Oh Perilous World

Rasputina | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 26, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Filthy Bonnet
• ASIN: B000QEILTC
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #233,017 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unlike Anything You've Ever Heard Before..., July 10, 2007

By 

Jake Blues (Broken Arrow, OK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Oh Perilous World (Audio CD)

...and I mean that in a good way. This album and this band are proof that the best music and most talented artists ARE NOT ON YOUR RADIO.

Let me add that I am not your typical Rasputina fan. I'm a blue-collar male who is pushing 40 and listens to artists like Tool, Chris Cornell, and the Beastie Boys. I happened upon a review for "Cabin Fever" in Blender Magazine and was intrigued by the promise of "Gothic Chamber Rock" and I bought the CD without ever having heard a note of music from Rasputina. I was blown away by that album and quickly bought up all their previous CDs. I've bought every subsequent release via pre-order because I'm that excited to hear what Melora has cooked up next.

This album is absolutely brilliant. I was worried when I listened to it the first time through because I didn't like it and every other Rasputina album hooked me instantly. By the third time through, I liked it and by the 5th time I thought this could be the best Rasputina album yet. I love every song on this album with the possible exception of track 10, "We Stay Behind".

I don't know that this would be the best CD for a Rasputina newbie. For that I would recommend "Cabin Fever".

Do a lesser known artist a favor and tell a friend about Rasputina. Most will be glad you did.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best albums of 2007, June 28, 2007

By 

Dividingcanaan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Oh Perilous World (Audio CD)

As a Rasputina fan from the beginning, I think this is absolutely one of their best, musically tightest albums. The narrative fits together like a complicated puzzle, revealing subtleties with each listen. Rasputina continues to be one of the fiercest rock bands on the planet, but IMO, this album contains a deeper emotional resonance than prevous releases. The band has always tempered balls out rock with beautiful, emotional passages, and they've perfected that approach. Melora imbues every word and passage with knowledge, and a true understanding of every angle of the story she's telling. While Rasputina are definately challenging themselves and their fans, Oh Perilous World is also their most accessible album. I feel like any person who likes good music and songwriting, regardless of genre, would like, or at least respect this album. There's nobody in existance like Rasputina, and I think they've continually raised the bar for good music in general. I was actually thinking the other day about how I've never had a friend say anything bad to me about Rasputina. I've met people who didn't love them, but they're always blown away by their musicianship. So, if you love Rasputina, I think you'll love this album. If you're not familiar, but consider yourself a fan of good, unique music, Oh Perilous World is worth a listen.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars You're showing every sign of losing your heart, July 9, 2007

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oh Perilous World (Audio CD)

Gothic alt-rock played with cellos -- it sounds pretty horribly precious, doesn't it?

And it would be, if Rasputina weren't such great musicians, who could mingle tragic history stories with quirky chamberpop and classical instrumentation. And their latest album "Oh Perilous World" comfortably straddles the fence between rock and cabaret, and seems to be having fun while it does so.

It opens with a creepy, ominous cello melody, and Melora Creager's girlish voice telling us solemnly, "In the spring of 1315/There began an era of unpredictable weather/It did not lift until 1851/You remember 1816 as the year without a summer." It's a rambling, weird song about Freemasons, Ben Franklin, Frankenstein, volcanoes and other such subjects.

Things get even stranger with the quirky chamber-rocker that follows ("choose me to be your champion/I am possessing of a very righteous style!"), not to mention the string of melodies that follow: clashing cellopop, gothic balladry, a rapid-fire rocker, a tinkly pop song, rambling interludes, and the sweeping beauty of "Old Yellowcake" and the sly "A Retinue Of Moons/The Infidel Is Me."

Rasputina is one of those genrebusting bands -- they manage to keep themselves rooted in rock, pop, chamber music, and still sound like they live in a big old ruined Victorian house with some friendly ghosts and a lot of newspapers. They're a little bit of everything, and have kept their quirk.

Obviously the main instrument here is cello. Lots of cello. And Creager knows how to mold it to her purpose, whether it's a melodious sweep, an awkward twang, or urgent dark chords like an electric guitar. But to keep it from getting monotonous, there's some fuzzy guitar in "Draconian Crackdown" that takes over the song, as well as a gentle piano in the ballads, and a jingle of bells here and there.

Creager has a pretty, girlish voice, but she sings some pretty weird, sometimes gruesome songs about broken butterflies, blood-spattered lace curtains and the descendants of mutineers. Some are taken from actual history. And how can you ignore lyrics so quirky as to tell you that a reaper is inthe flowerbed? Or that "I have charisma and of course a winning smile/I stand accused of being an audacious redeemer/Not a charge I can deny."

Full of history and dark humor, "Oh Perilous World" is a pretty solid chamber-rock album that has its moments of excellence. Definitely worth hearing, if nothing else for its cello playing.