Black Heart Procession

Black Heart Procession | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 13, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Headhunter Records
• ASIN: B000006NNY
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #166,615 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. The Waiter

2. The Old Kind of Summer

3. Release My Heart

4. Even Thieves Couldn't Lie

5. Blue Water-Black Heart

6. The Winter My Heart Froze

7. Stitched To My Heart

8. Square Heart

9. In A Tin Flask

10. A Heart The Size Of A Horse

Editorial Reviews

The bandmembers' musical backgrounds gave no real indication what this first album would be like, and the result is quietly, affectingly fascinating. Pitched somewhere between the darker, quieter moments of European or European-based performers like Jacques Brel and Scott Walker and the haunting hush of more recent American acts like the For Carnation, 1 wraps itself in a lovely melancholia that avoids self-pity for deliberate reflection and consideration. Matters of the heart, as the band name indicates, are very much to the fore; no less than seven of the album's eleven songs have "heart" somewhere in the title: "Release My Heart," "Heart Without a Home," "Square Heart," and so forth. Many of the songs are piano-based or led, accentuating the late night blue feeling well, though everything sounds so high and lonely that, at points, the imaginary setting seems more like a lonely heath at midnight instead of, say, a smoky theater. The trio's blend of instrumentation is a definite strong point right from the first song, "The Waiter," with soft bells and what sounds like a musical saw mixing with acoustic guitar and bass. The use of accordion on the following song, "The Old Kind of Summer," brings the theatrical cabaret affectations of the group to the fore, but Jenkins' cracking, high vocals owe more to a certain strain of indie rock, making for a striking combination. At times his singing actually calls to mind the Afghan Whigs' Greg Dulli in a wholly different musical context -- perhaps a surprising link, but there's the same passion there. Of the album's many strong tracks, highlights include "Bluewater Blackheart," with a lovely piano break midsong, "Heart Without a Home," which slowly builds to a quiet, striking coda, and the distinctly doom-laden "Stitched to My Heart," with portentous opening piano chords leading into the no-less chilling main piece. -All Music Guide

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A timeless, priceless album, February 18, 2001

By 

Robert H McElver (San Luis Obispo, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Heart Procession (Audio CD)

Imagine bats, ships, and a spooky old ghost town, where a lonely few play dark minor-chord piano songs with a musical saw that has the sound of the wind. Imagine that place deep inside your childhood memory where the sun was setting and you were playing by the railroad tracks in the old abandoned railcars and houses from last century. Forgotten organs fill the air with songs about hearts with waltz beats and beating hearts to bring you back to that place that meant so much and will never be forgotten. I don't find this album depressing, as some do. You have to see between the lines, there is so much more beneath the surface of the words. If you have never heard this band before, I recommend to get the albums in order, 1(self-titled), 2 then 3, along with the 3 song recordings. If you know Three Mile Pilot, it is Pall the singer, and Toby the piano/organ player in their new project. Listen to any songs from this album you can find to sample it, but trust me, it will change you, it becomes part of you. This is an album that I will listen to for the rest of my life. It could have come out 100 years ago, or it could come out when I'm in my old age, the songs are timeless. It moves like water, with some songs slow and dreamy, and then the next will have drums and guitar, but without breaking the mood - the tempo will rise enough to catch you and remind you of the fun in that spooky memory where there was just enough light left outside to play. Then as the dark comes, you go inside to sleep, with the last few songs drifting you away into eternity. It's beautiful.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enter the honkytonk bar of the damned., February 11, 2003

By 

Scott Sweet "Music Freak" (Colorado Springs, CO) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Black Heart Procession (Audio CD)

If Nick Cave, Michael Gira and Rasputina came to a four-way stop, Black Heart Procession would probably be the fourth one there. No, I don't know who would drive through first.

The songs take the romance out of despair. Seven tracks have "heart" in the title; maybe the guys didn't have much energy to spend on naming the songs. "1" is like a cooldown from Sixteen Horsepower's "Sackcloth 'N' Ashes."

Instrumentation is minimal, mainly piano and organs. Mario Rubalcaba's drums and the strained vocals of Pall A. Jenkins give "bluewater-blackheart" a Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young feel. Jenkins' voice conveys a lot of yearning and fatigue.

"[T]he winter my heart froze" has a spooky, galloping piano intro, then settles into a Roger Waters kind of delerium. Jenkins plays a saw on four tracks, and it sounds like a theremin (that wobbly 50's space-movie effect that sounds like someone playing a saw). Tobias Nathaniel brings a grim beauty to the piano for this song. "square heart" is almost upbeat by comparison. The somber piano and vocals of "stitched to my heart" (C'mon guys - use CAPITALS) have a plaintive power. In keeping with the overall mood, the band members are dressed like preachers in a strychnine church.

"a heart the size of a horse" closes the CD with organs that suggest some hope, like finding light at the end of a tunnel...and realizing that you're looking up from the bottom of the well. This one also has a strong scent of Pink Floyd. Don't play this song while drinking, or you'll have "a liver the size of a Buick."

These songs were laid down in eleven days - a good way to avoid second-guessing and overproduction. "1" is an impressive debut, lulling you halfway to sleep and making you doubt that there's any point in waking up.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Haunting, October 23, 2003

By 

Kolber (Wintemar, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Heart Procession (Audio CD)

This is by far Black Heart Processions most haunting and dark album to date. Like a long funeral procession winding along a skinny little path the music forges. It hammers at your heart with raw emotion and litters the soul with tears of pain. Yet deep within the pain a feeling of dreamlike waves roll through, one after the other until the album climax's and dies. Simply beautiful piano, along with Pall's voice, this truly is a rare and grand combination.