[Music Review] Gogol Bordello Live From Axis Mundi

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gogolbordelloFor those of you outside the know, Gogol Bordello is a gypsy punk band. A group of crazed, fun loving Eastern European nomadic people who play an impressive mix of punk, ska, and traditional gypsy music. It sounds a bit iffy on paper, I know, but I thought that too when I first listened to the band. Rest assured those of you who like punk rock, ska, or just crazy mix ups of music and sounds, this band is for you. But alas, I am here for the CD not the band.

Axis Mundi is an album three years in the making. A compilation of live sessions and bonus tracks recorded on a 2007 tour and from various other places since. The whole package is made up of a CD and DVD in a rather bright folding case. for 17 bucks it seemed like a good deal, and in my opinion it was money well spent.

First up, the CD. Its an 11 track album composed of the bands BBC sessions as well as a few demos and one instrumental. The live tracks at the beginning come from the Axis Mundi show in New York. The whole CD is jam packed with energy, starting with a rather slow intro with the song “Ultimate”, and building into “Wanderlust King” and so on. Even the CDs more mellow tracks like “Alcohol” or “You Gave Up” flow with the high energy the band has during the show.

Now for the DVD. I’ve watched a lot of live DVDs in my day, but this one seemed different. The band has such a way with the stage, be it Eugene and his lively getup at the show’s start, or the drum crowd surf done by the band’s backup drummer/dancer Pamela Racine. Bottom line is that the band puts on a live show that’s incredible to see, even on DVD. The show is a total of 20 or so songs, the last few being encores, and a good portion of the tracks are on the sister CD. It contains a few other extras like music videos and bonus songs and is overall a very complete package. I think it was well worth the money for a CD as well as a DVD that had more than just the band playing a few songs.

CD Track List

  • Ultimate
  • Wanderlust King
  • Mishto
  • Alcohol
  • American Wedding
  • You gave up
  • Stivali E colbacco
  • Troubled Friends
  • 60 revolutions (demo)
  • Immigrant punk (demo)
  • Immigrant punk (Instrumental)

Final Words:

I highly recommend the CD to any GB fans, and anyone who likes punk, dub, reggae, Eastern European traditional, or wild live shows consisting of climbing up walls and riding a bass drum through a crowd while singing and playing said drum should look into this and explore Gogol’s other offerings.

Pros

  • Good price for good material
  • Crazy live DVD
  • Fun music

Cons

  • CD seemed a bit short
  • DVD contained some songs that were very worthy of the CD
  • It was much older than I expected

Overall: 8.25/10 (Super)

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