DEAD CAN DANCE WAKE - THE BEST OF DOUBLE COMPILATION 4AD, PLAYGROUND RELEASE: MAY 5, 2003 REVIEW: JUNE 10, 2003

A collection DCD of great D C D songs? When a box already exists? And with such a high grade? What’s the point - and has the reviewer lost his mind?
Well, yes - there really is a point. And no - the reviewer has not lost his mind. Not more than usual when exposed to sense expanding music, anyway. You see, Dead Can Dance were revolutionaries, and a reissue of 26 of their songs is an act of cultural significance, no matter how crass and commercial the real motives are. To let even more listeners discover the somewhat pretentious, but mind boggling aural world of Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard is a truly good thing. I mean, just listen to the first of these two discs, and let yourself be drawn into an ancient world of gloom and beauty beyond what any contemporary music manages to create. Gerrard and Perry conjure up images of long lost moors and castles, Boschian tableaux and anything your heart desires.
And yes, there is a box with even more songs - apart from the full-length albums Dead Can Dance released when they were active. But a box costs lot of money, and a two-CD compilation let more presumptive listeners discover this groundbreaking Australian duo. For us who already own most of their back catalogue there aren’t many goodies in here though. Just an early demo. That’s it. With more unreleased material, the grade would’ve been even higher. That's how good this selection of songs is.

KALLE MALMSTEDT