Customer Reviews

Din of Ecstasy

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Inspired to write, came across some pans of this album; must not have heard it live, or lived in any kind of desperate situation. I can hardly listen to the comfortable Living with the Law anymore, and while I enjoy Terra, Rocket House, Hotel, etc., this album has such a layered, twisting emotional core and SOUND! that it really stands above his other work. His live performances get at this raw quality; but just thinking about the opening chords of the title track, opening up for the lyrics as the party closes- these words come from close observation - nipple rings and tatoos; none of the sentimental american country pablum that can creep in to his other work (see LWTL) is eveident here. I hate to think that he was vectored from this path via the heat he received from disappointed fans, but I wonder why this awesome album hasn't really been followed up. Can't please everyone, but urge Whitley fans to give this one a good listen- may not make sense driving down a highway in the middle of nowhere, but if you're hanging around a bar by yourself in a real city (another disappearing American landscape) some night you'll get it.

i felt i had to weigh in on this little controversy even though it's kind of a dead issue. it seems that people either love this album and at least like "living with the law" or else love "living..." and detest this one. i'll up the ante a bit. i don't know what mr. whitley thought he was doing with daniel lanois on "living with the law" but the result, while pretty, is over-produced, watered down and sentimental. by comparison "din of ecstasy" is a shot of the straight stuff. for shear aweswome power held in the hands of master, there are few rock songs in any sub-genre that compete with "guns and dolls" (maybe "what the whole world wants" by scott miller comes close). the other songs aren't bad either. whitley really lets his guitar shine here rather than burying it in a sea of synths and (ewww) fretless bass flourishes. (not that there's anything WRONG with being fretless...) he has poet's ear and a blues player's geotropism. my take is that the people who don't like this album, while they're entitled to their opinion, just don't get it.

I will start by saying that I love all of Whitley's work. This particular album hits you like a freight train. It is one of those rare albums that you only discover a few times in your life. It is so different, original & honest that it takes a couple of listens to really "get it". It is an example of when true musical genius fulfills its potential. If you like different, original honest & visceral music this is for you. If you are a top 40 conniseur it's not for you. I have over 5000 CDs ranging from Led Zeppelin--country--classical--To Enya & Australian Aboriginal, but this album is my all-time favorite & one I never tire of listening to. There is absolutely no filler & no bad songs on this album. Whitley's death is a great loss, his genius has been silenced. There are no more of these.

Chris Whitley's Din of Ecstasy is an excellent album and is just as strong as his debut Living With The Law. Many critics panned this album because it didn't sound like his debut and he seemed at the time to trade in the pedal steel for a distortion pedal. It's a very dark album relying on a heavier grunge sound. Chris Whitley continues to sing with incredible emotion and his tone matches the feel of each track. Sometimes he sounds melancholy, sometimes very laid back, and at other times like he's on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Every song is good here with the best being "Din", "Narcotic Prayer", "O God My Heart is Ready", "Guns and Dolls", and "WPL." This is an album you have to listen to in one sitting to completely appreciate it. An excellent album from a singer/songwriter who never received the recognition he deserved.

Clearly, listeners to this album fall into two camps. One camp considers it to be unlistenable noise, the other considers it to be it to be a work of genius.

In case you haven't heard this album, the second camp is correct. It is dark, brooding, unpredictable and atonal, and a challenge to ears lulled by studio engineered beats and the repetition that some of Chris' other albums have suffered from. Chris Whitley's voice and guitar howl as one instrument through this journey of an album that sounds more melodic with every listen. How could anyone hear Chris belting out "Oh lord, my heart is ready now" propelled by those bucking, sputtering guitar licks and wish he would go back to the polished sounds of LWTL? That's like wishing Tom Waits would record "Heart of Saturday Night" again.

A caveat: as much as I love this album, it is dark. You have to be in the right mood for it, and to be prepared for music that follows its own rules and is not there strictly for your entertainment.

This is an important album. I'm hoping that some archivist of the future finds it, and this album will one day be given the recognition is deserves.

this CD may have cost chris his record contract with SONY, and a good number of his fans from the "living with the law" CD, but it stands as one of the most innovative and absorbing CD's that came out in 1995. when i listen to this CD, it makes me think of the end of the millenium. harsh, atonal, but yet hauntingly sweet guitars mix with whitley's patented wordplay to create a TRULY modern 21st century blues. this makes me think of what Hendrix might have done if he were alive right now. swirling, vast distorto-scapes, slide guitars tuned and tweaked into venusian ecstacy, flangers flanging and fuzzboxes wailing to the breaking point, but all subtly controlled and harnessed to create something of incredible beauty. go buy this record, along with "living with the law" and the follow up "terra incognito". this is an artistic trilogy that few could ever hope to top, and whitley's music and artstand as a testament to the artistic vision that looks beyond cash, "product" and the usual record company game.

Chris Whitley's music is so different from disc to disc. This one, the follow up to his more main stream first album was not well recieved. If you've only heard Chris's acoustic work, this may be a bit shocking. Its dark & dirge like songs cant really compare to "big sky country". If you can listen with a fresh set of ears though, as a previous reviewer wrote-it is one of the great lost alternative cds of the 90s. If you like Jeff Buckley's more rougher/later work(Woke up in a Strange Place), this is along that line.

This is what "heavy" is all about. Not heavy in the one-dimensional, riff-as-hard-as-you-can sense. But heavy with the weight of emotions. Emotions unburdened as a menacing wall of cathartic sound. Chris takes his unique open tunings, abject blues affections, and at-once vulnerable and sinster vocals to new heights of heavy expression. Every song is laced with a kind of terrible beauty--a sublime "din." Highly reccomended!

. . .beyond belief! Whitley's follow-up effort to "Living with the Law" shoots off into uncharted territory, with amazingly inspiring effect. The guitar playing, of and by itself, made even more exotic by open and alternate tunings, is enough to warrant extreme praise. The album however is roped together by a series of sad, highly sexually charged, ethereal lyrical fantasies that work perfectly set amidst the sometimes spare, sometimes lush music created by Whitley and his trio (with some overdubs).

Fans of "LWTL" who focused on the hybrid country/blues ethic of that album will feel like they got hit by a Mack Truck after the first listen here, and for them the album WILL require repeated listening. But all the talent you appreciated before is HERE, speaking in tongues perhaps, but you MUST listen.

This sonic tirade is like a high speed collision between Muddy Waters, Tom Waits and Jimi Hendrix, on viewed by a pedestrian on Honky Tonk triple window pane acid. Despite an eccentric overall disposition, this album has held up very well since its' release to repeated listening, and provides a great pay off to open minded listeners (especially if you like to ROCK).

Nothing less than a great album, by one of the few real artists left in the game.

Very different from "Living with the Law" and very amazing. It is a loud, dark, sexy, stark, electric guitar record with jagged edges and addicting blasts of sound you may feel you're hearing for the first time. Some fans (not this one) were turned away by this record. Din also brought Chris new fans. Each of his records has a different feel - if this one is too much for you, take a listen to his others. An artist ahead of his time, especially on Din. Some of his best songs are on here.