The Waterboys "Dream Harder" 1993***

I recently saw The Waterboys at Paard van Troje in Den Haag. The band's new moto (or at least the subtitle of their new album) apparently is "an entertainment in sound", and aptly so as they once more put out a great show. Mike Scott of course at center stage, alternating between electric guitar and acoustic 12-string, singing and engaging in just enough between-song banter to make a connection with the audience but not too much as to appear self-centered or vain. He's not just a great songwriter, but also a great band leader and entertainer. Steve Wickham on violin is, of course, his trusted sidekick (no, let's be fair, he's more than that - a minor partner perhaps?) while the band seems to have found an equally important member in organist Brother Paul Brown: his Hammond is vital to the band's new R&B direction, and he's a natural showman to boot! The two lovely backing vocalists were also a nice touch, enhancing the band's performance with their voices and stage presence. Now, Scott may be currently living in Dublin, and half of his band may be Irish, but sound-wise his last 3 albums (since Modern Blues) derive inspiration from the American music tradition, just like Dream Harder did.

Scott has had quite a few stylistic changes over the last 35 years: from the new wave of his debut to the so-called Big Music of A Pagan Place, Celtic folk of Fisherman's Blues and Room To Roam to the more mainstream American rock sound of this album. And, although stylistic changes rarely go well with fans, this album was especially disparaged by critics and fans alike. It certainly marks a turning point for the band - or, to be literal, for Mike Scott, since he was the only original Waterboy left at that point. He had left the rest of the band back in Ireland to move to New York, where he recorded this album with the help of session musicians. Gone are the fiddles and mandolins, in comes screeching electric guitar. To be honest, Scott turns out to be really good at it - as if he really was visited by the ghost of Jimi Hendrix just like he sings about here, and it bestowed some of its powers to him. If the music is often more grounded than usual, the same isn't true for the lyrics which are more than ever pre-occupied by the mystical. Case in point "The Return of Pan", a sort of sequel to 1985's "The Pan Within". It successfully combines his newlyfound hard rock tendencies with paganistic elements evident in the tribal drumming and clarinet solo: the latter, played by the (obviously Greek) George Stathos, wouldn't sound out of place in a village festival of modern-day Arcadia. Before that, the album opens with "The New Life", a rollicking alternative rocker in tune with the grunge sounds that were so in vogue in the 90's. Next up, we have the "Glastonbury Song", an upbeat tune with exuberant lyrics about "finding God" (presumeably not the God of any established religion, though). "Preparing to Fly" and "Corn Circles" are country-ish folk rock with more mystical lyrics, while "Suffer" is a welcome return to earth: with its funky rhythm and lyrics about relationships, it sounds like a precursor to his current style. "Spiritual City" features sitar and a guest vocal by British singer/comic Billy Connolly. I like the goofy chorus and 60's psychedelic aura lent by the sitar, but honestly I've had enough with the Western nonsense notion of India as a "spiritual" place when it's a real country with everyday people mostly suffering from huge inequality and poverty. "Winter Winter" is a half-minute acoustic snippet, while "The Return of Jimi Hendrix" is the weirdest track here, if not the weirdest in all of The Waterboys' discography. It's a delirious spoken word piece with psychedelic ambient guitar, all about Hendrix's ghost visiting the writer and taking him on a tour of its New York haunts. Well, at least it seems to have given him a few tips on the use of guitar fuzz, sustain and distortion. There are tributes to Scott's literary idols, to C.S. Lewis (the quasi-mystical Christian writer of "Narnia") on the short atmospheric "Wonders of Lewis", and to Irish poet W.B.Yeats whose "Love and Death" poem he turned into a nice ballad. Closer "Good News" is a mid-tempo song with a sax solo that somehow reminds me of Chris Rea. Its (and the whole album's) good vibes did not convince everyone though and, despite good sales, Scott decided to temporarily put The Waterboy's name to rest. The name of the band was resurrected in 2000, with violinist Wickham from their 80's lineup rejoining a couple of years later. I've seen them perform in various incarnations quite a few times post-2000 and they've always been great, while what I've heard from their recent albums is also consistently good. So what if they never made another This Is The Sea or Fisherman's Blues? Few bands can sustain that kind of quality for long. Seen from a 25-year distance, Dream Harder is not the disappointment it initially seemed to be, rather just another station in a beautiful journey through music.

**** for The New Life, Glastonbury Song, Preparing to Fly, The Return of Pan, Suffer

*** for Corn Circles, Winter Winter, Love and Death, The Return of Jimi Hendrix, Spiritual City, Wonders of Lewis, Good News

Munich Record Shops

Last October I found myself in Munich. Not during Octoberfest, thank God! I would have enjoyed the folk music, traditional costumes and parades, but who wants to pay an entrance fee to get crammed with millions of loud drunks? And, judging by the quality of service during a normal period, I shudder to think what kind of service one gets during the busiest time of year. Have you heard of the famous Bavarian hospitality? About the warm and friendly German manners? No? Well, there's a reason for that. But it would have been a shame to go to Munich and not experience its famous beer culture. So, Octoberfest or not, we did drink the local beers from the huge Maß-glasses (a maß beer portion is slightly more than 1 liter, or 2 pints). With the obligatory Bavarian snacks, of course: pretzels and saucages served with sauerkraut and kartoffelsalat. Our stay was short (2,5 days) but we visited the most famous beer halls: the huge Hofbräuhaus, built originally in 1589, is very touristic but a must nevertheless. Folk brass music, huge halls with frescos, and the typical Bavarian food and beer. It was here that the German Nazi party was born 100 years ago - the 1st floor of the building will remain closed until the end of 2020 to deter neo-nazis from celebrating the anniversary at the very place it happened. We also visited another must-visit beer hall, the Augustiner-Keller. The biggest part of its famous garden was closed, but the interior is just as impressive. But if you want to know where we ate the best, I'd suggest the Nuernberger Bratwurst Gloeckl am Dom and Andy's Krablergarten - the latter is less about the decor and more about the giant schnitzels and delicious spicy saucages at affordable prices. Both places also have friendly staff and fast service.

Now I know that, apart from eating and drinking, there are a lot of fun things to do in Munich: join the Third Reich walking tour for instance (no, they're not goose-stepping around the city). Or visit the nearby Dachau concentration camp, currently a museum. As pleasant as these sound, my first idea was to hit the local record shops. But I must have chosen the wrong time: most closed early on Saturday, none opened on Sunday, and many opened Monday only in the afternoon. Seeing how the Germans always deride us Greeks for our perceived laziness, I was surprised with these opening hours: most of them open 3 to 5 days for between 4 and 8 hours per day, mostly afternoons. I cannot imagine a Greek small business owner working less than 50 hours per week. Well, good for the Germans I guess. But it meant I couldn't do my tour of the city's record stores as I planned. I'll nevertheless share my impressions plus all the info I found on the net, which I think you'll find interesting. My first stop was musicandbooks, a shop specialized in (guess what) 2nd hand books, LP's and CD's.

Lots of CD's, usually €4-7 but also many bargains for €1-2. Vinyls go normally for €11, 16 or 22, but some of the unsold stuff is on discount so you may find something good among the cheaper stuff (€4,7, or 11).Schallplattenzentrale also carries 2nd hand stuff and apparently consists of two shops: zentrale (Fraunhoferstrasse 26) and filiale (Lindwurmstrasse 209). The latter caries the overstock and offers, but I didn't catch it open. Zentrale has a large collection which is arranged alphabetically instead of by genre. CD's typically cost €4.99, 6.99 or 9.99. LP's are €6.99, 9.99, 14.99 or 19.99. There are some unreasonably expensive records at €30/40, but generally the prices are normal: I got a near mint copy of The Beatles' White Album for €19.99 which I consider a good bargain. Optimal (Kolosseumstraße 6) may probably really be the best record store in the city. An eclectic mix of new and used, mainstream and cult artists. DJ's will find everything they need, from techno to Anatolian psych.

Albums are well divided by genre and new/used. New LP's cost mostly €17-30, and offers (including used) usually €10-12, sometimes less. Here you won't just find the best sellers but also a lot of cult records for the music connoisseur. There are also small sections with books and CDs. And, of course, like all German cities, one can always shop music at the Saturn electronics chain stores. There's a large one at Neuhauser Strasse 39. I know, we all prefer shopping at actual record shops but the fact remains these megastores keep normal shopping hours, offer listening stations, cheap CD's (I bought some compilations and box sets €5.99-7.99) and an ever-growing variety of new vinyl (€18-28). The best used records shop, at least among the ones I visited, was Dock's CD Börse. Don't let the name fool you, there's a big variety in vinyl (jazz, soul, indie, metal, rock) and the prices are actually affordable (mostly €5-10).

Behind the back door and down the stairs, there's a huge selection of CD's (priced €3.5, 5 or 7.5) which will take you a whole afternoon to browse. There are no listening stations but the clerk was kind enough to play some records for me so that I could check their condition. Near Dock's you'll find Public Possession, a record shop that is apparently considered to be among the best in the world. I can't figure out why: it's small and only carries a handful of dance 12' singles. A bit to the north, near the Josephsplatz metro station you can find maoz Vinyl & Kaffee (Hiltenspergerstrasse 15) A cozy place with a nice vibe. You can drink your coffee and talk about music, or browse its big collection of LP's, both new (€20-30) and used (€5-15, rarities €20+). There are 3 rooms choke full of stuff: Kraut/prog, jazz, alternative, classic rock, Record Store Day specials etc. There are rare and cult items to be found here, as well as a few boxes of cheap stuff at the sidewalk in front of the shop. A short walk further (Theresienstrasse 114) there's Second Music & Fun, a big place packed with Rock, Indie and Soul CD's (€5-10, mostly €5) and LP's (many offers for €5, but mostly €15-20 for the good stuff). With few bargains and a no-fun feel despite its title, you may want to keep walking to Best Records (Theresienstrasse 46). This shop has a great reputation but I didn't catch it open. It is supposedly small-ish but with a big variety of good 2nd hand Soul, Jazz and Rock LP's and normal (neither cheap nor excessive) prices. I'll continue with a list of more Munich shops I didn't get to visit because of time shortage and/of weird opening hours.

This info comes from the Heartfirst Records blog (very detailed descriptions) and/of vinylhub and google reviews: Black Wave Records (Westendstrasse 49) is one of those shops that open only 20 hours/week. Apparently it carries a lot of indie/punk LP's - vinyl only, mostly new stuff. Mono Records (Breisacher Str. 21) is apparently a good shop for indie rock, selling both new and used vinyl as well as CD's. M2 Music (Rosenheimer Str. 77) seems to have a pretty big selection of used vinyl and CD's.  Gutfeeling (Maistrasse 1) is the shop of a local label and sells used vinyl plus, of course, all the releases of the label. Der Schallplattenladen (near the train station, Pariser Str. 50) sells new and 2nd hand vinyl. There's also Monkey Island (Stein Str. 67) which apparently is also a bar, Die Tonabnehmer (Belgradstrasse 31) and Rille & Promille on Untere Weidenstrasse 14 (2nd hand vinyl, CDs, vintage clothes and wine). I hope this info proves useful to someone. Just remember to check the opening hours before you set off on your quest.

N17 "Defy Everything" 1999💣💣💣

On November 17 1973 in Athens Greece, a tank demolished the main gate of the Polytechnic University. It was the fourth day of a student demonstration that had gradually morphed into a peaceful rebellion against the country's military dictatorship. In the end, the dictators brought in the tanks and proceeded to violently crush the resistance, murdering two dozen people in the process. When I was in high school, the day had become an (unofficial at first, official later) school holiday with emotional speeches against tyranny, while there was also a yearly protest march that, to this day, ends at the U.S. Embassy to denounce American support to the dictators. The right wing establishment of the time first denied that there were any dead, then blamed unnamed leftist insurgents, then -after the regime's fall- grudgingly accepted that army and police had murdered civilians. Today we've come full circle: the importance of the uprising is played-down and its protagonists portrayed as wily lefty politicos. Historical revisionism becomes easy when one only has to post "alternative facts" on one's website. No need to present real evidence, the public can just choose the version of history they prefer. Greek cabinet minister and vice president of the ruling conservative party Georgiadis, for example, has declared that there weren't any dead demonstrators, based on the fact that no bodies were reported found inside the campus itself.  Interesting note: the minister used to promote Holocaust-denial books and neo-nazi writers in his TV shows when he was with the extreme right-wing LAOS party. Getting a first taste of power in the brief period that LAOS became a minority partner in Government, he and a number of LAOS MP's hopped over to the mainstream "center-right" ND party. Just one apology to the Greek-Israelite council, and they weren't fascists anymore. Same with minister Voridis, once head of the EPEN Youth which recognized the (imprisoned since 1974) dictators as national heroes and its nominal leaders. Now they're both manufacturing hate against anyone challenging their rule: apparently the "real danger to democracy" isn't tanks but today's unruly students. Together of course with striking workers, squatters, protesters, immigrants, communists, human rights activists and so on. Oh, and the judges investigating them for corruption: they've vowed to bury them when they return to government, and sure enough now that they're back in power it's those judges who are under investigation for judicial misconduct.

What I wanted to explain before my long introduction was derailed, is that this band couldn't have chosen a more controversial name. The students taking part on the November 17 uprising were vilified as troublemakers, then worshiped as heroes, while now there's an attempt to write them up as frauds. To make matters worse, the name N(ovember)17 was co-opted by a leftist terrorist organization ("urban guerillas" to their friends) which was still at large at the time of this album's release - though safely behind bars now. I'm guessing that this Phoenix (AZ) metal band were inspired by the student uprising, rather than by a terrorist organisation that murdered U.S. citizens including a number of military officers and a CIA station chief. More probably they weren't aware of the specific connotations but liked how militant it all sounded. Their lyrics are a hazy call for defiance and rebellion against the Establishment in general, betraying a lack of political education. The album cover looks like a WW II-era communist poster, though the tools exhibited may also allude to the "industrial" nature of their music. Fortunately the music is more substantial: A non-stop barrage of industrial electronic beats and fast metallic riffs reminiscent of Rammstein or Ministry, raspy death metal vocals, and the occasional movie samples and hip hop scratching. Opener "Rust" is the perfect encapsulation of the band's sound. Apparently it was used in a Levi's jeans commercial - I tried to find it on youtube but had no luck. Other highlights include "Mirror", "Mute" (both include some nice electronic elements, while vocals alternate between whispers and growls), the gothic instrumental "Descent", and Sepultura-meets-System Of A Down-like "Suffering". "Waste"'s introduction with its electronics and movie samples reminds me of early Porcupine Tree before exploding with more heavy riffing. Towards the end of the CD the style remains the same but quality drops - either that or repetition starts to grate a bit. Thankfully, after the end of last track "Baal" there's a cool tribal drums instrumental that closes the album on a different note. This album is nothing if not intense and guaranteed to get the old adrenaline pumping. Highly recommended only if industrial metal is your kind of thing! Otherwise its relentless pace might wear you down.

UPDATE 2020: This year, the pandemic gave Greece's right wing government the perfect excuse to annul the November 17 memorials: By order of the Police, article 11 of the constitution (freedom of assembly) was suspended temporarily between 15 and 18 November, in order to block all events regarding the anniversary of the uprising. All public gatherings of 4 or more people were declared illegal for this period, despite the fact that buses continue to run full because "there is no money for more vehicles" and that workplaces are likewise crowded. Opposition parties vowed to keep all necessary public health measures (symbolic minimal representation, masks, distances) but were warned that they would get arrested if they violated the 4 person rule. To demonstrate the hypocrisy behind the rules, the 40 or so students who kept the Polytechnic open in order to allow people to pay their respect to the victims of the uprising were arrested -ostensibly to "protect them from the pandemic"- and stacked together in a tiny cage, with no regard to distances and other health safety precautions.

**** for Rust, Mirror, Mute, Waste

*** for Left, Cleanse, Descent, Suffer[Ring], Hidden Track

** for Brash, Minion, Baal

Detroit Cobras "Tied And True" 2007***

I recently wrote about the different things one can do on Halloween, but I failed to mention one of the best options: go to a rock'n'roll concert, which is what I did this year. The Detroit Cobras were playing in Paard van Troje, just a few tram stops away. The support band was ideal for the occasion: The HelloWeeners are a Dutch garage/trash/rockabilly side project of various Eindhoven bands making infrequent appearances on Halloween or horror-themed festivals. They warmed up the audience (featuring a few dressed-up Halloween celebrants among the usual rock T-shirt wearing concertgoers) for The Cobras who went onstage around 21:30 for a show that lasted around an hour. Singer Rachel Nagy, obviously intoxicated, must have been especially happy with her Jack The Ripper disguise, jabbering about killing prostitutes and brandishing knives around. Thankfully, other than Rachel's drunken babble, the Cobras were just as good as the last time I saw them a dozen years ago: a tight band playing their familiar energetic brand of garage soul for an all-around fun Halloween evening!

This album, recorded in 2007, is the band's latest. Am I the only one who thinks there is something wrong with this picture? We're talking about a band which has remained active and yet hasn't released a new album for 12 years. 12 years, that's more than the combined lifespan of The Doors and Creedence Clearwater Revival! It took those bands less than 6 years each to record 13 studio albums and to write more than a 100 classic original compositions! And it's not just The Cobras who aren't making records, the same goes for many other bands - though probably no-one beats The Sisters of Mercy who are about to close 3 decades with no new recordings. Is it a case of "there's no money in making records, so we'd better get the show on the road to pay the bills"? Are the artists punishing us for illegally downloading their music or listening to it on youtube instead of buying their records? Are we to blame for this situation, or is our favorite musicians' inspiration drying up as they grow older? Just a thought... Back to our review, Tied And True is, like all of Detroit Cobras (DC) records before it, a covers album - mostly of 50's/60's unknown R&B songs. But it's also a concept album of sorts, delving into the dark side of love and relationships - at least that's how I interpret the choice of material, title and cover. Musically, the balance of the songs has also shifted: less garage soul dynamites, more ballads and girl-group pop. The latter style is dominant on the album's first half, opening with Betty Lavette's "You'll Never Change" followed by pop ballads like "Try Love", "Only to Other People", and Irma Thomas' "The Hurt's All Gone". Rachel is convincing at the slower songs, her weathered voice giving an impression of a woman who's been around, hurt and recovered again and again. Gino Washington's "Puppet on a String" is the sexiest of the slow numbers thanks to Rachel's delivery and surf guitar solo. Halfway through the album starts to pick up pace with soul belters like "As Long As I Have You" and "(I Wanna Know) What's Going On". James Brown's "If You Don't Think" is suitably sped-up, as is the country-ish "On A Monday" and "Leave My Kitten Alone" which was, I believe, the only one of these songs that they played at the Halloween concert - the meowing backing vocals were a source of hilarity, as was the drummer's kitty mask. "Nothing But A Heartache" retains something of its girl-group origins in the backing vocals but just loud enough to make the difference between retro pop and garage rock. The DC's knack for always picking the right song falters here on two occasions: The Melodians' "It's My Delight" sounds wrong when stripped of its reggae beat, and the Equals' "Green Light" sounds like a second-rate Spencer Davis Group copy - not much they can do with that material. Overall it seems that, rather than the soundtrack to a wild rock'n'roll party, The DC had set a different goal for this collection: they set out to make a more mature soul-pop-retro album, and that's what they deliver. In my opinion, though, this album may be a good showcase for Rachel's voice but doesn't play to the rest of the band's strengths, especially the energy and excitement which is evident in both the band's live shows and the DC other albums. I'd like to see them return to the sound of Baby or Life, Love and Leaving - if and when they enter a recording studio again. Which I hope they will do, soon. Come on guys, it's not as if you need to write new songs. Just delve into your old 7' singles collection and come up with an unknown gem or two!

**** for You'll Never Change (Betty Lavett), Puppet on a String (Gino Washington), As Long As I Have You (Garnett Mimms), Nothing But a Heartache (Flirtations), Leave My Kitten Alone (Little Willie John), [I Wanna Know] What's Going On (Art Neville)

*** for Try Love (Dori Grayson), The Hurt's All Gone (Irma Thomas), Only to Other People (The Cookies), If You Don't Think (Tammy Terrell), On a Monday (Lead Belly)

** for It's My Delight (The Melodians), Green Light (The Equals)
P.S. the running order I described corresponds to the European edition on Rough Trade, the U.S. one is different

The Sisters Of Mercy ‎"Enter The Sisters" 1982-83(rec) 1987(comp)*****

I was recently at Utrecht's Tivoli concert hall to see one of my favorite 80's bands, The Sisters Of Mercy. I refer to them as an 80's band although they've been active for nearly 40 years, because they released their last LP way back in 1990. They've been touring the world playing their Goth Rock classics ever since, without bothering recording another album. Sometimes I wonder if anybody would object to, say, The Rolling Stones doing the same. To be honest, the concert didn't live up to my expectations: Singer Andrew Eldritch still caries that characteristic bass voice, but the live sound didn't do him any favors so he came over as suffering from a throat infection. The electronic beat and light show made it look like being in a techno festival, which I didn't mind at all, but the two guitarists didn't add that necessary something: The one (I learned later that his name is Ben Christo, with SoM since '06) played a few good melodic parts. The other (Dylan Smith, new member) basically just posed and played riffs. The SoM riffs can be simple yet effective, but in the concert they lacked volume - by which I don't mean loudness but fullness. These songs that sounded huge played on the speakers of the rock clubs of my youth should kick ass live. Certainly the venue's sound betrayed them, but I think the guitarists are also not up to the task - not only was their playing pretty basic, they failed to harmonize correctly as backing vocalists. I unfortunately didn't get the sense that this tour was something more than a hastily thrown together moneymaking routine for Eldritch. That said, I did have a good time, and so did thousands of other spectators greeting every song with an enthusiasm I rarely see nowadays. Truth be told, The Sisters' songbook does constitue the Goth Rock Bible. Bands from Rammstein to Paradise Lost to Fields Of The Nephilim owe them a lot.

I don't know if the enthusiasm of those 40-something fans was fueled by the songs or by the throwback to the good-old-days of the 80's and 90's. Because those were certainly good times, even if they aren't often refered to as such. At least in Athens where I grew up there was a vibrant (rock) club scene, live concerts, and lots of great new music coming out. My first acquaintance with the SoM was around 1987-'88, and back then this was the album to get. As far as I knew, it was their most famous LP. Little did I know it was a bootleg release, and much less that it was limited to Greece. These early recordings were initially scattered between various singles and EP's, to get them on import would cost a fortune. So a nice Greek bootlegger with the mysterious name Black Swan Records included the best of them in one LP and put it out on the market. Someone had to do it. The Sisters only came round to it circa 1992, when they released their early output as the Some Girls Wander By Mistake CD. But until then, this was the indispensable companion of every Greek Goth. Here the band doesn't deal in metallic riffs like they would towards the end of the 80's, but Ben Gunn and Gary Marx play some sharp post punk guitar and a few nice melodic solos. Craig Adams' propulsive bass adds buzz, but it's the synthetic part of the rhythm section that dominates the beat department: SoM's drum machine Doktor Avalanche may well be the most famous non-human rock musician. Despite seeing various incarnations through the years, the doctor is the only "consistent" member of the band - save for its programmer and singer Andrew Eldritch. Eldritch's deep bass-baritone voice is one of the most recognizable in rock: imagine that of Leonard Cohen stripped of its particular elegance and warmth and wrapped in the icy atmosphere of Joy Division with a hint of Christopher Lee gravitas. The band were certainly Cohen fans: the borrowed their name from one of his songs, while the title of their album Some girls wander by mistake ("...into the mess that scalpels make") is a line from another Cohen song from the same record.

The earliest tracks here (the "Body Electric/Adenochrome" and "Anaconda" singles) are pretty much in the post punk vein: The bass and atmosphere are reminiscent of Joy Division, guitars of The Sound, and the vocals are very deep and theatrical. Their first EP contained the rousing rocker "Alice" with its spidery guitar, and the mutant disco of "Floorshow", both featuring more animated vocals betraying an Iggy & The Stooges influence. "Burn" and "Lights" from 2nd EP The Reptile House are quite different: slow and dark, they justify the Gothic label that followed the band. Eldritch sounds here like Nosferatu singing from the inside of his coffin. The (chronologically) last tracks come from the Temple Of Love EP. The eponymous song became their biggest hit when they revisited it ten years later, but the infectious guitar intro and operatic chorus was already present in this original version. "Heartland" is mid-tempo song with a catchy chorus, and "Gimme Shelter" an imposing cover of The Stones' masterpiece. Quite different really, the original was more soulful when this is slower, starker, and more sombre. Subsequent SoM albums would favor a richer sound with female backing vocals and harder guitars, while the music here is relatively underproduced, bleaker and more electronic. The sound quality of the vinyl is not bad, given that the bootlegger's source was most certainly his own vinyls rather than the original master tapes. More importantly, it really has the feel of a bona fide complete LP: the duration is right, there is a uniform production style which is rare for compilations, there is a good balance between fast and slow songs, and between side one and side two. Sure, the official Some Girls...CD is better sounding and longer with a more complete tracklisting, but it doesn't gel as well. To me, Enter The Sisters will always be The Sister Of Mercy's first, and best, album.

***** for Temple Of Love, Floorshow, Alice

**** for Anaconda, Adrenochrome, Body Electric, Heartland, Gimme Shelter

*** for Burn, Lights