The Mystery of Love Is Greater than the Mystery of Death

by Jackie Leven

Overview

Jackie Leven's The Mystery of Love Is Greater Than the Mystery of Death is one of those special releases that intrigues and puzzles on first listen, while laying new circuitry in your subconscious that draws you inexorably back for more. There is absolutely no premeditated "format" to relate this to, nor adequate words to convey this disc's mesmerizing content. On one level, it's all over the place, ranging from Celtic mysticism to Bacharach-David crooning, from atmospheric whispers to Big Country-ish epic statements, from traditional folk instrumentation to lush strings. But it still works as a whole, linked in a loosely thematic way by thoughtful poetry fragments intoned by collaborator Robert Bly (the Waterboys' Mike Scott also guests on the sessions). Leven's deep, reverb-laden vocals (he sang, in the early '80s with obscure new wave band Doll by Doll) reminds one in places of another brilliant, enigmatic British performer, Scott Walker. ~ Roch Parisien

Product Details

Release Date:	09/09/2022
Label:	Cooking Vinyl
UPC:	0711297106411

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Jackie Leven   Primary Artist,Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
James Hallawell   Bass,Vocals,Keyboards,Featured Artist
Glenn Nightingale   Guitar (Electric)
Hector Thomas   Harmonica
Sean De Feo   Vocals
Nessim Molder   Mandolin
Steve Killer Jackson   Drums,Percussion
Robert Bly   Vocals,Bouzouki,Featured Artist
Chucho Merchan   Bass
Mike Scott   Vocals,Featured Artist
Graham Preskett   Violin,Mandolin
Anthony Thistlethwaite   Mandolin
Ed Jones   Saxophone

Technical Credits

Antonio Machado   Composer
William Stanley Merwin   Translation
Michael Walton   Engineer,Programming
James Hallawell   Composer,Liner Notes,Mixing Supervision
Ben Cape   Mixing,Engineer
Etheridge Knight   Composer
Osip Mandelstam   Composer
Sean De Feo   Assistant Engineer
Sant Kabir   Composer
Ian Rankin   Liner Notes
Clarence Brown   Translation
Steve Killer Jackson   Programming
Robert Bly   Composer,Translation
John Cornfield   Mixing,Engineer
Geoff Allan   Assistant Engineer
Jackie Leven   Composer,Mixing Supervision
Robin Rankin   Mixing,Engineer
Mike Scott   Liner Notes
Harri Kakoulli   Mixing,Engineer
Jim Toler   Mixing,Engineer