro, in which electronics are combined with sitars and guitars perfectly, this is a very good song. Psychedelia starts to make its appearance in the album.
'Hellsville' is a very disturbing song. Electronic, creepy chorus, you think you'll hate it but it sticks to your head.
'Hellowe'en' is a short instrumental piece, a good interval.
'The safeway' is very good. Ritualistic singing, disturbing words, good chorus. I love it.
'Just a lifetime' is one of the 2 colossal songs in the album. Mid tempo, gentle in its surface but sth creepy lies underneath the melodic keyboards. It's one of those long songs at first I never grasp its melody and after the 3rd or 4th listen I say: wow. It's a msterpiece, and once you hear it you think it can't be surpassed. (but just wait...)
'The death of Jack the ripper' is more abrasive. Full of creepy samples, more agressive voice, Ka-spel's voice is so so good. He can be gentle, melancholy, dirturbing, and stmes as scary as Skinny Puppy's Ogre.
'New tomorrow': you thought nothing could surpass 'Just a lifetime'? wrong. New tomorrow is THE song. 10 minutes long, it has an interlude which saves us from boredom. Sad, perfect. So emotional can Ka-spel and co be! It's one of my favourite songs from this band or any other. Please, listen to it. If you feel music as I do, nothing will be the same after you listen to this mastersong.
And then we have the 'princess coldheart ep':
It's somewhat different in style, but it's not out of style as a hole in the album.
'princess coldheart' is a good song, good chorus, somewhat repetitive but more up-tempo than the previous songs.
'The pleasure palace' is the most abrasive. It's as if LPD and Skinny Puppy merged. I like it, nothing against it except... it's too long.
'The collector' is a very disturbing piece. Not as abrasive as the previous, more similar to 'princess coldheart' though less catchy.
'CVA' is a short instrumental song made up of samples from the rest of the songs in the album.
As a whole, this album is very very good. One of the most disturbing by the band, it can be gentle and scary at the same time. Every time I listen to it I feel as if I was listening to a legendary work of art... but for the fact that 99% of the people ignore it.
If you like LPD, buy it. If you like Pink Floyd and you have heard sth about this band, buy it. If you like industrial, rock, psychedelia, progressive rock, atmospheric rock, etc etc... buy it. if you like music, please please give it a try.

The second in a series of ten LPD reissues on Caciocavallo, this is the complete version of the Play It Again Sam release from 1990.

Another classic from Ka-Spel, just can't get enough of LPD! Great work!

Don't be a fool and pay $26.00 for this, it's not rare or out of print, LPD's are available at Soleilmoon's website for $10.99 brand new, remastered, sounds better than the old copies. Also available at Strange Fortune's website.