Voltaire: To the Bottom of the Sea

First of all, it is very rare that a self published work is anywhere near as successful as Voltaire's To the Bottom of the Sea. Kudos to him for all of the hard work and patience put into getting the CD out. And yay for us fans!

This is a concept album in every way, from the packaging artwork to the map inside to the songs themselves. That said, each song can stand very much on its own and should be recognized on its own merit. And, as always, his gypsy pirate orchestra will have you dancing and singing along, perhaps even playing air violin.

Through the tunes, Volaire takes us on a flashback voyage to the days before the Industrial Revolution (ruined his life) when a greedy tyrant ruled the lands and pirates roamed the sea. Battles ensue, love is lost, and questions arise about the virtue of honor when it leads to death-questions that are very relevant in today's world.

I smirk every time I hear "Industrial Revolution" after having myself ranted many a time about how my old, quaint Greenwich Village is now covered with Starbucks and Subways. I catch myself bopping around to "Stakes and Torches" and "Happy Birthday (My Olde Friend)," the latter which I can relate to a bit more than I would like. I will be honest that I'm not the biggest fan of "Coin Operated Goi," but it happens. I do love "Accordion Player." I have always been a fan of Voltaire's more serious songs such as "Blue-Eyed Matador." "The Sea" is haunting, as are Julia Marcell's vocals. I laugh at myself when I feel sorry for the poor dead beast of "The Beast of Pirate's Bay," and then get caught up in "Tempest." I appreciate the sense of, um, camaraderie in "The Ship's Going Down," and a light-hearted, in a "Hell in a Handbasket" kind of way, descend into death in "To the Bottom of the Sea."

Why end the odyssey with "Death Death"? Well, the artist tells us himself in the liner notes, "Back in the present day, our narrator explains why all of his stories must end in such a morose way." That works for me, but the reality is that I'm just really glad the song is on there. It's one of my favorite Voltaire songs, and one of the first ones I saw him perform. And it's fun...I mean evil.

The bottom line on To the Bottom of the Sea? It was definitely worth the wait.