Walking into Albert Hall tonight my head is spinning, gently. Everything about tonight (and tomorrow) show feels epic in its scope. Yet the tone is calm, tender, refined. We’re here to listen to The Magnetic Fields play the modern classic 69 Love Songs in full (over two nights, it’s nearly 3 hours long after all). This is a record I know very well. It’s the sort of album that fans obsess over. Books have been written and I’ve devoured. It’s an eclectic mix of sounds and styles, all loosely tied together by love. I won’t dig any deeper than that, go read the books or if by some travesty you’ve not heard the album, go listen to it right now, all the way through if possible. My thoughts this evening though are on how will it sound live? I saw The Magnetic Fields a couple of years back in Leeds. It was sublime. My expectations are therefore unreasonably high as I find a seat. It’s an all seated affair, which adds to the civilised mood and also helps with the temperature. It’s usually uncomfortably warm in here, but tonight it’s just right. One question I had was whether we’d go in order or mix things up, but as they take to the stage, sheepishly wave and slide into the first song ‘Absolutely Cuckoo’ in order it is. It’s a great intro to an album and a set. Singer, songwriter, lynchpin Stephin seems on good form, cracking jokes, clearly at ease with a number of shows under their belt. I don’t want to go song by song, but next up ‘I Don’t Believe in the Sun’ is stunning. Stephin’s deep voice is incredible in here. The acoustics are always on point and their sound fits it to a tee. There are no live drums, it’s a drum machine backing ‘A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off’, but the rest comes from the stage with strings and keys. It sounds like a comedy song and it’s fun yes, but so much more as is the way with many of these songs. I love this track and it’s always been a stand-out. There are subtle differences from the recorded versions here and there, like Stephin’s backing vocals on ‘Come Back From San Fransisco’ with Shirley taking the lead. They’ve probably done this for years but it’s new to my ears. ‘The Luckiest Guy On The Lower East Side’ follows with another voice, this time from Chris… I think, I honestly don’t recognise him and he’s tucked away at the back, but he sounds marvellous and hits the “Wanna go for a ride” line perfectly. I said o wouldn’t clock every song, but how can you leave out ‘Let’s Pretend We’re Bunny Rabbits’ or Stephin wielding a triangle on ‘The Cactus Where Your Heart Should Be’. It’s a crazy ride, which is no surprise. The heartfelt and tender ‘The Book of Love’ is chased by the synth squelch of ‘Fido, Your Leash is Too Long’ with a lovely solo coda from the other chap at the back that I think might be Anthony on keyboards. The line up of this band has always fluctuated, but they seem to orbit in and out, people aren’t replaced, just switched around. Stephin is the constant of course, but Sam on the funky looking cello is ever present too. We’re comically invited to mosh at the front for ‘Punk Love’. I’ll admit on record it’s jarring, purposely so, but live it’s much more fun. It’s only short, but sounds great and would be an amusing place to pause. Instead though ‘Parades Go By’ leads us into an intermission. It’s much more suitable. With a big sweeping air. Big choral synth pads and an electro pulse. Honestly the breadth of this record is nuts. After the 15 minute refreshment break (I was half expecting choc ice’s), they smash back in with ‘Boa Constrictor’. Just kidding it’s a soft folky lament. I’ve often said this is one of the best sounding venues in the city, but the scope of these songs really does prove that anything can sound amazing in Albert Hall. We’re in a reflective part of the record now with songs that drift beautifully, like ‘Nothing Matters When We’re Dancing’, the ukulele and deep bass of the cello working in gorgeous harmony with one another. The tempo then steps up with another of my favourites ‘Sweet-Lovin’ Man’. It’s one of the more produced sounding songs and really packs a jaunty punch. ‘The Things We Did and Didn’t Do’ brings us to the end of CD1. Time to switch. Something you have to do a lot more with the vinyl. Honestly I’d buy the cassette too if it were available on that format (hint). After the interlude of ‘Roses’ the Lynchian ‘Love is Like Jazz’ unfurls in a haze of controlled chaos, with set lists fed into fans and Stephin introducing this weekends coming Psych Fest (if you’ve not got a ticket for that, be fast there’s only a few left!). Stephin seems to really enjoy ‘When My Boy Walks Down the Street’, throwing his arms and swinging in his chair, it’s infective and I spot many a knee bouncing and there’s a huge cheer at the climax. ‘Grand Canyon’ is another big one. With its County hooks it’s never really stood out for me, but its warmth live is quite captivating. The dark gothy ‘No One Will Ever Love You’ is more my pace though. It’s melancholic but Shirley’s voice throws some hope in. Despite that, it is really quite wonderfully gloomy. I’ll admit my arse is staring to go numb during the 80s flecked ‘If You Don’t Cry’. Stephin has been wandering the stage stretching his legs and I’ve a mind to do the same. I know there’s a cut point coming though, where we’ll pause to resume tomorrow… but I’m not sure where it’ll be. My guess is a few more. ‘(Crazy For You) But Not That Crazy’ would be good actually. It feels like a finale. These album in full gigs often suffer from not being able to craft a set and leaving the audience in emotional limbo, but this record was built for playing live. My guess is right though as we get a couple more and close out with ‘Promises of Eternity’, Chris standing in a spotlight for his vocal to mark the moment, the crowd clapping a backbeat for him as Stephin sips wine in the shadows. We’ve now got a 22 hour intermission”, I for one can’t wait, on the strength of tonight it’ll be incredible.
Comentários