Marc Almond
Live at Lokerse Feesten 2000 DVD
Review by Gary Hill
"So, who is Marc Almond?" you ask? He was the lead singer of Soft Cell, but he’s had a solo career since then. Remember Soft Cell’s big claim to fame? It was the song “Tainted Love.” That track is really a great song, a major classic, but many people have probably never heard anything else from the group or Almond. That’s a shame because this DVD shows that there is a lot of great music out there from both. It’s easy to remember that Soft Cell were part of that electro-pop movement that came out during the 1980’s. You’ll notice in watching this that there was a lot of punk rock in the mix, too. Almond and his band can really rock out with the best of them. The lyrics are often times clever and biting. The music usually works quite well, but occasionally falls a little flat in the view of this reviewer. The truth is, though, this is a solid document of a strong concert from this performer. He does both songs from his solo career and songs from his well-known band (yes, we get “Tainted Love”). I wouldn’t say that this is necessarily one of my all time favorite concert DVD’s, but it is good and sure to entertain even the casual fan. One thing I do find a bit annoying is the fact that the song title is put out in front at the onset of each track. It just takes a bit away from the live experience.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2008 Volume 5 at lulu.com/strangesound.
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