01	Violina (The Last Embrace)						05:44
	02	La Bas (Song Of The Drowned)						07:41
	03	Persian Love Song (The Silver Gun)						02:33
	04	Sanvean (I Am Your Shadow)						03:48
	05	The Rite						03:22
	06	Ajhon						03:09
	07	Glorafin						04:50
	08	Majhnavea's Music Box						01:34
	09	Largo						02:52
	10	Werd						01:39
	11	Laurelei						05:58
	12	Celon						06:06
	13	Venteles						02:37
	14	Swans						05:47
	15	Nilleshna						06:29
	16	Gloradin						04:00

The Mirror Pool
Date of Release Aug 22, 1995


AMG EXPERT REVIEW: If this is rock, it's rock of the artiest and most ambitious sort, focusing on both the gloomy orchestration that has graced much of Dead Can Dance's output, and melismatic vocal workouts that owe much to Indian and Middle Eastern music. It's sometimes a wearyingly downbeat affair, the most orchestrated sections sounding much like highly accomplished soundtrack music for very serious art house films. But these are outweighed by lengthy movements of dignified beauty, most often when Gerrard sings in her Persian cantorial style (although the purely instrumental pieces have their highlights as well). It's a challenging work, but like Dead Can Dance's most recent albums, it may actually find a wider audience than the goth-rock with which Gerrard first made her mark, due both to its wider palette of sounds and its greater emotional range. — Richie Unterberger

1. Violina: The Last Embrace (Gerrard)
2. La Bas: Song of the Drowned (Gerrard)
3. Persian Love Song: The Silver Gun
4. Savean: I Am Your Shadow (Claxton/Gerrard)
5. The Rite (Gerrard)
6. Ajhon (Gerrard)
7. Gloradin (Gerrard)
8. Majhnavea's Music Box (Gerrard)
9. Largo (Handel)
10. Werd (Gerrard)
11. Laurelei
12. Celon (Gerrard)
13. Venteles (Gerrard)
14. Swans (Gerrard)
15. Nilleshna (Gerrard)
16. Gloradin (Gerrard)


Guy Charbonneau - Mixing
Lisa Gerrard - Arranger, Producer, Engineer
Dennis Keeley - Portraits
John Bonnar - Arranger, Conductor, Keyboards, Vocals
Charlie Bouis - Mixing Assistant
Pieter Bourke - Drums, Tabla, Vocals, Darabeka, Handclapping
Dimitry Kyryakou - Bouzouki, Arranger, Vocals
Jacek Tuschewski - Vocals, Engineer, Cover Art
Chris Bigg - Design
Robin Gray - Engineer
Garry Havrillay - Engineer
Victorian Philharmonic Orchestra - Orchestra
Glorafin Pieter - Drums, Tabla, Vocals

1995 CD 4AD 9 45916
1995 CD Warner Brothers 45916
1995 CS Warner Brothers 45916



Lisa Gerrard,
The Mirror Pool
(Wea/Warner, 1995)

It begins with an odd dissonance, like an eerie churchyard carnival. The introduction to ""Violina'' launches an impressive, expressive musical journey in the company of Lisa Gerrard, formerly of Dead Can Dance, and her solo CD The Mirror Pool.

This album isn't for everyone. It's opera-like arrangement and lack of discernible lyrics will certainly turn off some listeners. But The Mirror Pool is a symphony of atmospheric music, arias and chants that are usually slow, often melancholy and always heartbreakingly lovely to hear. The music is meditative, yet still engaging, at times conjuring images of courtly entertainment at some long-ago, faraway and perhaps otherworldly palace.

Gerrard achieved some prominence when she and Brendan Perry broke musical ground with Dead Can Dance, but their eclectic, hard-to-categorize sound prevented widespread fame and fortune. Still, the band earned plenty of devoted followers, and some have followed Gerrard's solo career with a great deal of loyalty and appreciation.

Fortunately, Gerrard's distinctive musical style has earned her a place among Hollywood's memorable score composers, with her music featured in blockbusters including Gladiator, Mission Impossible II and Ali. I can only hope more directors take note -- her music would be an asset to many a soundtrack. Ultimately, it should lead fans of her work in the movies back to this and other solo albums from this amazing singer/composer.

Meantime, The Mirror Pool is a reflective, expressive introduction to her original sound. I urge you to take a look.

[ by Tom Knapp ]
Rambles: 12 January 2002




Gerrard, Lisa [UK]
Updated 12/31/02
Discography
The Mirror Pool (95)
Duality (98, w/ Pieter Bourke)
Several movie soundtrack albums


Reviews

Spiritchaser was not intended [to be Dead Can Dance's] final album, but sessions in 1998 ended rather suddenly after Lisa Gerrard quit [DCD] following a fight with her backing musicians. [At] this time she has released two albums on her own, The Mirror Pool (1995) and Duality (1998, with Pieter Bourke). Both of these cover ground that DCD never did, but the connection is unmistakable. It's too early to tell at this point, but so far Gerrard and Bourke seem to be a more than adequate substitute for DCD itself. Recently though their output has been largely film soundtracks ("The Insider", "Gladiator", "Ali") which don't quite match the quality of the studio albums. -- Markus Derrer