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Sisters Of Mercy

Greetings All!

Greetings all! A joyous All Hallows greeting to everyone :o) This month, I have for you an old favorite. Perhaps some of you have been patiently waiting in the background, hoping one day I'd put this band in the limelight, where they belong! Well now the long wait is over, and I am pleased to bring to you a band who has paved the way for so many bands, and for whom, so many attempt to copy, some very good, some downright crappy! Yes, you guessed it! Sisters Of Mercy!

The name of the album is "First And Last And Always", and is 20 years old next year. Be that as it may, it's an oldie, but a goodie, and age shouldn't keep it from this generation getting stuck in! Having said that, I realize there are a great many fans of the Sisters who are of this generation. Though Andrew Eldritch is keen for the band to not be labeled as "Goth", or rather the "G" word, very many of the gothic persuasion are hardcore Sisters fans. Seeing as how I was unable to come up with a genre to classify their music, I simply chose to quote Mr. Eldritch from the official website -

"We are a rock'n'roll band. And a pop band. And an industrial groove machine. And intellectual love gods in our spare time"..

There you have it!

Ok, moving onto the music, this album is definite value for money, having a grand total of 10 (count em!) songs on the disc, the first of which is called "Black Planet". Now when I first heard this tune, I thought, "hmmmmmm...catchy tune…sounds rather familiar - where have I heard that keyboard line before"? Turns out, Type - O Neg made use of the same line in their ever-popular little ditty "My Girlfriend's Girlfriend". Go figure! But then again, there are a hell of alot of bands out there that have cultivated the Sisters Of Mercy sound, which is really sad, because originality is all, and so very many bands of today seem to lack originality. Ahh well.

At any rate, and I may well be incorrect here, BUT - it's *my* interpretation that perhaps SOM was better received in the US than within Europe, though I have heard otherwise as well. Just that this is, to me, what the lyrics seem to suggest. That, and he makes mention of radiation and acid rain. Well., any of you who live in L.A. KNOW what a hole the place is, but even still, I believe that what is being said here is although the place is a dosshole, it's still ahead of Europe in most everything. And this is true, especially with things like music and movies. It takes most of Europe AGES to catch up with the states. Check the lyrics here and see if you agree.

"(In the western sky)
(My kingdom come)
So still so dark all over Europe
And I ride down the highway 101
By the side of the ocean headed for sunset
For the kingdom come
For the..

Black
Black planet
Black
Black world.
Run around in the radiation
Run around in the acid rain
On a...

Black
Black planet
Black planet hanging over the highway
Out of my mind's eye
Out of the memory
Black world out of my mind..

So still so dark all over Europe
And the rainbow rises here
In the western sky
The kill to show for
At the end of the great white pier
I see a...

I wanted to put the whole of the song, to spell out the entire situation that Andrew is attempting to tell, in the hopes that you who are reading it will be able to see and understand what he's trying to say. Ok, next song. It’s called "Walk Away", and is pretty much self - explanatory. A relationship has gotten to the breaking point, and Andrew likens it to being as story as the weather currently is within the song, presumably at the time it was written.

So he basically asks now the weather is tipping it down, are you going to stick around or leave? I guess every album has to have at least one tune about a failed relationship. This one is it! Check out the lyrics. They’re pretty different in that each line runs together as though it's all one long line, even though it has been broken up into several lines.

"And in the summer when the clouds show through
I might go the same way too if
You and I could talk together
Well what am I supposed to do with
You and I would walk together
Then with always close around and
Now you gaze toward the doorway
When the weather comes falling down..

And when the rain comes down
Would you choose to walk or stay
Would you choose to walk
Would you choose to stay
Would you
Walk walk walk walk walk away"..

Ok.. The next tune kind of got my attention in a big, hard way. The song is titled "No Time To Cry", and someone is putting on a rather brave face when the going gets tough. I feel bad for the gent. Basically,he says in the lyrics that like everyone else, there are good and bad days, and when the bad days come, they are pretty bad, and he can't stop long enough to acknowledge them, or let them take a toll on his life. One line had me fairly analyzing him though, wondering if maybe he isn't schizophrenic? I hope not.. NOT a kewl thing to suffer from, from what I have read. Have a read of the lyrics, because they are fairly intense.

"It's just a feeling
I get sometimes
A feeling
Sometimes
And I get frightened
Just like you
I get frightened too
but it's...

(no no no) No time for heartache
(no no no) No time to run and hide
(no no no) No time for breaking down
(no no no) No time to cry"..

And then I have cut through to the last part of the song. You know how you happen to be having a particularly off day, and you feel like it's never going to end, nothing will be the same again, and then someone tries like hell to pull you out of it? Read this next paragraph - Same thing here.

"Everything will be alright
Everything will turn out fine
Some nights I still can't sleep
And the voices pass with time..

And I keep
No time for tears
No time to run and hide
No time to be afraid of fear
I keep no time to cry"..

That's hard. I have always known the music industry was tough, and I know plenty of musicians who happen to suffer from things like ADHD, bipolar disorder, and drug and alcohol abuse. Music is the only outlet they have to be able to fitly express what/how they feel, and they do it in such a way that the rest of us easily pick up on. A good many of us feed on music, and picking up negative energies is not a difficult task, especially not when you have tunes like this one. Sad, very, very sad.

The next tune is one of Doktor Avalanche's favorites on the album, but if you ask me, this tune is a little too gloomy. Odd that Andrew doesn't want his music to be considered "Goth", yet it has so many typically gothic elements, especially when it comes to feelings of depression.

This song "Marian", to me, screams out loud and clear that the gent is suffering from periods of depression. Whoever Marian is, and I haven't gone looking to find out, to be perfectly honest, she seems some sort of an icon of sorts, and the only one that seems able to pull his head out for him, and help him get a clue again. Good song and all, but the lyrics are just heavily depressed..

"In a sea of faces, in a sea of doubt
In this cruel place your voice above the maelstrom
In the wake of this ship of fools I'm falling further down
If you can see me, Marian, reach out and take me home.

I hear you calling Marian
Across the water, across the wave
I hear you calling Marian
Can you hear me calling you to
Save me, save me, save me from the
Grave...

Marian..

Marian, there's a weight above me
And the pressure is all too strong
To breathe deep
Breathe long and hard
To take the water down and go to sleep

To sink still further
Beneath the fatal wave
Marian I think I'm drowning
This sea is killing me"..

See what I mean? And here's me thinking I'm doing a band who ISN'T all doom and gloom :o) Alright, though there are 10 tunes on the album, this is the last one I'm doing, mainly because the other tunes I didn't add in here are pretty much all same-ish in their context. What that means is, there is more than one failed relationship tune on this album, unfortunately, and though they are all equally good songs, you can only swallow so much before you can't choke down anymore.

So I'm ending with "Some Kind Of Stranger". What I get from the lyrics of this song are, they are saying one thing, but their body language is clearly saying another thing altogether. The words being spoken are the usual "it's over, done and finished" but the body talk speaks a bit louder with kisses and touching.

"All my words are secondhand and
Useless in the face of this
Rationale and rhyme and reason
Pale beside a single kiss

And I've heard so many things I
Fail to understand at all
I'd settle anytime for
Unknown footsteps in the hall outside..

Because the world is cruel and
Promises are broken
Don't try to tell me
Anything don't try to tell me
You'll be true to me you know the
Real truth is never spoken..

And I know the world is cold but
If you hold on tight to what you
Find you might not mind too much though
Even this must pass away and

Memories may last for years but
Names are just for souvenirs
Some kind of angel let me
Look into your eyes.

Don't give me whys and wherefores
Reason or surprise
I don't care for words that don't belong
And I don't care what you're called
Tell me later if at all
I can wait a long long time
Before I hear another love song..

Come here I think you're beautiful
My door is open wide
Some kind of angel come inside".

Wow. Very emotionally in-depth stuff, huh? It kinda gets you right here (points to the heart region), doesn't it? Alright, let's move on to the other stuff. You'll be wanting to know a bit more about this band, and hear some tracks as well. Well, not to worry! (Rubs hands together) Amazon just happens to have the whole thing queued and ready for your listening pleasure :o)

Ok, as far as official websites go, this one ROOLZ! Have a check out of The Official SOM Website and make sure you check out the "Dear Doktor" page ;o) I PROMISE you'll leave it in stitches! I sure as hell did :o) You'll also find Mr. Eldritch's political views listed within the site as well - this is if you REALLY want to read it. Me personally, I have had enough of politics and such to last me several lifetimes. After awhile, it's like being force fed a sh*t sandwich, know what I mean? Politics really should have no place within music. Music is enjoyable - Politics BLOWS! There, I said it.

Ok, no doubt you'll be wanting a little sample of their tunes, so may I direct you to Amazon where all 10 tunes are queued and awaiting you to click on them. You'll need Windows Media player, because realplayer only has about half the songs queued up, which sucks, but there ya go! As far as the images are concerned, thanks go out to © 2001 The Reptile House Ltd. for making them available in the first place - They can all be found on the official website as listed above.

Here's the spot where I say thanks very much for reading this month's review, and I do hope you enjoyed it :o) My thanks go out to my partner in crime, Doktor Avalanche (can ya tell he's a die hard SOM fan?) for helping to pick out the album for this month, and give me some background as well. Alrighty. A little morsel as far as what's in store for next month - well, let's just say I was watching "Animal Cops" on Animal Planet, and saw disturbing scenes involving a "Skinny Puppy". That's all I'm saying ;o) Enjoy the holiday and I'll see you all before Thanksgiving!

Very Best Regards,
Silver


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