http://charon.gothic.net/~dhouse/bandsS ... s_of_mercy
Crawling out of the shadows of Leeds in 1980, Stooges records in one hand, the Velvet Underground in the other, Gary Marx, Andrew Eldritch and a drum machine dubbed Doctor Avalanche made their first imprint in the footnotes of History with Damage Done. Gaining a bass-player and extra guitar player, they hit the road and never looked back, releasing a few more records along the way. The extra guitar player proved he really was extra and disappeared, leading to the recruitment of That Guitarist and the first SoM album. It's a fine thing, ten shiny black pearls of song. Steeped in rock 'n' roll tradition. It couldn't last of course, and Gary buggered off to form Ghostdance with Anne-Marie of Skeletal Family and then Craig and Wayne decided Andrew and his ego could try playingall the instruments. [see the m*****n]. Andrew and his ego proved up to the task, begetting Floodland in 1987 and the Sisterhood lp inbetween. [see separate entry]. It is an album remarkably different from FALAA, a brooding keyboard sound pervades the album in ways that will take you years to unravel. After the appropriate gap had elapsed, Andrew unleashed the newer, leaner, meaner and louder version of the Sisters on the worlf in 1990 and took to the road with a vengeance for the first time since 85. Many couldn't deal with the heavy metal tone of the album, but the weak always fall by the wayside. All albums are good, it just depends on what your entry point is. Rocker enter at FALAA, quieter keyboard fans go to Floodland and metal-heads should grab Vision Thing and turn it up *real* loud.
Those who just want an album they'll still be listening to in 10 years, should get Floodland. [http://www.vamp.org/Gothic/Text/gothlist.html] [http://www.trouserpress.com/bandpages/S ... MERCY.html] First and Last and Always: (1985) The first album finally attained the group's long-sought clarity and sophistication and is nearly sublime in its pristine bleakness. (Well, Side One anyway; the flipside ain't too poor, neither.) Somewhat distanced from the original metal idea, incorporation of power-poppish guitars and dancey rhythms does nothing to place the Sisters within either category; their sonic integrity somehow remains intact. Eldritch's vocals--Jim Morrison meets David Bowie, slowed down to half-speed--are as gloriously gloomy as ever. [www.trouserpress.com]
Floodland: (1987) American producer/songwriter Jim Steinman oversaw two key tracks, "This Corrosion" and "Dominion," and that worked out fine too, yielding great Sisterly Grand Guignol rock. The rest is not as theatrical but, overall, it's a richer LP than the first, the tracks more maturely constructed and the lyrics more engrossing, loaded with nuance in the juxtaposition of terse, concrete observations and poetic, abstract feelings. (The CD adds two.) [www.trouserpress.com]
Vision Thing: (1990) By Vision Thing, Tony James (ex-Generation X/Sigue Sigue Sputnik) had replaced Morrison on bass; the group had added guitarists Andreas Bruhn (who co-wrote three tracks) and Tim Bricheno (ex-All About Eve, a band with ties to the m*****n). The full-bodied guitar sound is further augmented by guest axeman John Perry (ex-Only Ones)--but it's not overkill, it's all for the sake of texture and feel. Eldritch displays increased maturity and control even as he delegates more responsibility: the sound is terrific, the music is track-for-track more consistent than before and the lyrics more evocative. Eldritch's almost overwhelming sourness and dark visions are tempered by a mordant wit that cuts too sharply to dismiss, even when it occasionally sounds clever with a capital C. Varied (a couple of ballads and "More," a "Gimme Shelter"-ish collaboration with Jim Steinman) and visceral, engaging on several levels. [www.trouserpress.com]
Some Girls Wander By Mistake: (1992) Collecting a number of their better singles, Some Girls Wander by Mistake offers a good introduction to the Sisters of Mercy. [www.allmusic.com]
A Slight Case of Overbombing: Greatest Hits, Volume 1: (1993) Greatest Hits Volume 1 offers a 12-track synopsis of the three major label releases from Sisters Of Mercy with no effort to include any of their early, essential independent singles. [www.allmusic.com]