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First and Last and Always took the elements of the live shows and represented them for the home stereo. The packaging of the album sums up what you are about to recieve, basically a black album cover with red writting and the minimal of design work, just a picture of the band in shades ... Read review
Advantages: takes you back to the birth of goth Disadvantages: very different to the Gothic sound of today
...visable.
First and Last and Always took the elements of the live shows and represented them for the home stereo. The packaging of the album sums up what you are about to recieve, basically a black album cover with red writting and the minimal of design work, just a picture of the band in shades and black leather in front of a Detroit adult movie theatre. The first thing that hits you about the music is its cold, detached and clinical ... ...to nothing else but this one band.
If the re-invention of the gothic romances set to the cold detachment of the modern world appeals to you then First and Last and Always, the first and best of the Sisters albums, is the only place to start. ... more
In the same way that what has become known as "punk" today has very little in common with the Sex Pistols or the Damned, so todays Gothic sound is a world away from its roots. The Sisters of Mercy were always seen as the premier band of the Gothic movement, a dark and image consious wave of sound that formed in the late seventies and blossomed with the eighties.
As a band the Sisters summed up what the movement was all about and this album captures the times in all its glory. Unlike todays Gothic sound, which seems to be an off shoot of metal, the original sound was under pinned by a dance feel, due to the relience by most bands on the use of a drum machine in place of a human player.
Fronted by the enigmatic Andrew Eldritch, the Sisters took the dark, romantic and mystical image to the extreme. Live shows were dark, dry-ice festooned affairs were for the most part the band were barely visable.
First and Last and Always took the elements of the live shows and represented them for the home stereo. The packaging of the album sums up what you are about to recieve, basically a black album cover with red writting and the minimal of design work, just a picture of the band in shades and black leather in front of a Detroit adult movie theatre. The first thing that hits you about the music is its cold, detached and clinical quality.The drum machine drives the music along overlayed by razor sharp guitar riffs and a brooding heavy bottom ended bass. Eldritch grumbles almost spoken lyrics of an ambiguous nature, relating to lost loves and broken dreams. At times you can hear the pain in his voice, the screams of a wronged man, a man worn down by the cruel ravages of love, a man broken. The spoken style adds a reality to the performance, this is no over produced singer being delivered through the modern techniques of the studio, this is you and me at our most alone, the despair you feel in the dark of the night.
The primitive nature of the low budget recording works to the musics advantage, adding to the cold and under produced nature of the songs, something that some bands today spend a fortune trying to achieve.
Critics have always accused the Sisters of being overly depressive, if you take the time to experience the music you will see the error in this accusation. Admittedly the songs do revolve around unrequitted love and dark passions, but this is also true of the Gothic writers of the past and they are allowed the monicker of Romantics.This then is a revival of that genre but set to the machinary of the industrial age, the result is the modern stark equivilant of the windswept moors and ruined abbeys of Jane Austin and Lord Byron.
It is not an album that requires a detailed analysis of the tracks, it should be considered a sound track for an age or state of mind. It is an over all package that either appeals to you or not, there is no in between, and for this reason the Sisters had the most loyal fans in the industry, many of home would listen to nothing else but this one band.
If the re-invention of the gothic romances set to the cold detachment of the modern world appeals to you then First and Last and Always, the first and best of the Sisters albums, is the only place to start.
Advantages: Magnificent full-length debut from Goth masters Disadvantages: Some tracks need to be heard live to be appreciated
This was the first chance the mainstream would have had to hear the mighty music of Leeds' Sisters of Mercy. Although formed in 1980, the band had only released a long succession of singles and EPs before this debut album.
Although 'Floodland' is a stronger and more epic album, this is the album that really gave impetus to the 'Goth' movement and has the classic band line-up. The key is here that they sound like a great band playing together, whereas ... ...love with this when i first heard it, but it was on a bootleg live album. This song is just INVINCIBLE when heard live, as the atmosphere is better, and best of all the tempo is twice as fast. This is my favourite Sisters track, and quite frankly is a Gothic masterpiece.
This version suffers from playing at a slow tempo. It is an epic multi-layered ode to Marian, who alone can save Eldritch from doom. The third verse bizarrely is sung in German, ...
tonguelessghostofsin 02.06.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of First And Last And Always - Sisters Of Mercy
Advantages: atmospheric Goth at its best Disadvantages: Not for pop idol type music lovers
...fully understand the music of First and last and always, I think you need to know where they were coming from and what had come before.
As this record was released nearly twenty years ago many readers may not of heard of the band or younger readers may not even have been born, so here goes.
The Sisters of Mercy were born in Leeds in 1980 when Andrew Eldrich was invited to join a band being formed by Gary Marx. The First release was Damage Done/ ... ...John Ashton.This was the bands first track to appear in the independent chart, The following of the band was starting to expand from their northern roots.
Next in 1983 was Anaconda / Phantom which is in the same vein as Alice while Phantom is much slower and moodier.
The same year saw the release of the Reptile house EP including Kiss the Carpet / Lights /Valentine /Fix / Burn This EP contiued more in the vein of Phantom.
Next up is The Temple ...
docpov 04.05.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of First And Last And Always - Sisters Of Mercy
Advantages: Very atmospheric Disadvantages: Sounds a little unpolished
This was the first album by The Sisters of Mercy, released in 1985, so straight away, you're taken back to the early days of Goth when it was still all about pretentious pretty boys with loads of make up and angst, who were interested in Dracula and graveyards and speed and looking moody. These were the good old days of Goth before it was copied badly by the Americans or taken on half heartedly by 16-18 year olds and their one black jumper and bit ... ...Marian 6. First And Last And Always 7. Possession 8. Nine While Nine 9. Amphetamine Logic 10. Some Kind Of Stranger As you begin listening to the album, you can't help thinking how over-the-top Eldritch's voice sounds, and wondering who he's trying to kid, but by the end of the album you love it, because at the end of the day, that's what Goth is about. There are some signature Missionesque guitar chords on here and plenty of high drama with the ...
Clare1975 01.12.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of First And Last And Always - Sisters Of Mercy
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The Sisters Of Mercy Are (currently)
Andrew Eldritch - vocals
Adam Pearson - guitars
Mike Varjak - guitars
Doktor Avalanche - drums, etc
Nurse - nurse to the Doktor
Discography
The Damage Done(1980), Body Electric(1982), Anaconda(1983), Alice E.P.(1983), The Reptile House E.P.(1983), Temple Of Love(1983), FirstLast And Always(1985), Floodland(1987), Vision Thing(1990), Some Girls Wander By Mistake(1992), Greatest Hits Volume 1(1993)
Background
The Sisters Of Mercy formed in Leeds in 1980 and at the time consisted of Gary Marx and Andrew Eldritch, a guitar and an amp. Their first single was pressed and released by themselves, received one radio play and was described as being both "unobtainable and unlistenable”. Recruiting Craig Adams on bass and Doktor Avalanche(the drum machine) to fo the rest ...
Product Information for "First And Last And Always - Sisters Of Mercy" »
Product details
Title
First And Last And Always
Performer
Sisters Of Mercy
Genre
Rock & Pop
Sub Genre
Gothic
Release Date
06/1992
Recomended Retail Price
10.99 GBP
Original Release Year
1985
Label / Distributor
Merciful Release / Cinram Logistics
Producer
Dave Allen
Pieces in Set
1
Studio / Live
Studio
Stereo
Stereo
Format
Performer
EAN
90317737928
Catalogue Number
9031773792
SPAR code
AAD
Additional notes
Album Notes
Sisters Of Mercy: Andrew Eldritch (vocals, guitar, keyboards, synthesizer, programming); Wayne Hussey (guitar, background vocals); Craig Adams (guitar); Gary Marx (bass). The Sisters Of Mercy's debut, 1985's FIRST AND LAST AND ALWAYS, is the definitive goth record. Combining the filtered punk-inspired angst and fury of Bauhaus, a machine-honed brittleness, and the literate dourness of artists like Leonard Cohen (whose songs are referenced in both the Sisters' lyrics and by their name), it's an amazingly solid album. Highlights include "Marian (Version)" and "Some Kind of Stranger"; on the first, Andrew Eldritch's vocals (about half of which are in German) are felt rather than heard, an effect accentuated by crystalline guitar notes. The latter song is arguably the most spectacularly gloomy song that the goth movement ever produced--nearly seven and a half minutes of soaring keyboards, morose, tortured vocals, and aching, brittle guitars. Fans might wish to note the album's 1992 remastering cleans up the sound quality significantly, but whichever version you hear, this album is an extraordinary document.
Album Reviews
Q (12/99, p.171) - Included in Q Magazine's 'Best Gothic Albums Of All Time' - "...their tombstone....This mordant beast survives as a mission statement...for the genre: pitch-black, rock-hard, utterly oppressive, shrouded in bollocks. Black! Black!"
Titles on disc 1
1.
Black Planet
2.
Walk Away
3.
No Time To Cry
4.
Rock And A Hard Place
5.
Marian (version)
6.
First And Last And Always
7.
Possession
8.
Nine While Nine
9.
Amphetamine Logic
10.
Some Kind Of Stranger
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