Heartland

https://www.loudersound.com/features/th ... ercy-songs

I did this. It contains about 3,500 words which are 'Petula Clark' and 'Bowie.'

You're welcome.

I shall shall now duck and cover. I almost certainly did not include your favourite songs. And if I did, I got them in the wrong order.

Do feel free to point out the error of my ways.

The ones I feel especially guilty about leaving out have some spiel about them in the Updates on the Unbound site for "Paint My Name ..."

You have my favourite Girls original (Floorshow) and cover (Emma) in the top 3, so fine by me

List fails without........ YCBTO

You were right about number 22 raising a few eyebrows. It raised several of mine, but I enjoyed reading it and agreed with plenty. In fact I'd been checking louder every half hour or so since the unbound update came through the other day. Good stuff!

Not exactly my 25 favourite Sisters songs ... such a list without "Heartland" is simply void. At least "Fix" is in there ...

Being645 wrote:Not exactly my 25 favourite Sisters songs ... such a list without "Heartland" is simply void. At least "Fix" is in there ...

My favourites are always influenced by the songs I heard first, what I've listened to the most and how my tastes have evolved over the years. At the moment my favourites are afterhours, neverland and sandstorm... But I think I'm going through a phase

Fix, Floorshow, Afterhours, Valentine and Driven Like The Snow are my top 5. For now. Would be different tomorrow. Or even in 5 minutes.

Fantastic journalism Mark - you've forensically dissected the songs lyrically and musically and laid Eldritch's soul bare for all to see and thereby better appreciate his unique talent.
I would have the same songs as you in the top 3, even though I have spent the past thirty-five + years being one of the fans with a penchant for misinterperating the songs, i.e. one of the "sad losers with no grasp of irony" as you memorably put it.
Looking forward to part two, "Twenty-five outright duds".

Nikolas Vitus Lagartija wrote:Fantastic journalism Mark - you've forensically dissected the songs lyrically and musically and laid Eldritch's soul bare for all to see and thereby better appreciate his unique talent.
I would have the same songs as you in the top 3, even though I have spent the past thirty-five + years being one of the fans with a penchant for misinterperating the songs, i.e. one of the "sad losers with no grasp of irony" as you memorably put it.
Looking forward to part two, "Twenty-five outright duds".

I bet I can top you in the sad loser stakes ... an ill-advised and heart-felt use of some of the SKOS lyrics cost me a girlfriend in 1985. I was gutted!

As for outright duds ... the bottom three in descending order: Hitmen, Watch, Damage. Good lyrics though.

@MAndrews "an ill-advised and heart-felt use of some of the SKOS lyrics cost me a girlfriend in 1985" - hopefully not "And I don't care what you're called, tell me later, if at all."

Read it yesterday before going to sleep. Enjoyed the list but of course did not agree! But it was a good one! Looking forward to the book even more!

Apart from putting Sandstorm much higher up that's a pretty decent list with which I largely concur. Thought I was the only one who prefers the redone Temple over the orig (although in fairness it's kinda like trying to decide which Champions League semi-final 2nd leg was the better game).

Actually i like Sandstorm very very much and didn't mind to see it at that place.
Also i liked many of the comments and the spirit in them. No matter of the songs listed it was an interesting piece to read.
Only thing i think it was absent and would be interesting is YCBTO

Good to see Emma there but wrong version.... early Sisters, Live, Speed and Howling at the ending of the song...... the recorded ver is not great

Nikolas Vitus Lagartija wrote:@MAndrews "an ill-advised and heart-felt use of some of the SKOS lyrics cost me a girlfriend in 1985" - hopefully not "And I don't care what you're called, tell me later, if at all."

Ho, ho ... and no!

Nice one again Mark, though I insist on the inclusion of 'Alice' to waft me back to the thursday bop in the student union, the poly disco or even the warehouse. Oh for those early days of discovery.

Lots of interesting details that I didn't know!

Sandstorm is wonderful.

I love Doctor Jeep and dislike the re/over-done Temple of Love but that's about it for whingein-err I mean disagreements.

I'm in the minority on Sandstorm then, and fair enough. Makes me really excited about the book, though. I've re-read this a couple of times and it's really interesting stuff for "click bait". Thank you.

sam donut wrote:I'm in the minority on Sandstorm then, and fair enough. Makes me really excited about the book, though. I've re-read this a couple of times and it's really interesting stuff for "click bait". Thank you.

I think having "Sandstorm" anywhere near this list puts a person in the minority. The painful omissions for people seem to be Body Electric and Heartland. The latter one, I had in at 19 originally but pulled it. I was going to put in the Jensen version and then re-listened to the record and preferred that. And then I swapped Heartland for Gimme Shelter. Then felt bad about Good Things and Anaconda, so put them in ... and then pulled them all out and put Sandstorm in. Felt good and right, so there it stayed.

Comments on "the fallen" are here: https://unbound.com/books/sistersofmercy/

Great read (appalled at the WYDSM and Gimme Shelter slagging though)

Mark you mentioned that Blood Money is an Eldritch song rather than a Hussey one. Can I ask where did you learn this, or is it common Sisters knowledge?

I'm following the link to see the comments on the other tunes and can't see anything. Looked in updates.

Where am I going wrong? (On this specifically, not the whole 'life' thing.)

ruffers wrote:I'm following the link to see the comments on the other tunes and can't see anything. Looked in updates.

Where am I going wrong? (On this specifically, not the whole 'life' thing.)

If you log in you should be able to see it. That update is set to be seen by Pledgers.

Got it, thanks

Rankings are wankings You know, but it was still fun to read through apart from that they are two covers in the Top(?)5. They´re too good for that.

Always fun reading lists like this and seeing what you agree with and don't. Not going to fault the list as such because each to their own - but I can't agree at all with two covers in the top 5! (as good as those covers are).

For me personally, two of my favourite tracks made the list (kind of) but low down: Neverland (Full Length) and Train - though it's Long Train that has been one of my Sisters all-timers since I first heard it when I got the Lucretia single as a teen.
I LOVE the Reptile House record, that was a real influencer for me in my youth, and all the tracks are deserving but I couldn't have a top list without Lights being included in it.
I've seen the remarks about Sandstorm raising a few eyebrows - and it raised mine, not so much because I thought it wasn't deserving but more as being surprised. I think it was a good inclusion as it shows another atmospheric side/angle to the Sisters: sticks out for being different but still sits comfortably in the canon (Was quite obsessed with it and Untitled when at school).
Was glad to see Floorshow (high up) and Afterhours make it - but surprised neither of the Flood's were included.
As much as I like Vision Thing I'd (possibly) favour Doctor Jeep.
I can't remember now off-hand if Driven Like the Snow made it..?

Before i really go on and on (and on), re the Temple of Love 'thing', I always preferred the re-recording so was glad to see that version over the original - and considering there are two outright cover versions in the top 5, I've never understood Under The Gun not seeming to be more popular, I'd have had that on the list over Jolene and Emma any day - always loved the way it has a light, poppy feel before getting moodier and ending menacingly.

Anyway - I loved reading the thoughts and opinion of someone else on songs that meant and mean so much to me, back then and still.