Spesso un live non dà l'idea del concerto vero e proprio. "Les Bains Douches" forse si.
Cosa si capisce dei Joy in questo disco? Si capisce che un loro concerto doveva essere semplicemente essere un concerto. Nulla più. Si andava, musica sparata in faccia, e si tornava a casa. Senza compromessi, senza vie di mezzo, senza prese per il culo. Si capisce che quella dal vivo era la dimensione più adatta per i pezzi dei quattro ragazzi, la dimensione più naturale, quella più primitiva e animalesca.
"Les Bains Douches Live in Amsterdam-Eindhoven" costituisce il secondo volume di un'opera live aperta dalle registrazioni di Parigi, a mio parere leggermente più deludenti di quelle olandesi, soprattutto per la qualità del suono.
L'album esordisce con la sconvogente "Passover", in un modo sicuramente poco convenzionale per aprire un disco dal vivo. Ma "Passover" è perfetta per catapultarci in un clima di disperazione e di ansia che rimarrà pressochè costante durante tutto l'ascolto. Il pezzo forte è messo subito in seconda posizione, "New down Fades" con quel basso, quel basso pesante, potente ma sensuale, e quella chitarra, quella chitarra che dal vivo ha un suono inaspettato, fottutamente più garage. Batticuore e brividi. "Atrocity Exhibition", cosi ruvida, martellante, nevrotica, ci manda dritti nella nebbia e nel freddo di una grigia città.
Il lato b è, se vogliamo, ancora più emozionante del primo. Due marchi di fabbrica dei Joy Division come "Digital" e "Dead souls" esprimono dal vivo una natura in qualche modo celata nelle registrazioni su album, e riescono a far tornare i brividi anche a coloro che credevano conclusasi la fase della cieca adorazione. L'antidillica "Atmosphere" ha il sapore di un ultimo saluto da parte del genio che ci sta per lasciare, ed è pervasa da un glaciale e malinconico senso di fine.
A questo live gli si deve perdonare poco, solo qualche difetto nel suono, qualche piccolo errore. E a chi ascolta, per perdonare queste imprecisioni, non serve nulla; basta la nuda bellezza dei pezzi, che si commentano da soli. Sono la testimonianza diretta del dolore che scaturisce da strumenti accesi, vivi, tangibili.
Elenco tracce e testi
01 Passover (02:30)
This is a crisis I knew had to come,
Destroying the balance I'd kept.
Doubting, unsettling and turning around,
Wondering what will come next.
Is this the role that you wanted to live?
I was foolish to ask for so much.
Without the protection and infancy's guard,
It all falls apart at first touch.
Watching the reel as it comes to a close,
Brutally taking it's time,
People who change for no reason at all,
It's happening all of the time.
Can I go on with this train of events?
Disturbing and purging my mind,
Back out of my duties, when all's said and done,
I know that I'll lose every time.
Moving along in our God given ways,
Safety is sat by the fire,
Sanctuary from these feverish smiles,
Left with a mark on the door,
Is this the gift that I wanted to give?
Forgive and forget's what they teach,
Or pass through the deserts and wastelands once more,
And watch as they drop by the beach.
This is the crisis I knew had to come,
Destroying the balance I'd kept,
Turning around to the next set of lives,
Wondering what will come next.
03 Digital (03:23)
Feel it closing in - feel it closing in
A fear of whom I call - every time I call
I feel it closing in - I feel it closing in
Day in, day out --
I feel it closing in, as patterns seem to form
I feel it cold and warm, as shadows start to fall
[or in the Still and Effenaar live versions:
I feel it closing in, as shadows start to form
I feel it cold and warm - patterns on the wall]
I feel it closing in - I feel it closing in
Day in, day out --
I'd have the world around to see just what happens
Stood by the door alone, and then it's fade away
I see you fade away - don't ever fade away
I need you here today - don't ever fade away
Don't ever fade away --
Fade away --
05 Insight (03:54)
Guess the dream always end
They don't rise up just descend
But I don't care anymore
I've lost the will to want more
I'm not afraid, not at all
I watch them all as they fall
But I remember, when we were young
Those with habits of waste
The sense of style and the taste
Of making sure you were right
Hey, don't you know you were right
I'm not afraid anymore
I keep my eyes on the door
But I remember...
Tears and sadness for you
Awe of evil for you
Reflects a moment in time
A special moment in time
Yeah, we wasted our time
We didn't really have time
But we remember - when we were young
And all God's angels beware
And all you judges beware
Sons of chance take good care
For all the people out there
I'm not afraid anymore
I'm not afraid anymore
I'm not afraid anymore
I'm not afraid anymore
06 New Dawn Fades (04:42)
Change of speed, a change of style
A change of scene, with no regrets
A chance to watch
admire the distance
Still occupied - though you forget
Different colours, different shades
Over each mistakes were made
I took the blame
Directionless, so plain to see
A loaded gun won't set you free
So you say
We'll share a drink and step outside
An angry voice and one who cried
We'll give you everything and more
The strain's too much,
can't take much more
Oh I've walked on water,
run through fire
Can't seem to feel it anymore
It was me - waiting for me
Hoping for something more
Me - see me in this time -
Hoping for something else
07 Disorder (03:14)
I've been waiting for a guide to come
and take me by the hand
Could these sensations make me feel
the pleasures of a normal man
New sensations bear the innocence -
leave them for another day
I've got the spirit, lose the feeling
take the shock away
It's getting faster, moving faster now,
it's getting out of hand
On the tenth floor, down the backstairs
into no-man's land
Lights are flashing,
cars are crashing,
getting frequent now
I've got the spirit, lose the feeling, let it
out somehow
What means to you,
what means to me -
and we will meet again
I'm watching you, I watch it all
I take no pity from friends
Who is right and who can tell,
and who gives a damn right now
Until the spirit, new sensation
takes hold - then you know
Until the spirit, new sensation
takes hold - then you know
Until the spirit, new sensation
takes hold - then you know
I've got the spirit, but lose the feeling
I've got the spirit, but lose the feeling
I've got the spirit, but lose the feeling
Feeling, feeling, feeling, feeling, feeling, feeling, feeling
08 Transmission (03:33)
Radio live - transmission - radio live -
transmission
Listen to the silence, let it ring on
Eyes dark, relentless, frightened of the sun
We would have a fine time living in the night
Left a blind destruction,
waiting for our sight - sight
We would go on as though nothing
was wrong
Hide from these days we remain all alone
Staying in the same place
to stand out the tide
Touching from a distance,
further all the time
Dance, dance, dance, dance,
dance to the radio (4)
I would go on as though nothing
was wrong
And hide from these days
when the music goes on
Staying in the same place,
we're sparing no time
Gift who could value no-one
inside
And we could dance, dance, dance, dance,
dance to the radio (4)
09 Love Will Tear Us Apart (04:17)
When routine bites hard and ambitions are low
and resentment rides high but emotions won't grow
And we're changing our ways, taking different roads
Then love, love will tear us apart again
Love, love will tear us apart again
Why is the bedroom so cold? You've turned away on your side
Is my timing that flawed our respect runs so dry?
Yet there's still this appeal that we've kept through our lives
But love, love will tear us apart again
Love, love will tear us apart again
You cry out in your sleep, all my failings exposed
And there's a taste in my mouth as desperation takes hold
Is it something so good just can't function no more
But love, love will tear us apart again
Love, love will tear us apart again
Love, love will tear us apart again
Love, love will tear us apart again
10 These Days (04:08)
Morning seems strange, almost out of place.
Searched hard for you and your special ways.
These days, these days.
Spent all my time, learnt a killer's art.
Took threats and abuse 'till I'd learned the part.
Can you stay for these days?
These days, these days.
Used outward deception to get away,
Broken heart romance to make it pay.
These days, these days.
We'll drift through it all, it's the modern age.
Take care of it all now these debts are paid.
Can you stay for these days?
11 A Means to an End (04:14)
A legacy so far removed
One day will be improved
Eternal rights we left behind
We were the better kind
Two the same - set free too
I always looked to you.
We fought for good - stood side by side
Our friendship never died
On stranger waves - the lows and highs
Our vision touched the skies
Immortalists with points to prove
I put my trust in you.
A house somewhere on foreign soil
Where ageing lovers call
Is this your goal - your final needs?
Where dogs and vultures eat
Committed still, I turn to go
I put my trust in you.
In you, in you, in you
Put my trust in you, in you
12 Twenty Four Hours (04:25)
So this is permanence, love's shattered pride.
What once was innocence, turned on its side.
A cloud hangs over me, marks every move,
Deep in the memory, of what once was love.
Oh how I realised how I wanted time,
Put into perspective, tried so hard to find,
Just for one moment, thought I'd found my way.
Destiny unfolded, I watched it slip away.
Excessive flashpoints, beyond all reach,
Solitary demands for all I'd like to keep.
Let's take a ride out, see what we can find,
A valueless collection of hopes and past desires.
I never realised the lengths I'd have to go,
All the darkest corners of a sense I didn't know.
Just for one moment, I heard somebody call,
Looked beyond the day in hand, there's nothing there at all.
Now that I've realised how it's all gone wrong,
Gottas find some therapy, this treatment takes too long.
Deep in the heart of where sympathy held sway,
Gotta find my destiny, before it gets too late.
13 Shadowplay (03:44)
To the centre of the city where all roads meet
waiting for you
To the depths of the ocean
where all hopes sank searching for you
moving through the silence without motion
waiting for you
In a room with no window in the corner,
I found truth
In the shadowplay, acting out your
own death, knowing no more
As the assassins all grouped
in four lines,
Dancing on the floor,
And with cold steel, odour on their bodies,
made a move to connect
I could only stare in disbelief
as the crowds all left
I did everything, everything I wanted to
I let them use you -
for their own ends
To the centre of the city at night
waiting for you
waiting for you
14 She's Lost Control (03:55)
Confusion in her eyes that says it all -
She's lost control
And she's clinging to the nearest passer-by
She's lost control
And she gave away the secrets of her past
And said "I've lost control again."
And a voice that told her when and where to act,
She said I've lost control again.
And she turned to me
and took me by the hand
and said "I've lost control again"
and how I'll never know just why
or understand
She said "I've lost control again"
And she screamed out, kicking on her side
And seized up on the floor -
I thought she'd died
She said "I've lost control again"
She's lost control again -
she's lost control
Well I had to phone her friend
to state her case and say
she's lost control again
And she showed up all the errors
and mistakes
and said "I've lost control again"
But she expressed herself in many
different ways
until she'd control again
And walked upon the edge of no escape
and laughed "I've lost control again"
She's lost control again,
she's lost control
she's lost control
15 Atrocity Exhibition (08:36)
The silence when doors open wide
Where people could pay to see inside
For entertainment they watch
his body twist
Behind his eyes he says I still exist
This is the way, step inside
This is the way, step inside
This is the way, step inside
This is the way, step inside
In arenas he kills for a prize
Wins a minute to add to his life
But the sickness is drowned
by cries for more
Pray to God make it quick - watch him fall
This is the way, step inside
This is the way, step inside
This is the way, step inside
This is the way, step inside
This is the way
This is the way
This is the way
This is the way
This is the way, step inside
You'll see the horrors of a far-away place
Meet the architects of law
face to face
See mass murder on a scale
you've never seen
And all the ones who tried hard
to succeed
This is the way, step inside
This is the way, step inside
This is the way, step inside
This is the way, step inside
And I picked on the whims of
a thousand more
Still pursuing the path
that's been buried
For years of dead woods and jungles and
cities on fire, can't replace
or relate,
can't release or repair -
take my hand,
and I'll show you what was - it will be.
16 Atmosphere (05:17)
Walk in silence,
Don't walk away, in silence.
See the danger,
Always danger,
Endless talking,
Life rebuilding,
Don't walk away.
Walk in silence,
Don't turn away, in silence.
Your confusion,
My illusion,
Worn like a mask of self-hate,
Confronts and then dies.
Don't walk away.
People like you find it easy,
Naked to see,
Walking on air.
Hunting by the rivers,
Through the streets,
Every corner abandoned too soon,
Set down with due care.
Don't walk away in silence,
Don't walk away.
17 Interzone (02:20)
I walked through city limits
Someone took me by the hand in the blue
Attracted by some force within it
If I could close my eyes,
I could get used to it
Around the corner where a puppet lay
Saw the place where she had a room to stay
A wire fence
where children play
Saw them dance where the body lay
And I was looking for a friend of mine
The car screeched in the sand
and dust
Feel encouraged -
just a car on it's side
Metallic blue turned red with rust
Pulled it close by the buildin's side
In a room for forgotten youth
I could think
or let my senses slide
Turned on to a night with you
Find the place where my friends, won't go
And I was looking for a friend of mine
and I had no time to lose
Yeah looking for some friends of mine
Down the dark street,
the houses looked the same
Stopped and turned around,
held me to a game
I walked round and round,
you nailed me to a tree
Trying to find a way,
trying to find a way, to get out
For twelve windows stand in a row
Behind a wall
where a room to go
The light shined like a neon show
See the deep mellow warmth
of the glow
No place to stop,
no place to go
No time to lose,
have to keep on going
I guess they died some time ago
I guess they died some time ago
And I was looking for a friend of mine
And I have no time to lose
Yeah, I was looking for a friend of mine
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