gothic rock Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

Bauhaus “Burning From the Inside”

sfilzen — Mon, 11 Jul 2022 17:59:38 +0000

Bauhaus “Burning From the Inside” 1983. Today, July 11th, is Peter Murphy’s 65th birthday (b. 1957). Burning From the Inside was Bauhaus’ fourth LP and would have been their last – they broke up before its release – but they got back together to record another over 20 years later, the 2008 album Go Away White. Murphy was very ill during Burning‘s writing and recording (his absence during much of the processes was one factor that led to the band’s dissolution) so “Who Killed Mr. Moonlight” has David J on vocals and “Slice of Life” features Daniel Ash. It’s a dark and gothically beautiful record: the best track is also its most successful “She’s In Parties.” That track, according to Allmusic, was written much earlier in the band’s history and they dug it up, needing more material due to Murphy’s sickness. It ended up being Bauhaus’ last released single and it went to #26 in the UK. I also really like the industrial-goth “Honeymoon Croon,” the Bowie-glam styled “Kingdom’s Coming” and the title track “Burning From the Inside,” a 10 minute epic hallucinatory journey that apparently was inspired by a hash-smoking incident where the inside of a car started on fire.

I’ve seen Love and Rockets (in ’89), Peter Murphy (solo in 2016) and Pop Tone (Daniel Ash and Kevin Haskins, along with Haskins’ daughter Diva Dompé in 2018) perform but thought Bauhaus was something that would always remain out of reach. BUT! The original lineup has gotten back together to tour this fall and we have tickets to see them in Detroit.

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Love and Rockets “Yin and Yang (The Flowerpot Man)“ and “Kundalini Express”

sfilzen — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 17:33:57 +0000

Love and Rockets “Yin and Yang (The Flowerpot Man)“ and “Kundalini Express” from Express, released 35 years ago today, September 15th, 1986. Beggars Banquet. Express is one of my favorite albums from the 80′s, combining the best of industrial dance, post-punk, goth and neo-psychadelia sounds, and these two singles are among my top tracks from the LP.

“Kundalini Express” was the first single from Express; it’s also my all-time favorite song Love and Rockets song: lyrically clever with a train-chugging industrial dance beat. The 12″ single has two non-album tracks on the b-side: the rich and darkly swirling “Lucifer Sam” and the gothy-industrial “Holiday on the Moon.”

“Yin and Yang (The Flowerpot Man)” is also excellent. It was the second single from Express (there was one more single: “All in My Mind” which charted at #49 on the US rock chart). The 12″ has two versions of “Yin and Yang” – Side A’s the “remix” (it’s longer) and Side B the single/album version. Both high energy breakneck speed. Side B also has the industrial-goes-goth-goes-free-jazz instrumental “Angels and Devils.”

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Siouxsie and the Banshees “Juju”

sfilzen — Sun, 06 Jun 2021 14:00:44 +0000

Siouxsie and the Banshees “Juju” released 40 years ago today, June 6th, 1981. A darkly gorgeous gothic post punk masterpiece, it’s considered a landmark release for the genres. The Banshees fourth LP, Juju went to #7 in the UK. They released two singles: “Spellbound” (#22 UK) and “Arabian Knights” (#32 UK). Also notable is “Halloween,” which sees a lot of airtime in October in this house. It’s really one of the best Halloween songs ever: danceable, edgy, dark and catchy. Actually, that sums up the entire album, including the great tracks like “Into the Light,” “Sin In My Heart” and “Head Cut.”

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The Cure “Standing on a Beach”

sfilzen — Thu, 06 May 2021 19:24:21 +0000

The Cure “Standing on a Beach” released 35 years ago today, May 6th, 1986. The album includes 13 of The Cure’s singles from 1978-1985 and is one of the best comps out there. It leads off with “Killing an Arab,” their first single from late ‘78 (it was later included on the US-only album Boys Don’t Cry, 1980). Other favorite Cure singles that appear are “A Forest” (also on Seventeen Seconds, 1980), “Primary” (their only single from Faith, 1981), “The Hanging Garden” (the sole single from the 1982 album Pornography), “The Walk” (included on the ‘83 comp Japanese Whispers; it went to #12 in the UK, their first top 20), “The Caterpillar” (the only single from The Top, 1984) and “In Between Days” from The Head on the Door (1985) which hit #15 in the UK and was The Cure’s first single to make the Top 100 in the US, going to #99.

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The Cure “Lovesong”

sfilzen — Wed, 21 Apr 2021 15:57:32 +0000

The Cure “Lovesong” 1989. 12″ single. Today, April 21st, is Robert Smith’s 62nd birthday (b. 1959) so I’m spinning The Cure’s most successful U.S. single. “Lovesong” made it to #2 on the US charts (#18 UK), their only Billboard Top 10. “Lovesong” was the third single from 1989′s Disintegration and it’s a straight-up love song lyrically, though beautifully and melodically dark musically. The 12″ single has two versions: “Love Song (remix)” which is basically indistinguishable from the album version, and “Love Song (extended remix)” which is extended, obviously, and has some extra effects but nothing too crazy or different from the original (and “love song” is written on the back as two words and as one word on the cover – there doesn’t seem to be much agreement within The Cure itself as to which is correct). Side B has two non-album songs. “2 Late” is fairly sunny – the pop side of The Cure, a bit tinkly and jangly with a rather lovely, soaring and simple melody. “Fear of Ghosts” is more darkly goth Cure: exotic, epic and lush.

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The Cure “Faith”

sfilzen — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 19:42:42 +0000

The Cure “Faith” released 40 years ago today, April 14th, 1981. Faith is The Cure’s third LP; it’s gloomy and gorgeous, hopelessly dark, and perfectly gothic post-punk. One publication rates it as the best goth album ever released. Faith went to #14 in the UK, propelled by its sole single released, just about a month before the album: “Primary” (#43 UK) and it is one of my favorite early Cure songs. Its chugging melody and rhythm provided by dual bass and pedals, no guitar, no keys and the line “The very first time I saw your face, I thought of a song and quickly changed the tune. The very first time I touched your skin, I thought of a story and rushed to reach the end too soon” is just the best. But most of the album is significantly more downbeat in most beautifully depressing way possible with spacious atmospheric soundscapes practically dripping off the vinyl: “The Holy Hour,” “The Funeral Party” and “All Cats Are Grey” (that track, and “The Drowning Man” quite literally goth inspired by the Gormenghast books by Mervyn Peake that take place in a decaying Gothic castle) are perfect examples. Our copy is a double-LP reissue import that includes the non-LP single “Charlotte Sometimes” released in October 1981 (#44 UK) as well as some demos and outtakes (i.e. “Going Home Time” and “Forever”).

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Joy Division “Substance”

sfilzen — Sat, 13 Feb 2021 20:26:23 +0000

Joy Division “Substance” 1988 (2015 reissue). Factory Records. Today, February 13th, is Joy Division/New Order bassist Peter Hook’s 65th birthday (b. Peter Woodhead, 1956). Substance is a comp of Joy Division’s singles, b-sides and EP tracks from ‘77-’80; the double LP 2015 reissue includes a couple of extra tracks not on the original, including “Love Will Tear Us Apart (Pennine version)” and “These Days” both of which were the B-side to the original “Love Will Tear Us Apart” single (considered one of the best singles ever released in the UK, it hit #13 in the UK and went to #42 on the US dance chart). Besides that amazing song, other iconic Joy Division songs appear like “Warsaw” (so much more snotty punk than their subsequent songs) which is also on the EP An Ideal for Living, “Digital” from the EP A Factory Sample ( “Digital” was the last song ever performed by Joy Division in 1980 before Ian Curtis’ suicide), “Transmission” (their first released single in ‘79), a different version of “She’s Lost Control” than appears on Unknown Pleasures – this one much more goth/industrial, “Atmosphere” which was released as a single after Curtis’ death in ‘80 (#34 UK), “Komakino” (a rare single from ‘80 given away by some record stores in flexi disc format), and the brilliant original “Dead Souls” (covered by Nine Inch Nails in ‘94 for The Crow soundtrack).

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The Cult “Love”

sfilzen — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 17:29:28 +0000

The Cult “Love” released 35 years ago yesterday, October 18th, 1985. Love was The Cult’s second LP; it went to #4 in the UK and must have made some inroads into the US because this was one of my most-listened to albums in the mid-80′s. I LOVE the gothy danceable post-punk of Love! Two of my top tracks were also singles: “She Sells Sanctuary” (#15 UK, #36 US Dance chart) and “Rain” (#17 UK). I also love “Big Neon Glitter,” the title track “Love,” “Phoenix” and “Hollow Man.” (The gothy power ballad “Revolution” was also a single – I do not know if charted.)

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Siouxsie and the Banshees “The Passenger”

sfilzen — Tue, 08 Oct 2019 20:34:58 +0000

Siouxsie and the Banshees “The Passenger” 1987. Wonderland Records. 12″ single, “lllllloco-motion mix.” The single version of “The Passenger” – a fantastic cover of Iggy Pop’s version from 1977 (on Lust for Life, released as a single in ‘98) – appeared on Siouxsie and the Bashees’ 1987 all-cover album Through the Looking Glass and went to #41 on the UK charts. About a million other artists have covered “The Passenger” (well, not exactly, but there are a lot, and I do like the 1997 version by Lunachicks that’s on the We Will Fall: The Iggy Pop Tribute record), and Siouxsie’s is the best. Her voice is a great counterpoint to Pop’s masculine monotone growl, all clear soaring gothic gloss and mirrors, and a whole lot of horns. Pop quite liked Siouxsie’s rendition, stating, “She sings it well and she threw a little note in when she sings it, that I wish I had thought of, it’s kind of improved it. The horn thing is good.“ The “lllllloco-motion mix” is significantly longer than the single – I think about double in length – and seems to have even more horns plus what I think are tubular bells (well, bells at least). The B-side has two tracks, “She’s Cuckoo” and “Something Blue,” a lush lament that is perfectly and gothically sorrowful.

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The Cure “The Top”

sfilzen — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 19:26:16 +0000

The Cure “The Top” released 35 years ago today, April 30th 1984. The Top was The Cure’s 5th studio LP; it went to #10 on the UK album charts though barely made it onto the US Billboard’s Top 200, squeaking in at #180. I really love The Top – I think I got this copy in ‘85 or early ‘86. It was unevenly received by fans and critics at the time. Some called it timeless psychedelia, original and witty while others labelled it transitional, self-indulgent and forgettable. It certainly is unique, with a fantastic mixture of swirling psychedelic rock tinged with world music exotica (“Bird Mad Girl,” “Piggy in the Mirror” and “The Top”), eery goth (“The Empty World” and “Wailing Wall” which has a lot in common with Siouxsie and the Banshees – not surprising as Robert Smith was the Banshees’ guitarist at the time and had just completed his work on their 1984 album Hyaena), stomping post-punk (“Shake Dog Shake” – one of my favorite Cure songs – and “Give Me It”), new wave pop (“The Caterpillar” which was the only single The Cure released from The Top; it went to #7 in the UK) and even some shoe-gazey dream pop (“Dressing Up”). The track “Bananafishbones” manages to mash all of those descriptives into one single song. Allmusic says about The Top “an album obviously recorded under stress, drink, and drugs. More wildly experimental musically than anything before it, it laid the foundations for the Cure’s pattern of unpigeonholable albums that were to erase their reputation built by Pornography and eventually culminating in Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me… The Top is a transition, never really feeling like a full-length release, but it does meld all former phases of Rob and company, which would fully gel on The Head on the Door. At best an imperfect record, The Top is a necessary step in the evolution of the band.”

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