Customer Reviews

With Strings Live at Town Hall (Dig)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I attended the Portland show of the 2006 "With Strings" tour last summer and this album is a faithful recording of what I heard. No disappointment here! If you like the Eels, you will love this album. However, be warned that the sound is more "raw" than their studio albums. This is not due to bad mastering as some have suggested, this is how they sounded in concert.

I hope that Mr. E releases a live album of the 2006 "No Strings Attached" tour. I saw them last night at the Roseland in Portland, OR and wow! what a difference. They played a few of the same songs like My Beloved Monster, Railroad Man, Mr. E's Beautiful Blues, The Only Thing I Care About, Dirty Girl, I like Birds, I'm Going to Stop Pretending and Hey Man, but this time it was a rock show. Everyone was dressed as if they were members of Motorhead and they played fast and hard.

Mark Everett has never been the most straight forward of musicians, with him cutting an increasingly idiosyncratic path for himself, and although not considered a household name, he has certainly built up a cult following through a series of bittersweet, troubled and increasingly bleak albums, that have carved out a sort of niche market in the alternative pop/rock genre. But with this release Mark has taken the steps of bringing a stripped down version of his band, and augmenting the arrangements with a theatrical string section. So what this means it that although large sections of the "Blinking Lights and other Revelations" are present here. But there, are also popular tracks from previous albums ("Novocaine for the Soul", "It's a Motherf___", "Dirty Girl", "Poor Side of Town" "Bus Stop Boxer"), coupled with the occasional cover ("Michael Brown's - Pretty Ballerina" & "Bob Dylans - Girl from the north country"). But here with the radically different band arrangement, that shuns mostly electric instrumentation for: Acoustic Guitar, melodica, celeste, lap steel, organs, piano & string sections....the music here takes on a wonderfully rusty and almost lo-fi feel, with the luxury of delicate strings that add a certain elegance, melody and lilting beauty to the songs.

Mark himself has always had something of a gruff, scratched vocal...but here, mixed with the stripped down arrangements, his songs take on a altogether more sinister, stirring and vulnerable mood, that shroud the music with a noticeably ragged and emotionally melancholic tone, that isn't quite as pronounced as on his studio albums. Mark's husky voice lends perfectly to the darker mood, and for all the imperfections in his voice, carries the songs wonderfully. At points, such as on "Novocaine for the Soul" achingly tender, and reflective. And with the more direct tracks like "It's a Motherf___" slightly brash and uptight. It's a thoroughly engaging mix of moving through moods and being engaging, elegant, cathartic, intimate, detached, yearning and ambitious. And for a `Live' recording to convey these messages and emotions so well, is a rounding success for Mark Everett. And bodes extremely well...for any possible further `Live' recordings he may have planned.

Admittedly, this is a `Live' recording that is `preaching to the converted'....as it's not really something that could probably challenge the best `Live' albums out there for accessibility, and widespread appeal. It's a little too insular, and probably a little bit too morbid to snag a wider audience outside Eels fans. It's a fantastic albums of that there is no doubt, but people without been familiar with the songs already or having no prior experience with Eels, may struggle to appreciate the almost suffocatingly dour tone (As fans of Eels will only be too aware of the bleakness of the majority of the bands work), and maybe this is something that Mark Everett realised, and the possible reason for a couple of covers...and add to the fact that Mark has the superb ability to give a cover version his own delightful spin on it (if you ever come across it....try and find his cover of "Missy Elliott's - Get Yer Freak on!!"), gives this release a well needed shot in the arm. But for those Eels fans out there, that are intrigued, by the prospect of a `Live' Eels recorded performance, this has got to be the brilliant addition to your collection.

If you are just getting into the Eels for the first time, this is not the album for you. However, if you are already familiar with the Eels catalog and want to hear some unique takes on Eels classics, new songs and a couple of covers, then definitely this is something you should check into. The Eels recorded this album in NY on their "Eels with Strings" tour, which is essentially the tour in support of 2005's "Blinking Lights and Other Revelations."

Eels add a new dimension of elegance, ambience and moodiness, and completely transform their songs by adding a string quartet, and toning down the guitars and percussion. This is not just another live album-if you buy this, you will be getting a set of uniquely interpreted songs, sometimes very different than the original recordings.

E's voice sounds particularly raw and off key in many places, but this only adds to the mood of the album. Every song fits in this album, and stands on it's own. Some of the highlights include the somber "Bus Stop Boxer" the intense "Trouble with Dreams" and the haunting and borderline creepy takes on "Flyswatter" and "Novocaine for the Soul" which run together (although he only goes through about half of the lyrics on the latter before the song turns into a long, distorted string solo), and five of the strongest songs off "Blinking Lights" to close out the record.

My only real dissapointment is that there are no tracks from "Electro-Shock Blues" which is one of the Eels strongest records. Apparently on the DVD version of this concert, 9 additional tracks appear, including those off "Electro-Shock" But the CD version contains 4 the DVD does not. Why not put them all together and make it a double album? Perhaps it is a ploy to get you to buy both. It may be noted that the iTunes version of this album has three bonus tracks.

This is a very good concert, You can put some question marks on the mix af this recoding, but it sounds real and fair.
The only song I don't like is 'bride of theme from blinking lights', it's out of tune, which makes it very enoying. But I love listening to some Eels classics with good strings and very nice slide guitars. Good deal.

great versions, very acoustic, this is the kind of cd's or dvd's that you can listen complete and enjoy every song.

I love this album. perhaps I have a bad ear, but I find nothing wrong with the recording or the album.
If you love the EELS - then this album is for you.
If you are new to the eels - start with another album.

I must admit I am baffled to see such mixed reviews about this CD. Some people who call themselves Eels fans are rating it very poorly, based on poor quality of the recording, which I completely fail to understand. Eels With Strings: Live at Town Hall was my first introduction to Mr. E and since then I have acquired almost all his studio albums. I recommend it to everyone who likes great music. Eels is a man who defies classification but anyone who likes Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Nick Cave or other great musicians who put emphasis on both lyrics and music will find a real treasure here. Then you should move on to other great Eels recordings, starting with Daisies of the Galaxy.

I'm not sure what CD these other reviewers are listening to, but the mix of this CD is fine. It's a great live album from Mr. E. We get some of his older stuff, with "The Only Thing I Care About" being one of the highlights. If you are an Eels fan, you will not be disappointed.

This is a great live album by one of the most underappreciated bands in America today. I experienced the live show myself and this album is a great representation of what a great show it was. The covers are well selected and the set list is great. There aren't too many essential eels tracks that are missing.

I'm amazed by the people who have reviewed this CD and complained about the sound quality. I am an experienced engineer and producer, and I have no problems with the way this album sounds.

In a time of over-produced, ill-written, tepid records, this, as much is the same with much of the eels work, this record shines.

Everyone must buy this album. Even if you have never heard of the Eels before (but then, what the heck are you doing looking at this review), or are just a casual fan you need to buy this!

Every song is fantastic. Quiet, yet powerful... Beautiful, yet scary... Live at Town Hall has it all.