Customer Reviews

Live At Bull Moose

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

 

 

In Portland, Maine on June 5, 2005, antifolk goddess Regina Spektor did a special in-store set at the Bull Moose music store, and it was captured for eternity by the staff there. So consider yourself a lucky, lucky fan if you can get ahold of this EP, which was distributed through indie music stores.

It starts off with "Ain't No Cover," which is pretty much all a capella. Spektor sings in her quirky voice of a man she "adores," while a heartbeat plays in the background. Then the piano kicks in with "Carbon Monoxide," a meditative, bittersweet little ballad occasionally interrupted by "walka walka walka walka walk..."

Then it's time for the sprightly, ominous "Pound of Flesh," which makes Spektor sound like a thoughtful imp, and the stately, classical-sounding "Noise." The EP finishes up with "My Man (Medley," a rambling little love ditty that comes full circle back to the opening song. "My man he breaks my heart/he tears me all apart/and he leaves me such a mess/they say I'm cursed/but I am blessed/cause he loves me, he loves me/he really really loves me..."

Regina Spektor is reknowned for her attic-apartment verse and quirky voice, and both are on full display in the "Live At Bull Moose." It's also a top-notch live recording, so that you can almost forget that it IS live, until the audience starts applauding at the end of every song.

Spektor's voice doesn't suffer from lack of studio polish; she sounds basically the same here as she does in her studio albums. She forms soundscapes, riffs and scatting all with her sweet, quirky voice. Her piano playing is nimble and light, and her oddball songs are wonderfully literate and strange: "Ezra Pound sat upon my bed/asked me which books as of late I have read/Asked me if I've read his own,/And whether I could spare a pound/Of flesh/To cover his bare bones."

Anyone who enjoys Spektor's delightful antifolk works is sure to want "Live At Bull Moose" to round out their collection. A lovely little live performance, and shows that she is a magnificent musician in and out of the studio.

Really enjoyable, even if it's only five songs (and 16 minutes) long! The sound is great; even though the CD was recorded at a live in-store appearance, her vocals and piano are crystal clear. Also, there is no audience noise whatsoever, except applause at the end of songs. That's especially appreciated on the excellent "The Noise" -- which, despite its title, is the most subdued and moving track on the CD.

The only "flaw" is that this sampling of a Spektor live show leaves you wanting more. In the liner notes, she says that "these five songs, and a bunch more, were performed." Ah, if only we could hear the rest of that bunch!

I saw a profile of Regina Spektor on the CBS Sunday morning program. I liked her story and sound, so I looked her up in the Amazon reviews. Bought the Bull Moose EP, figuring live solo material would be a good test of whether her stuff is worth buying. It is. Great lyricism and vocal styling to go with the piano playing featured on television. I'm looking forward to the additional Spektor material I ordered.

Regina Spektor at her best! She gives an organic performance that dances with the live audience that both energizes her in a way that is missed in her studio recordings and provides the bonus of being unaltered by producers' hands. Of equal importance, Regina Spektor fans get four new performances, songs that Regina Spektor sings on no other published recording.

1. Ain't No Cover - Regina performs a capella, except for a sometimes light percussive beat she taps on the side of her piano. Giving a frontline reference to The Byrds song "Eight Miles High" (1966), Regina again shows her deep and ecclectic music literacy. The song is essentially about loving a man fatally addicted to drugs. She says "good night my lover, good night my son" ("good bye" in other live performances) referring to her lover as her son, a cue to oedipal themes found in other songs she's written. Because her lover is "8 miles high", he is dependent upon her like a son, implying what The Byrds song says straight out: when he touches down, she'll find that he's stranger than known. She doesn't know him without his addiction, without his contageous fatalism. Realizing she doesn't really know her lover and that this dependency will destroy her, she leaves him to save herself despite how he needs her and how she will love him forever.

2. Carbon Monoxide - Reiteration of the version found on Soviet Kitsch and Mary Ann Meets the Grave Diggers. It's true to other performances without deviation.

3. Pound of Flesh - This song is an ode to Ezra Pound, modernist poet. Pound's poetry was both visual and lyrical to the extent of nearly musical, unappologetically breaking the until then immutable standard for rhyme and verse in poetry. In such, Pound made way for the likes of Frost, Hemmingway, Eliot, Joyce, and others. Pound's influence on Regina Spektor's art is as clear as his literary legacy. Regina alludes that Pound perpetuated his life beyond death by evolving poetry to discover new found beauty by breaking the rules of conformity with visual and lyrical poetry. Regina Spektor proclaims a personal debt to Pound and offers humble homage by building upon his artistry in writing such poetry that isn't just nearly musical but truly musical, because she brings them to life in songs she writes and sings that likewise defy conformity with modern songwriting in popular music. Calling her music "anti"-folk, Regina repeats this theme and her intent to set a new and beautiful and, so, notable artistic course in her stories, poetry and songs.

4. The Noise - It's a song about prayer or mediation. Regina Spektor sadly sings to God about choosing to make rage rather than hear over the noise, hear the silent answers He offers, but doesn't say she will change her ways. Never preachy or self-righteous in her music, Regina Spektor appears to humbly sing about herself. However, since the story's arc lacks any transition to conclusion, it seems less like an autobiographical story and more a social commentary.

5. My Man - Regina covers this song. The theme is the same as the first song: she's with an abusive drunken lover. Here, though, she won't leave him because she believes he loves her too and, if she leaves, she'll just end up going back to him for the love she feels.

The four new published songs are worthy of the five stars I gave this. If you love Regina, you can't miss this well-priced live EP CD.

Regina, Regina! She has such a unique style and this little album is no exception. All of the songs are great especially "Pound of Flesh." Although I'm not a big fan of her a'capella songs, the two which are on this album I like very much. The live version of "Carbon Monoxide" is great also. "The Noise" is another good addition to a Regina song list too and is my second favorite song from the album. I recommend this to any Regina Spektor fan.

This album is seriously worth the money. I know there are only a few songs, so you may be tempted to get a longer album for the same buck, but don't!

The songs on this album, such as pound of flesh, are really worth having!