Artist: Eels
Album: Royal Albert Hall
Bitrate: 231kbps avg
Quality: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.98.4 / -V0 / 44.100Khz
Label: E-Works / PIAS
Genre: Indie
Size: 146.61 megs
PlayTime: 1h 23min 44sec total
Rip Date: 2015-04-18
Store Date: 2015-04-10
Track List: Disc #1/2
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01. Where I'm At 2:22
02. When You Wish Upon A Star 1:55
03. The Morning 1:49
04. Parallels 3:07
05. Adressing The Royal Audience 3:23
06. Mansions Of Los Feliz 2:55
07. My Timing Is Off 2:58
08. A Line In The Dirt 3:34
09. Where I'm From 3:17
10. It's A Motherfucker 2:24
11. Lockdown Hurricane 3:33
12. A Daisy Through Concrete 3:15
13. Introducing The Band 3:25
14. Grace Kelly Blues 3:09
15. Fresh Feeling 3:39
Track List: Disc #2/2
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01. I Like Birds 2:33
02. My Beloved Monster 3:10
03. Gentlemen's Choice 2:49
04. Mistakes Of My Youth - 6:01
Wonderful, Glorious
05. Where I'm Going 4:08
06. I Like The Way This Is Going 2:50
07. Blinking Lights (For Me) 2:11
08. Last Stop: This Town 4:01
09. The Beginning 2:39
10. Can't Help Falling In Love 2:34
11. Turn On Your Radio 3:24
12. Flyswatter 1:10
13. The Sound Of Fear 1:29
Release Notes:
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Ladies and gentlefolk grab your Sunday best: EelsÆ soul-stirring Royal Albert
Hall live album/film combo feels like an evening in church. YouÆll be a spirit
reborn! Sure, thereÆll be bearded fellas delivering solemn sermons about death,
lost souls, and life basically being one big ôMotherfuckerö, but donÆt despair.
YouÆre in safe hands: the hands of Reverend Mark Oliver Everett. Kids call him
ôEö... and sometimes ôMC Honkyö.
Cancer. Suicide. Heart failure. Divorce. 9/11. Parallel worlds. ôCop botheringö
facial hair. Everett knows these mean streets like the back of his hand. He and
his disciples may have cuddly, peek-a-boo nicknamesùThe Chet, Royal Al, P-Boo
and Knucklesùbut make no mistake: they deal in the hard stuffùoccasionally stuff
about dog-faced boys and naked clowns too. But there are no tracksuits, boiler
suits, or pyjamas for Eels at the Royal Albert Hall; this is the hour of suits
ænÆ boots. Now, hands to heaven, and hurry upùyouÆre already a year late.
ôDearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called
lifeàö
ôWhat a dump!ö is how Everett sensitively describes LondonÆs legendary Royal
Albert Hall. HeÆs joking, of course, but such amusing levity helps his followers
through what is a captivating and intimate but often heavy-hitting first half. A
crystalline cover of ôWhen You Wish Upon A Starö from DisneyÆs Pinocchio sets
the tone early on, a delicate act of daydreaming on the trail of the lonesome
pine. The cautiously optimistic ôThe Morningö, the porch swing sepia of
ôParallelsö, and the countryfied happy-sad ôMansions of Loz Felizö ease us into
the night gently. ôHereÆs another oneà donÆt worry, itÆs also a bummerö teases
Everett before the moonlit sparkler ôMy Timing Is Offö. HeÆs not kidding now,
but at least itÆs a ôsweet, soft bummerö. ôJust gotta be brave enough to love
and let yourself be loved,ö it suggests as it tenderly napalms your heart.
Sitting comfortably and down for the long haul, weÆre led into the hardcore
ôtotal bummerö department. If youÆve read EverettÆs extraordinary autobiography
What the Grandchildren Should Know, thereÆs no avoiding the aching weight of
these subversively sweet songs. ThereÆs the devastating ôA Line in the Dirtö,
which is either a flashback to EverettÆs divorce, or something possibly worse
(ôI drew a line into the dirt / And dared her to step across it / And she didö).
Then the deceptively dandy ôWhere IÆm Fromö finds Everett on his couch
reminiscing with his ôthree ghostsö before the ônext level bummerö isolation of
ôItÆs a Motherfuckerö. That tune is one of EelsÆ most beloved songs, featuring
an exquisite timeless melody, one kept mischievously from the masses, accursed
by its very name. This sobs toward the three-minute warning ôLockdown Hurricaneö
where we collectively shiver under shelter as ôDeath rattles our window panesö.
ôWho will discover the remains?ö it ponders chillingly. As the dark tempests of
ôHurricaneö fade, Everett sternly declares, ôItÆs overö, and the audience, as
one, breathes again. We are togetherà and alive!
ôI just wanna have some funö, decides Everett, and having shaken the night
terrors and survived, the other side of Royal Albert Hall feels comparatively
like a dance-in-your-pants, ôCrikey! IÆm healedö celebration. As the
multi-talented players ôManage the yard saleö by switching skilfully between
glockenspiel, cello, trumpet, melodica, timpani, and kitchen sink, we revisit
almost every era of EelsÆ rich tapestry (only 2003Æs Shootenanny gets 86Æd). The
summer jazz of ôA Daisy Through Concreteö, the marching ôGrace Kelly Bluesö, and
the funktastic shuffle of ôFresh Feelingö feel like a block party on Sesame
Street. Then thereÆs a go-go surf shimmy through ôI Like Birdsö (ôItÆs alright
if you act like a turd / æCause I likeà birds!ö) and the sweet, Shrek-shaped
valentine ôMy Beloved Monsterö before a more poignant final act which focusses
on 2014Æs excellent The Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett. ôGentlemenÆs
Choiceö serenades like Tom Waits singing Sinatra to the stars (ôWhen I was young
I had a dreamö) whilst ôWhere IÆm Goingö closes the main set with reinvigorated
æCanÆt go on, must go onö determination. Shining brightest in between these lies
ôMistakes of My Youthö, Cautionary TalesÆ crowning glory, where a 50-something
Everett surveys his past through the rearview mirror: ôIn the final moments I
hope I know that I triedö. ItÆs a true assault on the heartstrings, and when
Everett sadly admits, ôI am not a younger manö, youÆll be blubberinÆ like a
newborn.
Yet despite the heavenly, healing hands of these happy-sad psalms, itÆs a
ômusic-freeö moment that proves most memorable. With the heavy lifting done,
Everett abandons his piano and makes a last request: ôGimme a hug!ö Into the
crowd he leaps, and for a good five minutes he wanders amongst the startled,
joyous congregation, delivering hearty hugs and handshakes. In an evening of
magical moments, the look on peopleÆs facesùno, the love on peopleÆs facesùis
perhaps the most wonderful and glorious of them all. Despite the hard school
knocks of ôSoft Bummer Rockö, no-one looks depressed, they look like theyÆre
walking on, yup, sunshine. In this virtual ôLiving in the Matrixö age itÆs
refreshingly genuine. Human. Hallelujah and blimey, E is for everyone.
Returning to the stage a peopleÆs hero, an elated Everett confirms, ôThat was
fun and also terrifyingö before suggesting they ôskip the whole encore charade
and just play some moreö. The rest are for the roads ahead. ôI Like the Way This
is Goingö is butterfly giddy and shy but inside screams ôYES!ö before ôThe
Beginningö searches for the silver liningà albeit one hidden beneath the shit
cloud of a broken marriage. Finally thereÆs Elvis swoon (ôCanÆt Help Falling in
Loveö) and a classy, æforget-me-notÆ farewell via Harry Nilsson (ôTurn on Your
Radioö). As the band disappear for tea and scones, a maniacal laugh booms out
across this treasured landmark. A curtain collapses and astride the HallÆs
enormous 9,997 pipe organ sits The Phantom. It had been EÆs dream to rock that
ôFucking pipe organö for years but his requests were repeatedly rejected. Now,
resplendent in black hat and cape he jams ôFlyswatterö and ôThe Sound of Fearö
with devilish glee. A reassuringly anarchic conclusion to this regal
ôGentlemenÆs Concertö.
Everett was granted the esteemed ôFreedom of the City of Londonö several weeks
after recording Royal Albert Hall. Although there may be ôtoo much bummerö for
some on Royal Albert Hall, many will find it a richly rewarding, comforting, and
quietly triumphant celebration from one of AmericaÆs finest underdog
songwriters. ThereÆs enough heart in this darkness that when its ôcathartic
communionö ends, youÆll feel youÆve been personally hugged by Reverend ôMC
Honkyö too. ôFun and also terrifyingö, indeed.