All Dolled Up Like Christ

Durtro 000CD, 1999, Disc 1 running time: 65:55, Disc 2 running time: 70:38

All Dolled Up Like Christ

DISC I (ALPHA)

  1. In the Heart of the Wood (And What I Found There) - 03:43
  2. Calling For Vanished Faces II - 04:16
  3. This Carnival is Dead and Gone - 03:18
  4. The Descent of Long Satan and Babylon - 02:51
  5. Black Flowers, Please - 04:16
  6. Be - 00:46
  7. All the World Makes Great Blood - 03:48
  8. The Great, Bloody and Bruised Veil of the World - 04:40
  9. A Song for Douglas After He’s Dead - 04:55
  10. Horsey - 08:41
  11. Happy Birthday Spooky Moonbeam - 03:49
  12. Oh Coal Black Smith - 03:25
  13. Dormition and Dominion - 05:19
  14. So: This Empire is Nothing - 01:12
  15. This Shining Shining World - 02:55
  16. A Sadness Song - 04:18
  17. Lucifer Over London - 03:43

DISC II (OMEGA)

  1. The Death of the Corn - 05:10
  2. Calling for Vanished Faces I - 01:32
  3. Happy Birthday Peek-a-MoonBeam - 04:05
  4. Horsey - 10:09
  5. All the World Makes Great Blood - 03:38
  6. The Great, Bloody and Bruised Veil of the World - 04:17
  7. A Song for Douglas After He’s Dead - 04:55
  8. Dormition and Dominion - 05:26
  9. So: This Empire is Nothing - 01:18
  10. This Shining Shining World - 02:45
  11. Oh Coal Black Smith - 03:30
  12. Black Flowers, Please - 04:32
  13. When the May Rain Comes - 03:34
  14. The Blue Gates of Death - 04:31
  15. In the Heart of the Wood (And What I Found There) - 02:52
  16. A Sadness Song - 04:24
  17. Christ and the Pale Queens Mighty in Sorrow - 03:59

A live album recorded on Halloween and November 1st at the Orensanz Foundation in New York City, 1996. While I’m not really a fan of live albums in general, the obvious passion and power of this concert does manage to seep through on a number of tracks. The recording quality is pretty good, and the only real disappointment is that the album doesn’t include any between-song dialogue from Tibet. Oh, well. Of possible interest, the title of this album is from the Antony & the Johnsons song “River of Sorrow” (on their brilliant self-titled first album). No lyrics in the liner.

The recording begins with a few seconds of the infamous “inmost light” loop, followed by a young girl welcoming the audience to “the final church of Current 93.” The band opens with IN THE HEART OF THE WOOD (AND WHAT I FOUND THERE) from Thunder Perfect Mind.  Actually, it’s a really nice rendition of the piece, very powerful and emotional.

CALLING FOR VANISHED FACES II previously appeared on All The Pretty Little Horses.

THIS CARNIVAL IS DEAD AND GONE is also from All The Pretty Little Horses.

Again from Thunder Perfect Mind, THE DESCENT OF LONG SATAN AND BABYLON.

Going back to their earlier days, BLACK FLOWERS, PLEASE was released on 1987’s Swastikas for Goddy.

The brief sixth track, BE, is from Imperium.  A lot of people seem to really like this song, but somehow, the point still escapes me…

However, I’ve always really loved ALL THE WORLD MAKES GREAT BLOOD, as well as the rest of the album Of Ruine or Some Blazing Starre.

THE GREAT, BLOODY AND BRUISED VEIL OF THE WORLD, also, is from the wonderful Of Ruine or Some Blazing Starre.

Always one of my favorites, A SONG FOR DOUGLAS AFTER HE’S DEAD is from Thunder Perfect Mind.

This version of HORSEY (from the album Horsey) contains Tibet’s only piece of commentary from this performance, stating at the end of the song “All we have is our humanity. We must become as human as possible, I think.”

Although somewhat incidental, Rose McDowall’s opening for HAPPY BIRTHDAY SPOOKY MOONBEAM is pretty cute. This track appeared, titled simply as HAPPY BIRTHDAY, on Looney Runes.

OH COAL BLACK SMITH was first released on Swastikas for Goddy.

The next three tracks, DORMITION AND DOMINION, SO: THIS EMPIRE IS NOTHING and THIS SHINING SHINING WORLD are all from Of Ruine or Some Blazing Starre.

A SADNESS SONG previously appeared on Thunder Perfect Mind.

This intense, but somewhat incomplete, version of LUCIFER OVER LONDON is from the song on the EP Lucifer Over London.

The second CD begins with a young girl welcoming the audience “to catland, sometimes called pussydom.” The first song, THE DEATH OF THE CORN, is from Horsey.

CALLING FOR VANISHED FACES I is from All The Pretty Little Horses.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PEEK-A-MOONBEAM is a retitled version of HAPPY BIRTHDAY from Looney Runes.

For commentary on tracks four thru twelve, please see above.

Lucky track thirteen, WHEN THE MAY RAIN COMES is from Thunder Perfect Mind.

From Earth Covers Earth, AT THE BLUE GATES OF DEATH.

As before, the next two tracks, IN THE HEART OF THE WOOD (AND WHAT I FOUND THERE) and A SADNESS SONG previously appeared on Thunder Perfect Mind.

The final piece, CHRIST AND THE PALE QUEENS MIGHTY IN SORROW, was first released on 1988’s Christ and the Pale Queens Mighty in Sorrow.  However, this rendition is mostly just distortion and drums, followed by a minute or so of the “long shadows” loop.

No epilogue.