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Track Listings
| Disc: 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. 1816, The Year Without a Summer | |||
| 2. Choose Me For Champion | |||
| 3. Cage In a Cave | |||
| 4. Incident In a Medical Clinic | |||
| 5. Draconian Crackdown | |||
| 6. Child Soldier Rebellion | |||
| 7. Oh Bring Back the Egg Unbroken | |||
| 8. Old Yellowcake Breaking News | |||
| 9. In Old Yellowcake | |||
| 10. We Stay Behind | |||
See all 12 tracks on this disc
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| Disc: 2 | |||
| 1. The Question Of Time | |||
| 2. Identity Tokens | |||
| 3. The Humanized Mice | |||
| 4. The Pruning (Pat O'Brian/Access Hollywood Mix) | |||
| 5. Flood Corps | |||
| 6. Incapable Of Regret | |||
| 7. Desert Vampire | |||
| 8. The Contractors | |||
| 9. Infidel (Instrumental Demo) | |||
Product Description
Review
As bands go, Rasputina are always going to come across as odd. They're a chamber-rock trio made up of two cellists and a drummer, who dress in a brilliant bizarre amalgam of Victoriana - all hoop skirts, corsets and bloomers, and their original concept was written as a manifesto by lead singer/cellist Melora Creager. So you approach any of their releases - this is their fifth studio outing - with the knowledge that anything that could happen. Yet, even taking that into account, Oh Perilous World will stretch the most open of minds on a first listen.
Taken at face value, the album is a musical adaptation of an imagined "Pulitzer prize-winning" book, The Files Of Thursday Christian - a novel that tells the tale of Abraham Lincoln's wife, Mary, leading her armies against the tiny Pacific colony of Pittcairn Island, where Bounty mutineer Fletcher Christian's son, the aforementioned Thursday, leads the resistance. Along the way, there are songs about the Easter Island stone heads, Medieval Israel, the Galileo Satellite and the fact the year 1816 didn't have a summer (which, it turns out, it actually didn't, thanks to the eruption of Mount Tambora the previous year), all set to a sound that is an addictive mélange of Joanna Newsom, the Fiery Furnaces and Throwing Muses, with a topping sprinkle of Marilyn Manson, just for good measure.
It would be easy to dismiss it as dazzling madness, but take a step back and a deeper listen, and you realise that it's actually Melora's brilliantly vivid response to the insane world she finds herself in. The lyrics for Choose Me For Champion are largely a translation of a speech by Osama Bin-Laden; Child Soldier Rebellion' knocks about the issue of African boy battalions; and In Old Yellowcake takes in the harrowing images of the devastation of Fallujah. In fact, scratch through the surface of that imagined story of Mary Todd Lincoln's attack on Pittcairn Island and you find what Melora thinks of America's current foreign policies.
Listening to Oh Perilous World is like hearing one long argument for the idea that the line between genius and insanity is a very thin one, but one that any truly adventurous musician must walk - even disregarding the lyrical content, their use of the cellos, chopping out fuzzed out chords and genuinely leaving you wondering how they made the instruments make the tunes, can only be described as maverick.
It is an album of unmistakable originality, glittering musicianship and acres of free thought - and that last fact alone means it must be applauded. --Chris Long
Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
CD Description
Melora has maintained the Rasputina group for almost 20(0) years. Genres come and go and Rasputina often gets mistakenly lumped into passing fancies, but Rasputina manages to survive and defy categorization by maintaining a child-like delight in music-making alongside a clear & true integrity. Since 2007's Oh Perilous World), Melora has released a number of limited edition short-works: Melora a la Basilica (live duets w/Daniel De Jesus), The Willow Tree Tryptich (3 ancient folk songs titled The Willow Tree), Ancient Cross-Dressing Songs (self-explanatory), and The Pregnant Concert (a full live show from September 2009). Melora grew up in Kansas in a musical family which did play together as an ensemble, though certainly not publicly. At 18 she moved to NYC where she studied photography at Parsons School of Design. While there, she began playing the cello with drag performers and eventually the 4AD band, Ultra Vivid Scene. That exposure to the glamorous world of professional rock music led her to begin Rasputina. She thought it would be easy. Touring as Nirvana's cellist taught her lessons in avoidance of immense fame, which she has successfully practised since. Rasputina made 2 albums for Columbia/Sony (Thanks for the Ether, How We Quite the Forest), 2 albums for Instinct Records (Cabin Fever!, Frustration Plantation) and Oh Perilous World on her own Filthy Bonnet Recording Co. label.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Gothic alt-rock played with cellos -- it sounds pretty horribly precious, doesn't it?
And it would be, if Rasputina weren't such great musicians, who could mingle tragic history stories with quirky chamberpop and classical instrumentation. And their latest album "Oh Perilous World" comfortably straddles the fence between rock and cabaret, and seems to be having fun while it does so.
It opens with a creepy, ominous cello melody, and Melora Creager's girlish voice telling us solemnly, "In the spring of 1315/There began an era of unpredictable weather/It did not lift until 1851/You remember 1816 as the year without a summer." It's a rambling, weird song about Freemasons, Ben Franklin, Frankenstein, volcanoes and other such subjects.
Things get even stranger with the quirky chamber-rocker that follows ("choose me to be your champion/I am possessing of a very righteous style!"), not to mention the string of melodies that follow: clashing cellopop, gothic balladry, a rapid-fire rocker, a tinkly pop song, rambling interludes, and the sweeping beauty of "Old Yellowcake" and the sly "A Retinue Of Moons/The Infidel Is Me."
Rasputina is one of those genrebusting bands -- they manage to keep themselves rooted in rock, pop, chamber music, and still sound like they live in a big old ruined Victorian house with some friendly ghosts and a lot of newspapers. They're a little bit of everything, and have kept their quirk.
Obviously the main instrument here is cello. Lots of cello. And Creager knows how to mold it to her purpose, whether it's a melodious sweep, an awkward twang, or urgent dark chords like an electric guitar. But to keep it from getting monotonous, there's some fuzzy guitar in "Draconian Crackdown" that takes over the song, as well as a gentle piano in the ballads, and a jingle of bells here and there.
Creager has a pretty, girlish voice, but she sings some pretty weird, sometimes gruesome songs about broken butterflies, blood-spattered lace curtains and the descendants of mutineers. Some are taken from actual history. And how can you ignore lyrics so quirky as to tell you that a reaper is inthe flowerbed? Or that "I have charisma and of course a winning smile/I stand accused of being an audacious redeemer/Not a charge I can deny."
Full of history and dark humor, "Oh Perilous World" is a pretty solid chamber-rock album that has its moments of excellence. Definitely worth hearing, if nothing else for its cello playing.
And it would be, if Rasputina weren't such great musicians, who could mingle tragic history stories with quirky chamberpop and classical instrumentation. And their latest album "Oh Perilous World" comfortably straddles the fence between rock and cabaret, and seems to be having fun while it does so.
It opens with a creepy, ominous cello melody, and Melora Creager's girlish voice telling us solemnly, "In the spring of 1315/There began an era of unpredictable weather/It did not lift until 1851/You remember 1816 as the year without a summer." It's a rambling, weird song about Freemasons, Ben Franklin, Frankenstein, volcanoes and other such subjects.
Things get even stranger with the quirky chamber-rocker that follows ("choose me to be your champion/I am possessing of a very righteous style!"), not to mention the string of melodies that follow: clashing cellopop, gothic balladry, a rapid-fire rocker, a tinkly pop song, rambling interludes, and the sweeping beauty of "Old Yellowcake" and the sly "A Retinue Of Moons/The Infidel Is Me."
Rasputina is one of those genrebusting bands -- they manage to keep themselves rooted in rock, pop, chamber music, and still sound like they live in a big old ruined Victorian house with some friendly ghosts and a lot of newspapers. They're a little bit of everything, and have kept their quirk.
Obviously the main instrument here is cello. Lots of cello. And Creager knows how to mold it to her purpose, whether it's a melodious sweep, an awkward twang, or urgent dark chords like an electric guitar. But to keep it from getting monotonous, there's some fuzzy guitar in "Draconian Crackdown" that takes over the song, as well as a gentle piano in the ballads, and a jingle of bells here and there.
Creager has a pretty, girlish voice, but she sings some pretty weird, sometimes gruesome songs about broken butterflies, blood-spattered lace curtains and the descendants of mutineers. Some are taken from actual history. And how can you ignore lyrics so quirky as to tell you that a reaper is inthe flowerbed? Or that "I have charisma and of course a winning smile/I stand accused of being an audacious redeemer/Not a charge I can deny."
Full of history and dark humor, "Oh Perilous World" is a pretty solid chamber-rock album that has its moments of excellence. Definitely worth hearing, if nothing else for its cello playing.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Oh dear. Rasputina have finally done what I thought they could avoid. They've made a mediocre album. Gone are the catchy ditties of the other opuses, in their place we have pointlessly dragged out pretention in lyrics that, to be quite honest, seem to meander into nothing in pretty much every song. There's some nice ideas, but it's just nowhere near as good as their previous albums. Don't make this your first Rasputina purchase.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
23 reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Unlike Anything You've Ever Heard Before...
10 July 2007
Format:Audio CD
...and I mean that in a good way. This album and this band are proof that the best music and most talented artists ARE NOT ON YOUR RADIO.
Let me add that I am not your typical Rasputina fan. I'm a blue-collar male who is pushing 40 and listens to artists like Tool, Chris Cornell, and the Beastie Boys. I happened upon a review for "Cabin Fever" in Blender Magazine and was intrigued by the promise of "Gothic Chamber Rock" and I bought the CD without ever having heard a note of music from Rasputina. I was blown away by that album and quickly bought up all their previous CDs. I've bought every subsequent release via pre-order because I'm that excited to hear what Melora has cooked up next.
This album is absolutely brilliant. I was worried when I listened to it the first time through because I didn't like it and every other Rasputina album hooked me instantly. By the third time through, I liked it and by the 5th time I thought this could be the best Rasputina album yet. I love every song on this album with the possible exception of track 10, "We Stay Behind".
I don't know that this would be the best CD for a Rasputina newbie. For that I would recommend "Cabin Fever".
Do a lesser known artist a favor and tell a friend about Rasputina. Most will be glad you did.
Let me add that I am not your typical Rasputina fan. I'm a blue-collar male who is pushing 40 and listens to artists like Tool, Chris Cornell, and the Beastie Boys. I happened upon a review for "Cabin Fever" in Blender Magazine and was intrigued by the promise of "Gothic Chamber Rock" and I bought the CD without ever having heard a note of music from Rasputina. I was blown away by that album and quickly bought up all their previous CDs. I've bought every subsequent release via pre-order because I'm that excited to hear what Melora has cooked up next.
This album is absolutely brilliant. I was worried when I listened to it the first time through because I didn't like it and every other Rasputina album hooked me instantly. By the third time through, I liked it and by the 5th time I thought this could be the best Rasputina album yet. I love every song on this album with the possible exception of track 10, "We Stay Behind".
I don't know that this would be the best CD for a Rasputina newbie. For that I would recommend "Cabin Fever".
Do a lesser known artist a favor and tell a friend about Rasputina. Most will be glad you did.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
One of the best albums of 2007
28 Jun 2007
Format:Audio CD
As a Rasputina fan from the beginning, I think this is absolutely one of their best, musically tightest albums. The narrative fits together like a complicated puzzle, revealing subtleties with each listen. Rasputina continues to be one of the fiercest rock bands on the planet, but IMO, this album contains a deeper emotional resonance than prevous releases. The band has always tempered balls out rock with beautiful, emotional passages, and they've perfected that approach. Melora imbues every word and passage with knowledge, and a true understanding of every angle of the story she's telling. While Rasputina are definately challenging themselves and their fans, Oh Perilous World is also their most accessible album. I feel like any person who likes good music and songwriting, regardless of genre, would like, or at least respect this album. There's nobody in existance like Rasputina, and I think they've continually raised the bar for good music in general. I was actually thinking the other day about how I've never had a friend say anything bad to me about Rasputina. I've met people who didn't love them, but they're always blown away by their musicianship. So, if you love Rasputina, I think you'll love this album. If you're not familiar, but consider yourself a fan of good, unique music, Oh Perilous World is worth a listen.
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
You're showing every sign of losing your heart
9 July 2007
Format:Audio CD
Gothic alt-rock played with cellos -- it sounds pretty horribly precious, doesn't it?
And it would be, if Rasputina weren't such great musicians, who could mingle tragic history stories with quirky chamberpop and classical instrumentation. And their latest album "Oh Perilous World" comfortably straddles the fence between rock and cabaret, and seems to be having fun while it does so.
It opens with a creepy, ominous cello melody, and Melora Creager's girlish voice telling us solemnly, "In the spring of 1315/There began an era of unpredictable weather/It did not lift until 1851/You remember 1816 as the year without a summer." It's a rambling, weird song about Freemasons, Ben Franklin, Frankenstein, volcanoes and other such subjects.
Things get even stranger with the quirky chamber-rocker that follows ("choose me to be your champion/I am possessing of a very righteous style!"), not to mention the string of melodies that follow: clashing cellopop, gothic balladry, a rapid-fire rocker, a tinkly pop song, rambling interludes, and the sweeping beauty of "Old Yellowcake" and the sly "A Retinue Of Moons/The Infidel Is Me."
Rasputina is one of those genrebusting bands -- they manage to keep themselves rooted in rock, pop, chamber music, and still sound like they live in a big old ruined Victorian house with some friendly ghosts and a lot of newspapers. They're a little bit of everything, and have kept their quirk.
Obviously the main instrument here is cello. Lots of cello. And Creager knows how to mold it to her purpose, whether it's a melodious sweep, an awkward twang, or urgent dark chords like an electric guitar. But to keep it from getting monotonous, there's some fuzzy guitar in "Draconian Crackdown" that takes over the song, as well as a gentle piano in the ballads, and a jingle of bells here and there.
Creager has a pretty, girlish voice, but she sings some pretty weird, sometimes gruesome songs about broken butterflies, blood-spattered lace curtains and the descendants of mutineers. Some are taken from actual history. And how can you ignore lyrics so quirky as to tell you that a reaper is inthe flowerbed? Or that "I have charisma and of course a winning smile/I stand accused of being an audacious redeemer/Not a charge I can deny."
Full of history and dark humor, "Oh Perilous World" is a pretty solid chamber-rock album that has its moments of excellence. Definitely worth hearing, if nothing else for its cello playing.
And it would be, if Rasputina weren't such great musicians, who could mingle tragic history stories with quirky chamberpop and classical instrumentation. And their latest album "Oh Perilous World" comfortably straddles the fence between rock and cabaret, and seems to be having fun while it does so.
It opens with a creepy, ominous cello melody, and Melora Creager's girlish voice telling us solemnly, "In the spring of 1315/There began an era of unpredictable weather/It did not lift until 1851/You remember 1816 as the year without a summer." It's a rambling, weird song about Freemasons, Ben Franklin, Frankenstein, volcanoes and other such subjects.
Things get even stranger with the quirky chamber-rocker that follows ("choose me to be your champion/I am possessing of a very righteous style!"), not to mention the string of melodies that follow: clashing cellopop, gothic balladry, a rapid-fire rocker, a tinkly pop song, rambling interludes, and the sweeping beauty of "Old Yellowcake" and the sly "A Retinue Of Moons/The Infidel Is Me."
Rasputina is one of those genrebusting bands -- they manage to keep themselves rooted in rock, pop, chamber music, and still sound like they live in a big old ruined Victorian house with some friendly ghosts and a lot of newspapers. They're a little bit of everything, and have kept their quirk.
Obviously the main instrument here is cello. Lots of cello. And Creager knows how to mold it to her purpose, whether it's a melodious sweep, an awkward twang, or urgent dark chords like an electric guitar. But to keep it from getting monotonous, there's some fuzzy guitar in "Draconian Crackdown" that takes over the song, as well as a gentle piano in the ballads, and a jingle of bells here and there.
Creager has a pretty, girlish voice, but she sings some pretty weird, sometimes gruesome songs about broken butterflies, blood-spattered lace curtains and the descendants of mutineers. Some are taken from actual history. And how can you ignore lyrics so quirky as to tell you that a reaper is inthe flowerbed? Or that "I have charisma and of course a winning smile/I stand accused of being an audacious redeemer/Not a charge I can deny."
Full of history and dark humor, "Oh Perilous World" is a pretty solid chamber-rock album that has its moments of excellence. Definitely worth hearing, if nothing else for its cello playing.
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