Toward the Within

Toward the Within
Live album by Dead Can Dance
Released	24 October 1994
Recorded	November 1993
Genre	World music, Gothic music
Length	67:56
Label	4AD 4AD/Warner Bros. Records 45769 (United States)
Producer	Brendan Perry Lisa Gerrard
Dead Can Dance chronology
Into the Labyrinth (1993) Toward the Within (1994) Spiritchaser (1996)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Piero Scaruffi	6/10[2]

Toward the Within (1994) is the first official live album of Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard's group Dead Can Dance. It contains 15 songs, of which only four appeared on their previous albums, and two of which were later re-recorded and included on Lisa Gerrard's first solo album, The Mirror Pool. The others previously existed only in live performances and unofficial bootlegs, but were not officially released until Toward the Within. Along with Perry and Gerrard were a number of musicians who had performed with them on other occasions.

Overview

Toward the Within was recorded in one take in November 1993 at the Mayfair Theatre in Santa Monica, California and was released by 4AD as an album and a video (VHS and Laserdisc) a year later. It was the last major event to take place in the Mayfair Theatre before it was severely damaged in the Northridge earthquake in January 1994 and had to be closed indefinitely. The video was filmed by producer Mark Magidson, known for his work on 1992 film Baraka. It contains interviews with Gerrard and Perry, as well a music video for "Yulunga (Spirit Dance)", composed of clips from Baraka.

While the CD functions as the soundtrack to the video, neither contain the entire show. The CD lacks "Gloridean" as well as the song played over the ending credits of the video, while the video lacks "Persian Love Song" and concert footage of "Yulunga (Spirit Dance)".

In 2001, Toward the Within was re-released on DVD and included in the box set Dead Can Dance (1981-1998). In addition to the original content, the DVD release contained a few extras: a discography; music videos for "Frontier", "The Protagonist" and "The Carnival Is Over"; and a chapter from Baraka titled "Calcutta Foragers/Homeless", which is set to Dead Can Dance's "The Host of Seraphim". In 2004, the DVD was released in a stand-alone package.

Performers

List of musicians who performed in the Toward the Within live concert.^[3]

• Brendan Perry (voice, percussion, guitar, flute, yangqin)
• Lisa Gerrard (voice, yangqin, percussion)
• Lance Hogan (guitar)
• Andrew Claxton (keyboard, percussion)
• John Bonnar (keyboard, percussion)
• Rónán Ó Snodaigh (percussion)
• Robert Perry (percussion, flute, guitar)^[4]

Track listing

1. "Rakim" – 6:25
2. "Persian Love Song" – 2:56
3. "Desert Song" – 4:20
4. "Yulunga (Spirit Dance)" (from Into the Labyrinth) – 7:12
5. "Piece for Solo Flute" – 3:34
6. "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" (from Into the Labyrinth) – 3:12
7. "I Am Stretched on Your Grave" – 4:38
8. "I Can See Now" – 2:56
9. "American Dreaming" – 4:55
10. "Cantara" (from Within the Realm of a Dying Sun) – 5:15
11. "Oman" – 5:49
12. "The Song of the Sibyl" (from Aion) – 4:31
13. "Tristan" – 1:48
14. "Sanvean" – 4:05
15. "Don't Fade Away" – 6:12

Note: "Persian Love Song" is based on an ancient Persian song. The same song was used by David Sylvian in "Nostalgia" (from the Brilliant Trees LP), although Sylvian did not specify that in the album credits. "I Am Stretched on Your Grave" is based on an anonymous 17th century poem, and is separate from Sinéad O'Connor's own rendition on I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got.

References

External links

• Toward the Within at Dead-Can-Dance.com
• Toward the Within Lyrics at Dead-Can-Dance.com
• Details of "Toward The Within" Laserdisc on LDDb.com