The Eels - With Strings (DVD)

...you. In some respects, the same could be said for Eels - With Strings. But, out of a desire to write a decent review and a desire to defend the band I love the most, I shall try my best to explain why this is worth your time and money.

First up, an explanation of who the Eels are to the uninitiated. They are best known for the 1996 hit Novocaine for the Soul. Remember? The one with the man in the funny glasses floating around? Yep, ...
...as Souljacker Part 2 being the main song from Hot Fuzz. But The Eels (in various guises), have been rather prolific, having released 6 studio albums, as well as three live albums (including the CD version of this DVD), and an album of B-Sides and rarities. Front man Mark Oliver Everett has release 2 and a half solo albums (one of them, MC Honky's I am the Messiah, is widely regarded to have been written by Everett, although he has never confirmed ... more

Normally, any band who releases a live album/DVD is looking to make some extra cash for relatively little work. It's like me taking a camcorder to my job, filming it, and selling it to you. In some respects, the same could be said for Eels - With Strings. But, out of a desire to write a decent review and a desire to defend the band I love the most, I shall try my best to explain why this is worth your time and money.

First up, an explanation of who the Eels are to the uninitiated. They are best known for the 1996 hit Novocaine for the Soul. Remember? The one with the man in the funny glasses floating around? Yep, that's them. They've poked their heads into the mainstream in recent years too, having provided tracks for all 3 Shrek films, as well as Souljacker Part 2 being the main song from Hot Fuzz. But The Eels (in various guises), have been rather prolific, having released 6 studio albums, as well as three live albums (including the CD version of this DVD), and an album of B-Sides and rarities. Front man Mark Oliver Everett has release 2 and a half solo albums (one of them, MC Honky's I am the Messiah, is widely regarded to have been written by Everett, although he has never confirmed it). As far as their style goes...well, that varies from album to album. Souljacker was for the most part gritty and for the Eels at least, quite rocky. Electro-Shock Blues on the other hand was calm and melancholic. The main characteristics that run through all their music are the use of toy instruments (Everett has a fascination with them, even naming his second solo album Broken Toy Shop), and the use of a choir sound played on a keyboard. And now we are all up to speed, on with the review.

The tour previous to this one had been a dark, heavy and manic. Mark Everett decided it would be interesting to see what would happen if the traditional rock band layout was replaced with a string quartet, and then having different instruments placed around them. You will see in this DVD, the use of an auto harp, a double bass, piano, toy piano, melodica, slide guitar, a vibrator covered in tinfoil (I’m not joking either) and a drum kit composed of two bins and a suitcase. Everybody is very smartly dressed, and it all screams at you, from every conceivable angle, that this is designed to be a gentleman's evening and not a heavy metal concert.

This presents something of a watershed concept to be honest. For fans whose vocabulary is limited to the words "Dude", "Hardcore", "You sold out man!" and "Wooooooo!", this will go down about as well as the Titanic. But to be honest, the more devoted Eels fans should not really be surprised like this - this band has always tried to do a show that would be stylistically different to whatever the current album is. So, there we have it - my first argument as to why this is worth your money. It's not simply a live rendition of existing tracks; all of them have been reworked into something new.

This DVD combines live performances with clips of what goes on backstage. After two or three songs you are presented with backstage chats with each of the band, footage from the tour bus, and clips of Everett wandering around New York, giving us his thoughts on life. It's all very engaging too - Everett has a very dry wit, but still comes across as a very likeable man. The last backstage clip, where he is sat on the tour bus after the gig, is especially funny.

The bulk of the set list is from the last Eels album, Blinking Lights and Other Revelations. However, there are a few covers – namely Bob Dylan’s Girl from the North Country, Left Banke’s Pretty Ballerina, and Prince’s I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man. The latter of these is unfortunately overdubbed with some (admittedly humorous) commentary from Mark Everett and fellow band member The Chet, as they couldn’t get clearance to play the song before the DVD was released.

The whole set list has a sound that is very gentle, patient and measured. Every pause and note sounds meaningful. There is no showboating – Everett stands at the front in a suit, smoking a cigar with his other hand draped down by his side, and most of the instrumentalists stay seated. While this works very well in setting the mood of the occasion, it also makes you really appreciate the livelier tracks with drums, such as Pretty Ballerina and Trouble With Dreams. I guess it could be argued that the lack of theatricality can make watching it seem dull, but I firmly believe the quality of the songs will remedy that.

Standout performances on the DVD would have to go firstly to Blinking Lights (For Me), which is lyrically one of the most heartfelt songs you will ever hear, Pretty Ballerina, for showing just how good two bins and a suitcase can work as a drum kit, and Dog Faced Boy, which is a song performed in the encore, and provides one, tiny, very welcome dose of hard rockin’. The weaker songs would probably include Flyswatter, which is a shame as it’s usually one of their best live tracks. Problem is this time it all goes very weird, with musical saws and random noises, and it goes on for far too long. Hey Man (Now You’re Really Living) sounds a bit tinny with the instruments they have at their disposal too. Everything else in the DVD is very consistent, poignant and moving.

Extras on the DVD include more backstage footage, promotional appearances by Everett on radio shows, which are brilliantly funny, and a couple of music videos – Trouble with Dreams and Hey Man (Now You’re Really Living), which is again, a music video you really don’t want to miss; it’s one of my all time favourites.

I was lucky enough to see this tour live when they came by the Royal Albert Hall. I had to walk all the way from Knightsbridge in the pouring rain, with a girl I couldn’t stand. The drinks were vastly expensive and rather than a support act, they just put on an old Russian animation video. It was 2 hours of being sat there until the Eels actually came out. Yet despite all that, it remains my favourite gig of all time, solely because the music performed was that good. This DVD captures the feeling perfectly. Furthermore, if you look on Amazon, you’ll find copies for less than seven pounds. 29 live tracks and two videos for that price? Can’t be bad. If you’re an Eels fan, you’ll love this. If you love music that moves you, you’ll love this even more.

(Just a side note – Mr Ciao, why is there a rating for special effects on a live music DVD?) 

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