My Favourite Faded Fantasy
Artist: Damien Rice
Label: Warner Bros.
Release Date: November 10,
2014
Duration: 8 tracks, 50:28
There are two great pieces of
music from late 2014, which I had not found the time to review but have
persisted in memory to the point of this brief mention. The second of two is My
Favourite Faded Fantasy by Damien Rice. My
Favourite Faded Fantasy is Rice’s third full-length album and the first in
eight years since his second release, 9. Produced by Rick Rubin, this album
holds much to stir the soul. The album poetically tells of human kind’s
emotional failings but without the occasional secular notes of past offerings. Blending
Rice’s Irish folk sound and poetic soul searching he again speaks of want,
desire, love and love lost. With lyrics so well matching melody they creep into
each of our darkest places.
Telling of desire and want,
the album’s namesake begins in a soft, dream-like state slowing ebbing to a
lasting crescendo full of deeply felt memory. “It Takes A Lot To Know A Man” is
the sad story of humankind’s failure to understand each other or failure to
try. With powerful poetry, superb strings and a mournful, languid ending this
song sticks to the ribs. The marriage of solid acoustic guitar, strong vocals
and well produced strings produces “The Greatest Bastard”, “I Don’t Want To
Change You” and “Colour Me In”. Flowing so well together the listener becomes
lost in their stories.
The soft, pleading “The
Box” leads to “Trusty And True”, an anthemic statement of our collective shortcomings
ending with the hopeful message in its ending refrain:
’Come, come alone
Come with fear, come with
love
Come however you are
Just come, come alone
Come with friends, come
with foes
Come however you are
Just come, come alone
Come with me, then let go
Come however you are
Just come, come alone
Come so carefully closed
Come however you are
Just come…’
The latter smoothly segues to
“Long Long Way”, a dream-like statement of love, life and related risk.
There is something in Rice’s
offerings that are timeless and ever satisfying. Sometimes soft and heart
rending and at others hard hitting, My Favourite Faded Fantasy may well be
Rice’s best work to date – and that’s hard to beat considering his past
offerings.
Scott S Mertens
4 1/2 tocks
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