Nico - Desertshore

 

I have always enjoyed Nico's drone-y, atmospheric, moody solo work and I owned this album for quite a while, but it seems to have disappeared. My good pal, Rob, has seen fit to grace me with a CD copy though - thank bro!

This is Nico's third solo album, once again produced by John Cale, who adds quite a bit to the musical mix - lots of extra instruments (besides Nico's voice and simple harmonium) and vocals. At the time she was involved with filmmaker Phillipe Garrel and several of these songs were included in his film La cicatrice interieure and the cover images are stills from the movie, as well.

The opening "Janitor of Lunacy" (amazing title) was dedicated to Brian Jones, a friend who had died the previous year, and and it is primarily Nico and her harmonium, with Nico in good voice - she seemed to be better at picking keys that fit her singing more than other songwriters were, which only makes sense - with a fine, melancholy melody. Cale adds more instruments to make "The Falconer" more symphonic, although keeping in Nico's delicate, almost religious, feel, and in "My Only Child", there are harmony vocals creating a lovely, old English style, ala Steeleye Span, in a way. "Le petit chevalier" is a short, childlike number, sung by a child (her son, Ari), before Cale comes in with his viola for a dramatic "Abschied", "Afraid" is highlighted by Cale's pretty piano work and strings, emphasizing the delicate melody, "Mutterlein" has a melodramatic, Germanic touch, and again, Cale's instrumentation and added vocals create an cinematic number, and the finale "All That is My Own" also has a film-like ambience, referencing the album title, with ebbs'n'flows creating a wave-like atmosphere, and once again, Cale's production incorporates the proper mood for the number.

I dare say that this record is practically commercial (or, at least, accessible) in comparison to some of her other works, but it is really an acquired taste. I love this stuff, and I would think that those who appreciated the 80's goth scene would enjoy (if that is a word to use for an album this somber) this.