Heartland

For those of you that remember that old Sounds cover line, no, Tony James hasn't rejoined the Sisters. Sadly, the next quote that springs to mind is from Steve Sutherland's review of the two shows at Wembley back in 1990, "I came here to praise my good friend, not to bury him".
This, I should warn you, will be a long post, filled with much digression. Fitting really, as it is something of an epitaph. I don't think I'll be making any further posts for a considerable period of time. Nothing personal, I just have other demands on my spare time. Primarily, a change in lifestyle before I am driven completely insane by the day job.
Right, back to the plot. Over the last five weeks or so, now that the sweat has dried, I've been reflecting on Eldritch's last outing, and as much as it pains me to say so, it wasn't very good.
I've remained loyal to the band for almost sixteen years, but at the last I'm finally forced to concede that I have rarely witnessed such a squandering of talent, a series of missed opportunities and ruined dreams, as that demonstrated by the Sisters over the last eleven years.
Where then, I hear you ask, IMHO did it all go wrong? If I were to try and pinpoint a date it was probably with the whole, "I'm really a normal bloke" thing back in 1993. Now, don't get me wrong, I've a certain sympathy for Eldritch where this is concerned, because at the time the Goth tag was harming the band, mainly due to lazy journalists using it as a convenient excuse to dismiss Eldritch and his music. But in the final analysis it has all been rather a waste of effort. If recent compilations, books and magazine articles prove anything, it is that the history of the Sisters cannot be revised. We have all seen the photo's, watched the videos and listened to the records. No matter how much underlying humour or irony there was, the Sisters were a dark band. Eldritch cast a long shadow; one that has proven almost impossible for him to escape. The popular conception of him will always remain as that of the Goth Overlord. The poor bastard can bleach himself to baldness if he wants, but he's never going to be allowed to escape his earlier image. If he had put half as much effort into writing songs and making records as has into trying to re-brand himself, the Sisters' back catalogue would be a far meatier and impressive beast than it is today.
This brings me to the new songs; what do I think of them? Do they measure up to those of old? First, without hearing actual studio versions, it is perhaps an unfair comparison; however, you've got to work with what you've got. Lyrically, I don't think they measure up; you can claim that the sparse words are a maturation of the song writing process if you want, and you might be right, but to me it also suggests a certain laziness. It' hard to imagine Eldritch writing anything as puerile as I Have Slept With All The Girls In Berlin ten years ago. To be fair, they do tend to sound better when actually sung, and I happen to rather like War On Drugs. Musically, I am again struck by the fact that Eldritch rarely bothers to write a tune these days (well, certainly not those that are played live). Although Crash And Burn is easily as good as any of the songs on Vision Thing, I'm not, on the whole, a great fan of Adam Pearson's music. It has a tendency to be all rather chugga chugga chugga. It's rather telling that one of the best of the new songs musically, We Are The Same, Susanne, was actually penned by Mike Varjak. However, that's yet another lost opportunity, much like the fragmentation of the Vision Thing line up before it actually had a chance to prove itself.
Finally, there's Eldritch himself. Now, I don't know the man personally, so this is supposition, but the impression he has given over the last few year is one of apathy. He appears to have no passion left for what he is doing, no thirst for success. The Sisters, he once rightfully observed, deserve to be massive, and yet he seems unwilling to commit to the cause. His interviews used to be a dream to read, but with the welcome exception of last year's GPS interview, everything I've read recently has been rather facile, indeed, in some cases it bordered on the infantile. What has happened to the man? If he really is that bored, why doesn't he go off and do something he enjoys like writing for computer magazines, or finish that Chinese degree? Instead, for the sake of some easy money, he apparently prefers to slip into self parody and drag his hired hands round venues of every decreasing size, playing (not in every case, or all of the time) bad cover versions of his own songs. If he's not careful he's gonna end up pissing all over the Sisters' reputation.
Believe it or not, I'm not bitter here, though God knows I should be. The Sisters will always hold a special place in my heart - I grew up with them. However, unless there is a radical change of heart by Eldritch, or some quality new product, I rather doubt I'll be flitting up and down the country next time he heads out.
And no, I don't flatter myself that he'll miss my £100 of ticket sales, there will be plenty of others in my place.
Finally, should anyone connected with the band stumble across this, tell Andrew that there is nothing that would give me greater pleasure than for him to prove me wrong, to prove my accusations completely without foundation. After all, it's not my band, it's not my life, what the hell do I know? He didn't ask me to buy the records, or go to the gigs, that was my idea. Perhaps I've finally grown up or wised up, but I've come to realise I don't owe him anything either, certainly not a living.
At least the T-shirts will go on forever.

Well, that's all I got to say, thanks to everybody who made it to the end. I'm gonna miss you people in the interim. I might not have always replied to your posts but I enjoyed reading them.


PS
Don't tell Bux where I live, I'm only a little fella!

From a Sisters fan since '82:

Heartfelt words, Erudite...

I'm sure lots of us have felt lots of what you say more than once over the years, not least the frustration at 'missed opportunities.' Being into The Sisters unfortunately has been a bumpy ride all along- I remember well the initial outrage at the release of 'The Reptile House', and my own confusion about 'Under The Gun' (any good? I still can't decide)- but unfortunately that was going to be the way with a man who always refused to release anything until he was good and ready.

Yes, maybe the newer stuff still sounds half-finished, but still craps all over most of what I hear from everyone else. The old stuff might not be given our favourite arrangement when performed again but, hey, it adds to the interest value.

As we all have done repeatedly over the years, let's just go away and find something better to do with our time until....well, until the time comes.

Keep the faith.

Gripper

This is what happens when an artist insists on adopting a detached and contemptuous posture - they alienate both their audience and the marketplace in which the sell their wares.

Considering the absolute lack of SoM product, Eldritch's completely unnecessary stoic outlook and the lack of any continuity of band members, it would be preferable for TSOM to call it a day until Eldritch puts his energies into a new project. In fact, I'd prefer a new AE fronted band rather than this lame pretence that TSOM are anything other than one man re-living his past.

Andrew is only misunderstood because he's too insecure to explain....

Erudite - nice one.....kind of said a lot of my thoughts too there, and nothing I can fault in what you have said....I guess really the most frustrating part is the untapped potential....I posted a while back asking the question of why they do not pursue a direct distribution CD, paid for by us and then, they (or Mr E) can then get a distribution deal thereafter...

It almost harks back to the Bob Dylan debate (was introduced to him when I was in my early teens), He never wanted to be an icon, but despite his best efforts was put on a pedestal he never wanted to be on - (his management I am sure was of another opinion).

It cannot be that difficult however to get a CD out these days....Gary Marx has made a valiant effort recently. Love it or hate it most of us have a copy now of at least a couple of tracks...

Rambling now, so will stop - have offered twice now to The Reptile House to do web updates and give them content management of the site at our (my companies) cost....

If you lead a horse to water you can't make it drink......

Gripper wrote: As we all have done repeatedly over the years, let's just go away and find something better to do with our time until....well, until the time comes.

Keep the faith.

Gripper

I'll always keep a weather-eye towards the Sisters.
But in the meantime, while I'm still "waiting for the next one
to arrive" I'll be amusing myself with QOTSA, Motorhead and
the Bunnymen's 25th Anniversary. And you're right, as I've stated elsewhere, the Sisters being average is generally a damn sight
better than most bands.

I agree.
I wasn't old enough to appreciate the sisters back in their glory days (I bought my first Sisters album in 97), and even to newbie scum like me it's blindingly obvious that Von has been treading water for the past 10 years or so.

And I'm sorry, but NONE of the Sisters' new songs are as good as ANY of their pre-Vision thing stuff; I'm not joking when I say I'd rather listen to Damage Done and Watch than the new songs.

Seeing them in Leeds recently left me actually quite upset; they half-destroyed my passion for their music with a mickey-mouse performance, and I think anyone who thinks they still rock is deluding themselves- The emporaros new clothes? you bet.

HOWEVER, if anyone can pull of a spectacular caomeback, It's Von... I still live in hope...
But as the years drag by, the chances of Von ever doing the Sisters name justice grows ever slimmer.

oh well, they'll always hold a special place in my heart.

"...successful bands issue records, not disclaimers"

Merciful Release Press Statement Feb. 1986

I agree that 1993 was a key point. In fact I think of it every time I see Dan's Eldritch / Utah Saints image. He hadn't been as 'accommodating' as he might have been for the 'Off The Street' compilation, but their joint performance was fun and easily the best of the day.

In fact it was so good I still find it hard to work out why they didn't actually record something together. The time was right, it would have been artistically leading. It would have given Eldritch the respect he craved for a new release. Floodland was a step on from FALAA. Vision Thing was a move in a different direction. Well, More was Floodland part 2, but the sound of the record as a whole was very different. Not all that good really, but different. But an Eldritch / Utah Saints collaboration would have been the right sound at the right time. Everything he could have wanted, artistic respect, fawning press attention, commercial success...

Instead he let the opportunity go, and let The Prodigy et al. seize the moment instead. Why?

I think partly because of 'Under The Gun' and the 'Overbombing' compilation taking his attention. But I also think because although that ever changing Bowie-type role was the review he liked to get, I think he couldn't equate the 'perceived' view of the Sisters with what that sound would have meant. Especially having toured a guitar focused band for the last 2 and a half years again. I think he figured such a venture would have had to be outside of 'The Sisters' brand. Which meant that if it was successful it might have made releasing a more 'traditional' sounding Sisters record in the future an almost impossible backwards step. Takes a brave man to kill a cash cow. So he didn't.

So what's happened since? I must admit I haven't really followed the last ten years very much. Not that there seems to have been much to follow. I think he's caught in-between things. Not wanting to release a record unless it's a new departure, but not wanting a new departure to be too new. To be honest, I don't think he's got any idea where to go with the sound of a new record now anyway. Plus for all his words of love for the NME, he's consistently had some good reviews for new releases since 1987. I suspect he knows that wouldn't be the case.

The other problem would be sales, for which arguments about major label promotion seem to have been used in various forms for a while now too. The bottom line is, on whatever label, I think he knows a new record probably wouldn't fly out of the shops in any significant quantities. Look at the sales for their peers, Cure, etc. I think indifference to a new release is one of the things he fears the most.

So nothing happens, and the more time that passes between releases the better a new release would have to be to make up for that. Which, for me, just makes it less and less likely. Talk of one off record deals, and so on, is interesting but I honestly wouldn't be surprised if there was never another new Sisters release. I think I hope I'm wrong...

I agree with Erudite in as much as Eldritch seems to expend a lot of precious energy protesting against and denying the Goth handle when he should just relax and turn that energy into songwriting. If the songs aren't Gothy ie. dark which they used to be in the early 80's they will attract a different audience and the music will speak for itself.

Another reason I think Eldritch should relax is he suffers with the Madonna syndrome meaning he can't sing, he can bearly play an intrument, he's an average songwriter but he's more than the sum of his parts. In her case she's a Superstar, in his case he's a compelling, charismatic performer. If he pulled his finger out ... who knows ?

Agree with that last post, apart from the average songrwriter bit. Despite his assertion that, as opposed to other bands, he doesn't believe in releasing bad records just to keep to a schedule, AE has released a few poor ones. SO, there is no such thing as perfection, we're always going to look back on things later and think they could have been done better, but he's still written some damned good songs, and there are more in him, and you don't improve the quality of your output by abstaining altogether for increasingly suspicious reasons. Right?

Fine post Erudite, and clearly you're not alone. See you back again when We Are The Same Susanne is being mimed to on TOTP by Von and whoever.

Everyone else, I've said it before and I'll say it again. Don't start chunttering on about Pearson being the root of all The Sisters perceived problems of late. You just come across as man city fans trying to blame the new manager when his team is s**t. Don't worry about pointing fingers, just, as Erudite has decided, go and do something else instead, and bide your time. All will be well.

Dave

Great Post, I agree you your centiment, 1993 was definatally the Sisters Dawnfall, Had Tim brichenno stayed then we would have still a great band, but 2 average guitarists, Pearson lack of songwriting ability, The Sisters poor stage show, its a pity.

Eldritch seams to be in it for the money, hence downsizing the band to as small as he can get away with.

Sad but true, if he wants to do ths, why doesnt he go the hussy route, far more dignified and far more interesting for the audience.

Matt

*All will be well.*

All may indeed be well, but the increasing amounts of posts, dominion mails, and personal statements I've seen/heard recently in a similar vein to erudites (erudite indeed....) has been increasing. Worryingly.

It just makes me wonder, how many sisters fans are left, and at what rate are we dying out. Is a mass extinction on the cards?

its obvious you get a once brilliant band, keep playing progressively worse shows, with endritch being always outspoke and rude about his fans (ie G o t h s) what does he expect, if he cant come up with the goods the fans aint gonna stand for it.

In the UK the sisters have almost started expanding the numbers tehy play to, though the recent half hearted gigs will probably put off people from going again.

Never mind in a couple of years time Frankie Flag will put them on at Club Nior.

matt

Hang on, hang on.

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for him alienating the g*** element. That's his perogative as an artist. He's welcome to fight back against any group who nicks just about any music they want and then claims it falls within their remit. Fuckers.

That word, for anyone who missed it was f u c k e r s.

I think there probably are a lot of disgruntled people out there, and I do think they tend to drift off. I certainly did for a few years after 1993. I was in the weird position of considering the Sisters my favourite band ever, and hardly ever listening to them. There's only so many times a week you can listen to Floodland. You eventually need new songs, because you can't hear the old ones with the same excitement any more.

Even now, speaking for myself and maybe for other people here too, the reason a lot of us are HERE is nostalgia as much as anything. Perhaps I'm also going through another mindlessly optimistic, 'there could be another record around the corner' phase at the moment. If there was a new record in the pipeline, I would forgive AE everything. If not, I'll probably eventually drift off for another couple of years. And consider the Sisters the greatest band ever, and not listen to them...

Such is life for a Sisters fan...

Maddening isn't it? I've suffered the other extreme - my other musical passion is Zappa, and there was a time when he was releasing too much material - we had a new album at least every six months for nine years.

But if you're a writer you have to write, if you're a dancer you have to dance, and if you're a 'recording artist' you have to put stuff out.

What is ultimately disappointing for me is that if AE wants us to view him as a serious artist, his conceptual continuity has been well and truly broken by the epoch of no new releases. If a new album appears, it's going to be really difficult for fans to adduce the stages of development from Vision Thing, as the artistic progressive steps have been made in private.

In the last Radio 6 interview, talking about his audience, the "We know what they want" comment - which was made to imply "They don't know what they want" is plainly insulting and somewhat illogical considering they're his fans - like that Groucho Marx line: "I wouldn't want to be in a club that would have me as a member".

We know what we want, and because of Andrews constant whinging in the press, we know what he wants too. The specious answer to this is that, considering the way he minced around the stage in faux-agitation during his last onstage outings - he still wants to be David Bowie.

In light of the hostile attitude of the website towards his audience (which switched off at least three potential new fans (who also thought the last gigs were "Crap" - too much smoke, couldn't hear the vocals etc.) and the lack of new material, SoM flaming seems to me to be far more entertaining than holding out a candle and praying for a return to form.

If AE can be so comptemptuous and appear to enjoy it, then there should be no reason why the fans can't do the same - although he'll regret it when he comes to cash in his pension plan.

I don't personally think AE has that level of contempt for his fans, I think it's just a useful displacement sometimes. Like most arrogant people, I think it's a defence mechanism. There is an obvious gap between AE's great declarations of talent and importance, and the -truthfully - fairly limited impact that the Sisters have had in the big, wide world. It needs to be explained somehow. The record company, the stupid fans, whatever comes to hand at the time.

The main blow to the legendary AE ego had to be in 1990. Up to there, it had been non-stop progression, expansion of the fanbase, better and better records. Then Vision Thing came along, and the band were treading water - it wasn't a giant leap, sure it brought in new fans, but it even turned many off. It wasn't the quantum leap of Floodland, and I don't think AE's artificial intelligence is well programmed for the hard times. AE can't deal with treading water. I think all that's gone on since is a basic result of that.

Now THAT's an assessment. I completely agree with the concept of treading water. In fact, it's really been worse than that.

He releases and album that he sees as a terribly clever, scathing attack on western politics, and it's taken as the big guitar-rock album that it's meant to be parodying. Worse, the band that he's put together for the job of presenting this "parody of rock", for whatever reasons, splinters around him. Not that he's not used to going it alone, but it must have had an impact. We know he doesn't like to be COMPLETELY alone - proven by the fact he tolerated Patricias fat-ass sitting on the studio couch for so long. Then the record company shenanigans kick in and, petulant bastard tht he is, he cuts off his nose to spite his face (with some false bravado thrown in for good measure).

If it wasn't for the fact that he managed to throw together the best of, coupled with the, frankly lucky, sucess of TOL92 (though I'm sure he'd claim it to be a calculated move) and him finding Adam (who I credit more than AE for the fact the Sisters are still around today), I think the Sisters would be in an even worse state than they are at the moment.

Or something.

Some fascinating points have been raise on this topic, but for me, all that matters is ine thing-

A new album A.S.A.F.P.

That is the only way anyone's ever gonna respect the guy again, I don't see why they can't finance it themselves or release it on a tiny record label.
If the stories about Andrew Eldritch holding out until someone is stupid enough to give him a massive advance, then he doesn't deserve our loyalty or respect.

We've stuck with Von throu all these years, now it's time for us to get our reward.
You might argue - 'Andrew owes us nothing', but I disagree.
If he wants to live in cloud cuckoo land, that's fine, just don't pester us with any more bitter interviews with mickey mouse magazines and sub-standard shows.

We've stuck by you - the relationship betwenn us fans and Von over the last 10 years has been 'give give give' - by us.

Jim - I completely agree with you too! The only reason I forgive AE is that, strangely enough, I happen to BELIEVE many of the ridiculous comments he makes about his own abilities...

Blackshuk - I agree with you too, I think AE could have put a record out many moons ago, and waiting for the perfect deal, the right amount of money, or the correct alignment of planets is just displacement. But, to play devil's advocate, Jim's point about Adam Pearson may or may not be on the mark. I do think the new songs are fantastic, but there are also stories around, including comments from AE, that Pearson is one reason why the Sisters haven't put them on record yet. In which case, AP's presence would be a mixed blessing...

Black Shuk wrote: You might argue - 'Andrew owes us nothing', but I disagree.
If he wants to live in cloud cuckoo land, that's fine, just don't pester us with any more bitter interviews with mickey mouse magazines and sub-standard shows.

We've stuck by you - the relationship betwenn us fans and Von over the last 10 years has been 'give give give' - by us.

Mmmmmm... I understand your point. It's frustrating to be a fan for so long without getting a reward. But no one can be forced to do what they don't want - not even your boyfriend/girldfriend - just because you love them.
Eldritch doesn't pester us. We are the ones who want to hear about him. Otherwise, no one forces us either. He certainly isn't forcing us into anything...
Love is something we have to learn to give without expecting a return. Well, I know it's hard... Etc.

dead inside wrote:

Black Shuk wrote: You might argue - 'Andrew owes us nothing', but I disagree.
If he wants to live in cloud cuckoo land, that's fine, just don't pester us with any more bitter interviews with mickey mouse magazines and sub-standard shows.

We've stuck by you - the relationship betwenn us fans and Von over the last 10 years has been 'give give give' - by us.

Mmmmmm... I understand your point. It's frustrating to be a fan for so long without getting a reward. But no one can be forced to do what they don't want - not even your boyfriend/girldfriend - just because you love them.
Eldritch doesn't pester us. We are the ones who want to hear about him. Otherwise, no one forces us either. He certainly isn't forcing us into anything...
Love is something we have to learn to give without expecting a return. Well, I know it's hard... Etc.

I couldn't disagree more - the man puts himself up there as if it's god-given right to have people interested in him and watching his every move. Then he complains that the wrong people are listening...

And boy have the goalposts moved in the meantime. You may not enjoy the work of Trent Reznor and the Rev. Manson, but in terms of angst/introspection and production values, 'Vision Thing' sounds positively quaint

And as for the G@th label, I see that Merciful Release gave permission for TSOM to appear on "The Dark Side of the 80's" compilation which is such a hilarious contradiction of AE's 'anti-fancy dress' stance - but the cash will no doubt come in handy.....

Adam pearson isnt the reason that the sisters dont have a deal its just an excuse, the fact is no Major wants the sisters as there seen as a sad old G oth band, If Adam was the reason Eldritch would ahve booted him out ages ago.

Matt