Dead Bees On A Cake [CD]

As others have mentioned previously, Dead Bees on a Cake was Sylvian’s long-awaited follow up to the near masterpiece Secrets of the Bee Hive, as well as a spiritual and sensual ode to his wife and muse Ingrid Chavez... It is the combination of these disparate factors that accounts for the wavering, dreamlike quality that the songs possess, with Sylvian never sticking to one style... always moving, experimenting and re-examining the music that came before. It can be inconsistent listen to an infuriating degree; though songs like I Surrender, Midnight Sun and Café Europa more than justify the price of admission.

Things kick of in a grand fashion with the nine and a half-minute epic I Surrender, in which Sylvain paints a portrait of inner-city life and love with the sounds of metropolitan jazz. The result is pitched somewhere between early Miles Davis, Tom Waits and even shades of Chris Rea, though with the trademark Sylvian touch of impassive, moody vocals and swirling, nocturnal lyrics elevating it beyond the realms of the MOR top-forty. Dobro #1 and Midnight Sun are both densely atmospheric Americana retreads, with Sylvian not sounding too far from M. Ward on his End of Amnesia LP, as he spins his lyrics over a strangely timeless bed of instrumentation, which could have easily been recorded one-hundred years ago...

Other standout tracks include the mournful Shining of Things, which looks back to the melancholic string arrangements found on Beehive, and the jazz-tinged travelogue (and aforementioned) Café Europa, in which Sylvian’s lyrics are like Dylan’s on Blonde on Blonde; mixing epic narrative rumination with surreal bursts of profound poetry. Pollen Path is a loud and freewheeling blast of post-punk noise, which does seem like something of an anachronism when placed between the more reflective, horn-lead numbers... whilst Wanderlust is one of the greatest examples of dreamy guitar pop to never bother the UK top ten.

The two final tracks bring the album to a close wonderfully, with the spiritual Islamic (don’t quote me on that) prayer Praise seeing Sylvian team with vocalist Shree Maa to create a beautiful and haunting song which prefigures the untitled tracks on Sigur Ros’s bracket’s album (in terms of divine, heavenly nonsense that is). Meanwhile, final track Darkest Dreaming is a classic Sylvian nighttime exploration of poetry and ambience that is not too far removed from something like Brilliant Trees or Nostalgia. Dead Bees on a Cake is a good album, filled with wonderful moments that are too often is hampered by a few inconsistent duds that brings down the final rating from a five to a four.

It is hardly surprising to find some off numbers in a record of this size and scope, with Sylvian creating an epic to no doubt make up for lost time... At this length, Sylvian could of easily shaved off four or five tracks and created a nine-piece masterpiece which created a mood that was un-broken by bouts of wildly self-indulgent experimentation. That said, most CD players do come with a skip button, and the tracks name checked previously are classics, in their own right... and at this current price too!! Why not give it a go.

'Dead bees on a cake'is the first solo LP proper from Sylvian since 'Secrets on the Beehive'. It has elements from all his previous solo incarnations, possibly even a bit of Japan. It also has some new influences- Ged Lynch's drum'n'bass inflected percussion, Talvin Singh's percussive presence, Ingrid Chavez's vocals (the b-side 'Whose trip is this?' demonstrates what a lovely voice she has- could someone reissue her Paisley Park LP? Oh, and she wrote 'Justify My Love'- before Lenny Kravitz sold her out to Madonna!)and the return of classic Sylvian collaborators: Steve Jansen and Ryuichi Sakamoto. This album is closer to a double LP in length- Sylvian seems to want to present an eclectic blend of styles (to makeup for time passed?): the Americana of 'Dobro', the 'Beehive'-strings of 'The Shining of Things', the John Cage meets Radiohead post-rock of 'Pollen Path', the heavenly guitar-pop of 'Wanderlust'...'I Surrender' is an epic, almost definitive song- it requotes lyrics from the obscure b-side, 'Earthbound', has horn playing remeniscent of 'Flamenco Sketches', a flute from 'Astral Weeks' and one of the most soulful voices ever. It's about nine minutes long- as ever the sign of a true epic: you don't notice the time pass and its over all too soon...'I Surrender' & 'Midnight Sun' also show Sylvian sampling for the first time- the former sampled The Mahavishnu Orcehestra's 'You Know You Know'. This took me to their wonderful 'The Inner Mounting Flame' LP: a fusion of 'Electric Ladyland'-Jimi and late Sixties Miles Davis/Tony Williams...The Miles influence is stretched further on 'All My Mother's names'- closest to 'Bitches Brew' tracks, 'Spanish Key' & 'Sanctuary' (also 'Meeting of two spirits' by Mahavishnu).'Krishna Blue' reminds me more of 'In a silent way' and Bjork (the latter due to the Talvin Singh connection). 'Cafe Europa' reminds me of Japan's 'Nightporter'- tho' is less over the top, more reflective & laidback; imagine Bryan Ferry singing on Talk Talk's 'Spirit of Eden'...'God Man' is the least track on the album, at least its short- the electronic whirs reference the fact that Goldie & Roni Size & Tricky have all been influenced by 'Ghosts'. Sylvian acknowledges his past, which is nice...'Thalhiem' is between 'Before the Bullfight' and 'Buoy', perhaps even 'Brilliant Trees'- a more typical Sylvian track. The closer 'Darkest Dreaming' is an extension on such tracks as 'The First Day' & 'Damage'- a swirling minimal ambience traced back to 'Taking Islands in Africa'...It also offers the possibility of doubt, the potential fade of long term happiness. Of bliss...This album would be the perfect introduction to Sylvian- and proof that time & money are pointless. Is Sylvian a luxury? All I know is more people should get this album- a further example of Sylvian's on-going excellence. Yes, another definitive, obligatory purchase...

I have to disagree with the above view (eloquent but inaccurate) I have been a great fan of Sylvians work from the days of Japan, but Brillian Trees, his first solo album was a breath of fresh air to me and opened up an interest in all things ambient and jazzy, except your run of the mill new age music. Since then he has done several great albums, secrets of the beehive had its weakness's although great but First day was disappointing except Jean the Birdman. This is a self indulgent album,(he relies less on the influence of others musical input) but as we are interested in Sylvian then this is only a bonus. It was my favourite album along with Moby's PLAY in 1999 and I highly recommend you buy it, but do be patient with it. It may grow to be your favourite album of his, but it may take several weeks, such is the genius of this man.