Within the Realm of a Dying Sun

1. Anywhere Out of the World

2. Windfall

3. In the Wake of Adversity

4. Xavier

5. Dawn of the Iconoclast

6. Cantara

7. Summoning of the Music

8. Persephone

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry actually manage to out-shimmer the Cocteau Twins on this 1987 release, which finds their beautiful minimalism adorned with increasingly developed compositional genius. The cascading melodies that grace "Summoning of the Muse" and "Persephone" are tailor-made for that next Christmas or Winter Solstice celebration, while more conventional (albeit somewhat somber) pop tracks like "Xavier" and "Anywhere Out of the World" keep the going from getting too arcane. All in all, more fun than a barrel of goths. --Billy Grenier

Within the Realm of a Dying Sun,Dead Can Dance,Warner Bros / Wea,Alternative Pop/Rock,Dream Pop,Ethnic Fusion,Pop,Popular Music,Rock,World Fusion

Average customer rating:

DcD, another great album
A Classic Album
If Death were as beautiful as this....
A dark masterpiece
Passionate and romantic yet brooding and mournful

Within the Realm of a Dying Sun
Dead Can Dance
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | British Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Dream Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | International | Styles | Music

General | New Age | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

Alternative Rock | Imports | Stores | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
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ASIN: B00002428O
Release Date: 2006-11-07

Tracks:

Anywhere Out of the World
Windfall
In the Wake of Adversity
Xavier
Dawn of the Iconoclast
Cantara
Summoning of the Music
Persephone

Amazon.com

Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry actually manage to out-shimmer the Cocteau Twins on this 1987 release, which finds their beautiful minimalism adorned with increasingly developed compositional genius. The cascading melodies that grace "Summoning of the Muse" and "Persephone" are tailor-made for that next Christmas or Winter Solstice celebration, while more conventional (albeit somewhat somber) pop tracks like "Xavier" and "Anywhere Out of the World" keep the going from getting too arcane. All in all, more fun than a barrel of goths. --Billy Grenier

Album Description

Out of print in the U.S.! Import pressing of this classic 1987 album from one of the 4AD label's most popular and influential bands. At the core of Dead Can Dance is guitarist Brendan Perry and vocalist Lisa Gerard, who created a body of work that remains invigorating and uniquely their own. Eight tracks. 4AD.

Customer Reviews:

DcD, another great album.......2007-06-13

Well if you like them this is a must have. Lots of that mind stretching harmonies and melodies.

A Classic Album.......2007-06-01

Every track an absolute classic, which just grows and grows on you on each hearing. This is definitely recommended, especially after a hard day in the office. It just fits. The lyrics, as usual, are laconic philosophical poetry, and the music flies you away to the farthest sanctuary of reason, far from the madding social mess us Westerners are growing up (down?) in. Definitely buy this - it's great!

If Death were as beautiful as this...........2007-04-16

and as beautiful as the cover. It was on this cd the Dead Can Dance really fell into thier own, although the previous works were masterpieces in their own right. Highly recommended for it's chilling beauty.

The entire work captures death in it's beauty, not it's horrifficness. And Lisa Gerrard's vocals are other worldly and haunting. Brendan Perry's smooth resonant tennor wili haunt you as he spins his ancient tales of trechary and deceit.

This is what Gothic is all about!

A dark masterpiece.......2007-04-15

Dead Can Dance's third album is arguably their masterpiece. Even though they continued to explore some of this album's sonic elements in future recordings, they never quite equaled the consistent excitement and richness featured here. Clocking in at a terse 39 minutes, the album delivers a complex and thematically integrated aural tapestry that stands up favorably in comparison to many classic works of orchestra and opera.

Having said all this, if you are a fan of their later work, when they incorporated more world music, drumming, and acoustic pop styles, you may possibly find this album not to your taste. It can be slow to grab the listener - the pace is generally deliberate and stately, and it took repeated listenings on my part to really appreciate the genius of the work.

Comprised of the duo of Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry, Dead Can Dance on this album took the approach of dividing it evenly between the two principals, with the first four tracks featuring Brendan, and the final four showcasing Lisa. By this time in their career, DCD had completely abandoned the 80s new wave roots evident in their two previous albums, in favor of a sound much closer to opera or chamber music than to mainstream pop. The overall tone is archaic and ominous, with sepulchral backing choruses, chilling Bulgarian-style wailing vocals from Lisa, chiming bells, moody strings, and dreamy, soaring vocals from Brendan.

Brendan's opener Anywhere Out of This World echoes and surpasses the mood of Enigma of the Absolute from their previous album, building to a shimmering climax. This then shifts to the dark and hypnotic instrumental Windfall, one of the best tracks on the album, followed by what is arguably the weakest track, In The Wake of Adversity, which establishes a brooding mood but never really goes anywhere with it. Brendan achieves his pinnacle on his final track, Xavier, a mythic tale of tragedy delivered over a deep soundscape of keyboards and climaxing in soaring romantic strings.

If Brendan's first half of the album is inspiring, Lisa's second half is dazzling. Her ethereal vocals were made for this kind of orchestral arrangement, and she displays a remarkable range on these four tracks, from spine-chilling operatic declamation on Dawn of the Iconoclast, to wailing middle eastern diva on Cantara, to angelic multi-tracked chorus on Summoning of the Muse, and finally to the amazing showcase of Persephone, which finds her running the gamut from gutteral alto to sweet soprano.

Those who like the sound of this album may want to check out Lisa's later solo work, The Mirror Pool, which also uses some orchestral arrangements, as well as her amazing collaboration with Irish classical composer Patrick Cassidy, Immortal Memory.

Passionate and romantic yet brooding and mournful.......2006-10-15

The arrangement of selections on this CD are somewhat different from other Dead Can Dance arrangements in that the voice of Brendan Perry dominates the first selections while the voice of Lisa Gerrard dominates the last selections.

The mixture of Celtic, African, Middle Eastern, and other musical traditions always makes Dead Can Dance a great bet for a good CD. On this CDC Anywhere Out of the World, Windfall, In the Wake of Adversity, and Xavier are my favorites. Windfall is an instrumental piece. Xavier combines the voices of Perry and Gerrard.

Brendan Perry's voice has somewhat of the tone or sound of Tony Bennett, Dean Martin, or Frank Sanatra yet the presentation is more mysterious, existential, and brooding. He brings somewhat a tone of anxiety into his smooth presentation. I am sure Perry could probably do a great version of "I left my heart in San Francisco' with his dark, smooth, masculine voice but in Dead Can Dance the emphasis is mythical not current as well as transpersonal rather than personal.