Michale Graves rose to prominence in the mid 90's when he took over the lead vocalist position for the Misfits, one of the most legendary punk outfits of all time. After fronting the band on American Psycho (1997) and Famous Monsters (1999) Graves left the group in 2000 to resume his solo career as well as to concentrate on other projects. One such endeavor was his 2007 collaboration Illusions with Damien Echols, one of three men convicted in the notorious triple West Memphis murder case. In 2008 Graves along with friend and fellow musician J.V. Bastard packed up their acoustic guitars, jumped in a Ford Ranger and played every bar, club, coffee shop known to man throughout the US. Every night Graves would take the stage, sing his guts out and strip his somber compositions right down to the bone.
Recorded at an intimate Florida club the vibe is electric the moment he strums the opening chords and tears straight into the absolutely primal "Blackbird" from his Web Of Dharma album. Primal is a pretty good word to describe the feeling permeating throughout these raw, emotion filled performances as Graves digs back into his vast catalogue of work, even throwing the Misfit diehards a bone with "Fiend Club". You want highlights on this disc? How about every single track. These songs drip with such a pure and overwhelming starkness that its as if Graves is trying to exorcise the ghosts of his or someone else's past with each forceful breath. It certainly makes for a truly compelling and somewhat cathartic listening experience from beginning to end. The great thing here is that you don't necessarily need to be familiar with his past work or be a fan going into it, but you'll definitely be one when you come out the other side. The final six tracks entitled Viretta Park are acoustic demos recorded in Romania later that year, and are equally as convincing as the live material.
If Michale Graves hasn't been on your musical radar, and to tell you the truth he wasn't on mine until I got a hold of this magnificent recording, I would strongly encourage you to discover this vastly talented and underrated artist.
Track Listing
1) Blackbird
2) Fiend Club
3) Almost Home
4) Beware
5) Gorch
6) Butchershop
7) Ophelia
8) Shining
9) Lucifer I Am
10) Wormwood
11) Casket
12) You Awful Me
13) One Million Light Years From Her
14) Frost Bite
15) Nothing
16) Scream
17) Crying On A Saturday Night
18) Blackbird (demo)
19) The Best Of Me
20) A Generation Coming Down
21) Locked Away
22) The Eternal Haunting
23) Viretta Park
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