Love & Rockets – Sweet FA
As far I know, this hasn’t been released in the UK (correct me if I’m wrong), so I stole it from that pirate of the music industry, Yassassin. The word on the web is that L+R are in decline, & judging by this LP who am I to argue. The songs are Love And Rockets songs, & on their own they are fine; but put them against what has been previously released & you’ll get my drift. No wonder they kissed & made up with Pete Murphy; a Bauhaus resurrection was the best way to boost interest in the band.
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The band continue their obsession with heaven (are they merely goth freaks who used to attend the nightclub of the same name & decided to devote a life’s work to it?), my only gripe with Mr. Ash & the brothers Haskins are the sometimes lightweight & meaningless lyrics. This is where Mr.Murphy had the upper hand; although cryptic to the core, there was always something in those songs (particulary post-Mask) that you could relate to. Whereas these boys keep prattling on about Heaven! Is it a Kevin Haskins obsession? Take a look at his artwork on the previous LP, depicting the earth, sun & moon. Regardless of all this analysis for art’s sake, you’ll find this a truly mellow but uplifting album full of that trademark 12-string guitar, unique drumming, fretless bass & soft vocal.
The question that always niggles my tiny mind is, what would’ve Bauhaus sounded like if they had’nt’ve fallen out with each other? My guess is that they’d’ve been a lot harder than L+R, I think Pete Murphy added that edge, that sense of aggression to the line up, whereas the rest of them are quite content to mellow with age, inhale the drug & let it lay you back. I’m not complaining; Love & Rockets are a superb band & one I still play a lot today; particularly this CD; their 2nd. There’s not a dull moment to be had & this is ranked way up there with the big boys (with my Bauhaus collection actually). Coupled with the extra tracks taken from singles; Ball Of Confusion, a Stateside hit (where the band made a good living), the excellent Holiday On The Moon which, as a song is over by the 6th line, but they repeat that last line about 30 times, taking you on a trip of weightlessness. The CD version also features a different version of Ying & Yang – another great track, I could go on forever; every song has it’s moment & every song has a place in my heart.
My 1st experience of L+R came from a Cherry Red Records sampler LP which was called £1.99, which I bought for the said price, because it was cheap and I lived in a bedsit. On it was a track called Haunted When The Minutes Drag by Love & Rockets, I was, & still am haunted by this track & yearn for the minutes to drag even longer when it’s playing. I was aware that L+R were once Bauhaus, who I had discovered properly as they were in demise; OK so I had a copy of Bela, just like every young punk had, & I’d seen them perform Ziggy on Top Of The Pops, but I saw L+R as something other than the 3 guys out of Bauhaus, which is exactly what they were; that’s, something other than the 3 guys out of Bauhaus. The Haunted song IS the outstanding track on an LP littered with Kevin Haskins’ new electronic drum kit (no doubt a Christmas present), & a hangover from the Tones On Tail yuletide party.