Cancer Ward (album)

Cancer Ward
Studio album by Steve Lieberman
Released 30 December 2014
Recorded November 2013 – November 2014
Genre Punk rock, Garage, Obscuro, Industrial ,Dance , PitBash, Progressive Rock
Length 78:35
Label JDub
Producer Steve Lieberman
Steve Lieberman chronology

My Magic Last Days
(2012)
Cancer Ward
(2014)
Return Of the Jewish Pirate 1-4
(2015)

Cancer Ward is a punk-rock, garage, industrial dance album, and the 22nd album from Jewish-American, bi-polar outsider punk musician, Steve Lieberman, released on 30 December 2014,when he was 56 years old.[1] It is a concept album, largely dealing with Lieberman's six-month long experimental chemotherapy at Memorial Sloan-Kettering between September 2013 and February 2014, the third round of treatment failing to halt the progression of his leukemia. The underlying theme is Lieberman's dealing with death and dying early because of the resistant, uncurable nature of his disease. The album took over one year to produce, as Lieberman was hospitalized frequently during 2014, as his cancer progressed to stage 3.

Critical reception

Dan MacIntosh

Upon first listen of "Cancer Ward" it appears to be an ungodly mess until you realize this is no joke. Lieberman was diagnosed with myelofibrosis leukemia in 2013. More respect is gained when realizing Lieberman is a bit of a musical legend. On a technical musical basis, this is not great music, but on an artistic level, it's darn good. Lieberman is a ranting and raving man with good reason. He wants to go out with a bang, not a whimper.

Rating 3 Stars out of 5[2]

Sidharth K-MusicPerk.com

" Steve Lieberman at his best with some classy music. A sample of several musical genres blended in. Pretty intense sure to grow on listeners after repeat listening. Pushes the barrier, the best experimentation in this genre.


Rating: 8.3 Stars out of 10[3]

James McQuiston

"Vocals are strong even as they hide between fuzzy guitars and percussive elements. "Cancer Ward" is in the vein of Warren Zevon's "My Ride's Here" but includes minor hints of hope dispersed throughout the 18 tracks. Further hope is provided that the elements of "Cancer Ward" possess continuity of previous tracks in Lieberman's extensive discography.

Rating: 7.6 Stars out of 10 [4]

Musical personnel

Steve Lieberman - bass guitar, guitar, vocals, flutes, recorders, melodica, beatmachines

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Steve Lieberman except where noted. 

No. Title Length
1. "The Beat of My Funeral Drum" (Roger Waters) 3:03
2. "Cancer Ward #1-Leukemia Services M-4384"   4:23
3. "Get Off The Bus"   4:17
4. "Retriever-Head Shifter"   4:50
5. "Cancer Ward #2-Vera"   4:44
6. "Cancer Ward #3-The Phlebotomy"   3:37
7. "My Spleen Is A Beastmachine"   6:27
8. "Cancer Ward #4-Progressions and Transformations"   2:57
9. "Cancer Ward #5-The Woozatorium"   5:02
10. "Cancer Ward #6-B+ On A Pole"   3:23
11. "My Last Chanukah"   7:10
12. "Cancer Ward #7-32 Waist"   3:33
13. "My Last Good Day"   4:31
14. "Cancer Ward #8-The Hospice Room"   4:13
15. "Presence Of The L-rd" (Eric Clapton) 3:41
16. "My Kingdom" (Ian McCulloch) 3:04
17. "The Punk Meets The Godfather" (Pete Townshend) 5:36
18. "Seasons in the Sun" (Jacques Brel) 4:51

Singles

Year Title Peak chart positions Charts Download Sales
Soundclick Main Genre[5] Soundclick Subgenre[6] Broadjam[7]
2013 "My Kingdom" 25 1 - Alternative/Brit-Pop 4,930
2013 "Cancer Ward #3-The Phlebotomy" 19 1 Rock/Punk 5,068
"Retriever-Head Shifter" 13 3 Metal/Alternative Metal 7,487
"My Spleen Is A Beastmachine" 43 1 - Alternative/Dance Punk 5,434
2014 "Get Off The Bus" 21 1 - Rock/Punk 4,960
"My Last Chanukah" 23 3 - Pop/Seasonal 2,021
"Cancer Ward #6-B+ On A Pole" 17 6 - Metal/Heavy Metal 2,573
2015 "My Last Good Day " 21 1 - Rock/Garage Rock 2,712

References

  1. "All Music Guide-Steve Lieberman -Cancer Ward". January 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  2. MacIntosh,Dan (1 February 2015). "Steve Lieberman-"Cancer Ward"". Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  3. K,Sidharth (14 May 2014). "Steve Lieberman-"Cancer Ward"-musicperk". Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  4. McQuiston,James (15 February 2015). "Steve Lieberman-"Cancer Ward"-Neufutur Magazine". Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  5. "Steve Lieberman The Gangsta Rabbi-SoundClick Music Page". 28 April 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  6. "Steve Lieberman The Gangsta Rabbi-SoundClick Music Page". 28 April 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  7. "Steve Lieberman -Broadjam Profile Page". 28 April 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2015.