Customer Reviews

Sporting Life

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Let me qualify my review by saying I'm a bass player and come to this album because of John Paul Jones. I admire his attitude and musicianship, and love the sound of 8 string bass.

This album is a tour-de-fource of musicianship. I'll start from the bottom and build up. Pete Thomas' drumming is spot-on, heavy, and really rocks when you turn the volume up a bit. I hope you have good bass response! Pete Thomas comes to this album by way of his work with Elvis Costello. He's hard hitting, accurate, simple, subtle, comlex. Everything you would expect Bonzo's bass player to want in a drummer.

From what I understand, John Paul Jones wrote many of the riffs and brought them to Diamanda Galas to have her add the vocals to. This is evident in the way the vocals sometimes overlap the changes. The bass playing is superb, and more accessible than on his first solo album Zooma. Many of the riffs remind me of Zeppelin riffs - the opening track remind me of When the Levee breaks. The second track reminds me of a few songs - Nobody's Fault But Mine, Living Loving Maid, the outro to Black Dog.

Don't get me wrong, this is far from recycled Zeppelin. Far from it. Let me put it to you this way. Between Page/Plant and this album and Zooma you get a real sense of who did what in Zeppelin. How integral Jonesy was to their sound. In interviews people ask "Don't you think your recent work is a little Zeppelin influenced?" and he replies "Well, don't you think Zeppelin was a little John Paul Jones influenced?"

So while Page and Plant seem to be content reliving former glory, John Paul Jones is quietly pushing a few envelopes. As innovative and bombastic as Zeppelin ever was, this album challenges my ears, and simply rocks.

By the way, it's difficult to describe the sound of an 8 string bass... Think of what Pearl Jam's Jeremy might sound like if covered by PJ Harvey.

Now for the top. I heard Diamanda Galas won a guitar solo of the year award for her singing. Her range is impressive and intimidating - 8 octaves. In interviews Jonesy said that she simply blew him away. That they brought the tapes over for her to track vocals to, and she did these songs in one take. Obviously with lots of overdubs, the vocals are very much layered and textured.

That said, many of you are going to be turned off by her voice. Anyone who is already a fan of Diamanda's knows how shocking and powerful her music is. The imagery is dark. One song begins with the line "I don't like him. Let's kill him" and there's lots of cursing, and otherwise dark dark imagery. The world she creates is deeper, darker, more intimidating, and truer than the worlds PJ Harvey and Garbage create. I'm actually embarrased to make that comparison, because in fact I can think of nothing that compares. Maybe Dostoyevsky.

This is one of my top 10 albums of all time. All of my friends know it because I listen to it a lot. It's powerful, accurate, and like nothing else out there.

One more thing, these songs were recorded as they should be. In one take. As a musician I noticed one or two moments where things where not 110%, and wondered how they let it slip through. Then I heard that these tracks were recorded in 1 take, and rather wonder about their quality control, I marvelled at the quality of their musicianship. Everything, I mean EVERYTHING is spot on. The drums and the bass lock like nobody's business. The vocals soar to truly scary heights, and dip to profoundly deep lows.

You believe music courses through their veins, and thier music comes from who they are, not who they want you to think they are. In an interview (yeah, I read a lot) Jonesy said this album failed commercially - Diamanda Galas fans were turned off by her playing with this rock and roll icon, and Zeppelin fans were turned off by the avante garde singing. Jonesy's next effort - his first solo effort - has no vocals, which makes it even less accessible.

Rest assured, the are not doing this to make money, they are not doing this to further their careers. They are doing this to make music. A rare thing in today's world. Something we, as a society, need to nurture, and encourage. If you're looking for the cure to the MTV world of everything-sounds-the-same, this is a good place to start looking. If you have the courage.

For albums in a similar vein I would point to PJ Harvey's Rid of Me and Radiohead's OK Computer, Diamanda Galas and Led Zeppelin albums are also obvious choices.

The Hell-voice of Miss Diamanda meets the Heavy Beat of Mr. Jones in this beautiful train wreck of an album. "Baby's Insane" captures its spirit - who can predict what will erupt from the mating of an avant-diva with a rock dionosaur? The bass gets turned to 10, the voice gets turned to 11, and we get a roller-coaster ride to the Inferno. You'll like it if you think you might.

Diamanda sings an awful lot about murdering people on this album. Men, actually; in "Do you take this man," she seems to be murdering her husband, while justifying the action to him. "Baby's Insane" adopts a bit more distance but still suggests that one should hide the knives. On the title track, she appears to adopt the voices of three murderous hillbillies or such discussing what they should do with a male victim they're playing with -- it's an odd mix of Wes Craven, Tobe Hooper, and Russ Meyer, or at least that's where I go with it -- FASTER, PUSSYCAT, EVISCERATE, EVISCERATE or such. I think part of why I am amused by it is that it gives me a nice political balancing point for all those Nick Cave/ Birthday Party songs I've heard about men murdering women; it is nice to know, in an odd way, that there are women out there (okay, well, one woman, really) who are equally as scary in their own sexuality, and willing to turn the tables. In fact, it troubles me a bit, because as Ms. D shrieks and gibbers and brandishes her weapon, I'm forced to admit that it all kinda turns me on. Yes: Diamanda sings about cutting up men with her knife -- the knife is a recurrent motif on this disc -- and it makes me wanna send her fan mail, thinkin' maybe I might get to meet her someday. This scares me about myself, but it makes the album a pretty interesting place to spend time. She seems to have a pretty good sense of humour about it all, too -- dig the cover pics. I think she and Nick should do an album together, where they sing about how they're gonna murder each other. Or everyone else. Or something. A homicidal battle of the sexes. Wouldn't that be fun?

First of all, these two hooking up is any music fan's dream. The voice of God/Satan and Jones, the thundering back bone of one of the greatest rhythm sections known to man, team up. That alone gives one hope. Then you listen to the record and it is better than you imagined.

Yeah, Diamanda wails like no other can all over this record. She is nuts, inspired, brilliant, dark, difficult and perverse. Her talent is unnatural and displayed almost too well here. The real hero here though, is Mr. Jones. Long the forgotten member of Led Zeppelin, his performance on the Sporting Life renews my fantasy of getting a hold of the Zepplin master tapes and taking Page and Plant out. You sort of become shocked at how strong, distinctive and powerful his playing is. Not that you were totally unprepared, but again, his performance is more than you thought it would be. For the first time, after countless hours of hearing Led Zepplin, you become acutely aware of what a truly skilled player he is.

I remember reading an interview he did when Independant Worm Saloon (A Butthole Surfers record, which he produced) came out. He was talking about the opening riff to Black Dog and how he had originally written it in a 13/12 signature. Page couldn't play it, so they changed it to standard 4/4. Not that this album sports odd time, but his undeniable talent is properly showcased and out front for the first time. I mean anyone that can compete with Diamanda is a hero to begin with, never mind their history.

Also no slouch is Pete Thomas on drums. He and Jones lock up very well, indeed. With Diamanda as the layering, The Sporting Life proves iteself to be one hell of an interesting listen. Take a chance and check out this admitedly esoteric yet remarkably enjoyable record. If you've read this far, you'll like it.

Like Ms. Galas said, this is an album of killer love songs.

SKOTOSEME (Mi Sangre Corre al Lado de Ti), violent blend of every kind of musical tendences: greek-turkish folklore, trash metal, free improvisation, white noise, in a storm of a real extreme love offering. John Paul Jones and Pete Thomas are something more than a simple rock rythm section. They create a percusive ambient. The best of all, the recording was made in one take. TONY is a song of howling pain and and gothic blues. In DÉVIL'S RODEO (La Lobita Canta) the earth is shaking under the Jones-Thomas's hell kitchen. THE SPORTING LIFE is the best rap ever made, the recording was again made in one take, and the process of editing the Diamanda's voice(s) is an art form in itself. A true dark gem

Many good reviews have been written about the qualities of this album! I guess that the reviewers with the lower ratings didn't really know what they were buying. I would say this is definitely the most accessible recording Diamanda Galás has made, and I have listened to most of her work.

So what is so disturbing about this lady?
She has a very extreme vocal starting point. She has worked out how to make the strangest sounds with her voice, and most of these sound are not 'nice' to most ears. Usually these sounds are used in heavy rock and metal, where they are blending into the loud sounds of the band. This is one of the reasons why this album sounds so accessible to my ears. This is the only album where she is backed by a rock band, as far as I know.

Many of her other albums are described as 'scary' in the reviews here on Amazon, and they are! This is because her musical and dramatic starting point are very extreme as well. She choses to sing about death, blood, disease, pain and such. Often the setting seems satanistic, but I don't think it has anything to do with satanism. She just uses that 'language' to express something different. She did a cycle of long solo pieces about the (hypocrytical) attitude of society towards AIDS and it's victims, wich shows that she has a more positive message. (Masque of the Red Death Trilogy) Still, to me this is a disturbing contradiction in her music. It's hard to get a 'positive feeling' from it. They are often long accusations, litanies and lamentations. At the same time it's all very intriguing and intense, so I got hooked anyway!

As another reviewer said, there is humor too, especially on this album. It' s a satirical kind of humor, and it may not be to your taste, but it's more than you will hear on some of her other albums. It makes it one of her 'lighter' albums, even if it is one of her loudest ones as well.
So: 5 stars!!

As a teacher in Complete Vocal Technique, I would like to add a word about the technical side of her singing. I can hear that Diamanda Galás knows what she is doing. The main proof of that is that she has been doing this for 20 years (or longer), and she is still going strong. Apart from her impressive range, her skill in making 'nasty' sounds is phenomenal. And so is her flexibility in switching from one kind of sound to another. I can hear that she has really worked out all the vocal 'effects' she does. They often seem to be on the limit of what is 'healthy' for the voice, but she doesn't cross the border. I guess that Diamanda will need a bit of vocal rest after a concert, but that's normal after such hard work as a singer. (Opera singers often get at least a days rest between perfomances.) I can technically more or less understand (and teach) all the sounds I hear her make, and I think she has a fantastic technique!

If any reader is interested in learning some of these techniques and effects, they can find information on: completevocalinstitute.com There is a forum, information about courses and more interesting stuff. You can also find the CD 'Ancient Fire' (Metal Rock), wich you may enjoy if you like this one. Cathrine Sadolin is an exellent singer. Not quite as extreme as Diamanda, but she does some pretty good screaming and distortion on that album. The music is good too!

I have never been objective about Diamanda Galas; she is as a dark goddess of anguish, rage, fury, despair -- terribly cathartic. And, though I have always marvelled at her voice, in all of its extremes, I tend to prefer her albums with a little music to accompany the voice (usually). THE SPORTING LIFE, then, provides me with this, and shows what Galas can do in a semi-rock context (previously displayed in YOU MUST BE CERTAIN OF THE DEVIL). In general, I find THE SPORTING LIFE a little uneven, which is not to say that some of the songs are bad or uninspired, but that they do not all rise (or sink?) to the incredible fervor of the first 3 songs, and "Baby's Insane" which is the most effective white trash nightmare gospel send-up since "You Must Be Certain of the Devil"; it is just too cunning, subversive, fun and (que mirabilis) hummingly singable to be believed. One also must bow deeply to the title track itself, which is the most audacious, scathing and viciously humourous anti-male song, probably ever; I spit on your grave in under 6 minutes. If only every song on the album were so effective.

Richard Ramirez (the Nightstalker) blamed his sadistic murders on AC/DC's BACK IN BLACK. Diamanda Galas' THE SPORTING LIFE might equally serve to justify Lorena Bobbit's own untidy, domestic rampage.

if any soul out there has the audacity to put diamanda galas in any particular music genre, i'd like to meet this person for tea. IS SHE GOSPEL? BLUES? ROCK? NEW AGE? MEDIEVAL FOLK?? what?personally, i can't even begin to fathom what the music world has been doing for so long without ms. galas and why i hadn't heard of her before. or maybe i had and just wasn't paying attention. if that be the case, slap me! probability suggests we will never be able to pidgeonhole diamanda's work into any particular genre but that is a positive note. here we have a singer whose intense live shows are enough to give us nightmares for weeks on end or to have our hairs standing on end doing what she does best on rockin' bluesy album with led zep here john paul jones. instead of running around on stage covered in blood whilst blasting her angst-filled anthems, we find her in the studio terrorizing the organ and piano while cranking out some of the most psychotic love songs ever written. it is evident here in more ways than one that ms. galas album turned out exactly the way she intended. as far as her vocals on this album go, she once again displays a diverse sound which no female diva in the music industry is going to be able to match. in the beginning we hear her scourging vocals like a deamon coming in strong reminding one of the young child in the exorcist. yes, this is one helluva intense opening track folks! but hold on, this she takes down percy sledge's dark end of the street in a tina turner-esque style which should please fans of classic rock, blues, or even classic r&b music. very impressive. if that weren't enough, then she goes on to display her howling blues like a dog being yanked by his legs on the track tony which should leave you breathless. evenbetter, we here her janis joplin-esque take on the extremely bluesy baby's insane which could drive any music critic literally crazy. having said all this, the sporting life is still not an easy album to take and is certainly not for everyone. if you are a brave soul and want something gutsy, then sporting life is for you. patti smith, tina turner, janis joplin, and marianne faithful fans will relish. needless to say, led zep fans will swoon with delight too. you gotta love it! right now, i'm anxious to get my hands on her next album entitled la serpenta canta. good things come to those who wait i guess. but why must i wait so diamanda?

I have only listened a couple of times so I'll start with that. JPJ and Paul(?) Thomas create some great groove work on this disc - I bought it based on the first (only?) pairing of these two musicians who I have always enjoyed. Diamanda's vocalizations and lyrics are well, disturbing in a number of of songs. I am sure that they are meant to shock a bit (and I personally took no offense), but I expect it is an acquired taste that may develop over several listenings. Its quite a mix (experimental?) as there are a few straight-up type tunes where I think Diamanda is playing the Hammond organ in a bluesy almost gospel-esque type of tune. If you like music that is off the beaten track, this might be for you.

Fill in the blanks with all the other, provers of the grove Riff! This is a F*#King Awesome record, Squeamish need not tread on the taboo, um of a pissed of Woman! These two make the angels hide their halos, Buy it, rock to it, and all the quacking d emasculated, intimidated, fools Get over it! this is Brilliant Balls out Rock!