Customer Reviews

Violent Silence / Woman's Story

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While the era of the traumatic breakup of Soft Cell was a painful experience for Almond, it did result in some of his most interesting work. This well-produced CD is a compilation of his 2 earliest solo albums, and although some of the material seems today to be dated or even cacophonic, what works here works very well. Highlights include: Indigo Blue, a great uplifting song with a contagious melody; A Woman's Story, which is one of his most ironic and amusing covers, but still tragic because it's sung with such conviction; A Salty Dog, which features amazing soaring vocals over a sparse, morose background; The Plague, another ferocious and well-scripted cover; For One Moment, perhaps his most beautiful song from the era; Just Good Friends, a sardonic view of relationships that gets better with every listen; Unborn Stillborn, a gothic little number that may well surprise you; and Healthy as Hate, a poetic, haunting piano piece that's sure to disturb. In all, this is worth getting; Marc Almond's sophistication shines through here, promising the better things to come.

Marc Almond
Violent Silence/A Woman's Story
Reviewed by:Mike Ventarola (originally appeared in Starvox Magazine www.starvox.net)

When most people think of Marc Almond, the first thought is that of the popular club hits Tainted Love or Tears Run Rings. However, Almond's work is much broader in scope and spectrum than just those two songs. In fact, it almost seems like a disservice has been done by having such stellar hits as a reminder of one's previous achievements.

This Cd is definitely not club friendly but is more apropos to those who tend to like Voltaire's style of dark cabaret. Almond however does not add sardonic wit the way Voltaire does. Instead, he croons in a tell-tale way of love and life and all the heartaches in between. He reaches inward and simply pulls the guts from the lyrics, making us simply enthralled as though he has been reading our own thoughts.

The music isn't dark in the traditional sense of goth, but does have its dark roots clearly embedded, particularly in the mournful trumpets and violins that play out like a heart on the final vestiges of love lost remorse.

Each track is an entity unto itself, thereby creating a new "story" and essence to follow each song. The consistent thing is Almond's deft handling of the material that is delivered like a chanteuse who has seen too many nights of heartbreak and now simply wanders the streets in the midnight hour seeking out a sympathetic ear. The styles range from a rather Celtic flavored pop with "Indigo Blue," orchestral balladeer with "A Woman's Story," the quiet European cabaret of "The Heel," to the almost Broadway-like song "Just Good Friends."

The sequencing for these tracks was simply perfect because it draws you in and with each sound transition, we are provided with yet another facet of style and sound. Through it all, we have an empathetic singer who is sharing the same thoughts of melancholy that we have experienced.

Clearly, A Violent Silence/ A Woman's Story is the type of Cd to listen to during a rather gloomy day when nothing else will suffice. Light the candles, fill up your glass with your favorite beverage and wallow in the emotional tide. This is among Almond's best work to date despite it not having any club appeal. Thankfully, some artists also realize that not everything needs to be made for dancing and are able to provide us with poignant lyrics and the right flourishes of sound to remind us of the human condition and the foibles of the heart. If you like dark cabaret style work, do seek this CD out as it does deliver in spades.