V.A: A Life Less Lived (The Gothic Box) 2006

 

Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted towards dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, Bauhaus, and the Cure.
                                     

VIRGIN PRUNES

The genre itself was defined as a separate movement from post-punk. Gothic rock stood out due to its darker sound, with the use of primarily minor or bass chords, reverb, dark arrangements, or dramatic and melancholic melodies, having inspirations in gothic literature allied with themes such as sadness, existentialism, nihilism, dark romanticism, tragedy, melancholy and morbidity.

NICK CAVE

These themes are often approached poetically. The sensibilities of the genre led the lyrics to represent the evil of the century and the romantic idealization of death and the supernatural imagination.

X MAL DEUTSCHLAND

Musicians who initially shaped the aesthetics and musical conventions of gothic rock include Marc Bolan, the Velvet Underground, the Doors, David Bowie, Brian Eno and Iggy Pop.

THE MARCH VIOLETS

Journalist Kurt Loder would write that the song "All Tomorrow's Parties" by the Velvet Underground is a "mesmerizing gothic-rock masterpiece". However, Reynolds considers Alice Cooper as "the true ungodly godfather of goth" due to his "theatrics and black humor".

THE ROSE OF AVALANCE

Nico's 1968 album The Marble Index is sometimes described as "the first Goth album". With its stark sound, somber lyrics, and Nico's deliberate change in her look, the album became a crucial music and visual prototype for the gothic rock movement.

THE CULT

Gothic rock creates a dark atmosphere by drawing influence from the drones used by protopunk group the Velvet Underground, and many gothic singers are influenced by the "deep and dramatic" vocal timbre of David Bowie, albeit singing at even lower pitches.

THE SISTERS OF MERCY

Gothic rock then gave rise to a broader goth subculture that included clubs, fashion and publications in the 1980s, 1990s, and into the 21st century.

THE CREATURES

J.G. Ballard was a strong lyrical influence for many of the early gothic rock groups; the Birthday Party drew on Arthur Rimbaud and Charles Baudelaire.
Although gothic rock is an offshoot of post-punk, glam rock is another forerunner genre of gothic rock. Pitchfork wrote: "Although it abandoned the psychedelic color palette and exchanged alien worship for a vampire cult, goth kept glam's theatricality intact, as well as its openness to experimentation."

THE BIRTHDAY PARTY

However, Bauhaus's debut single, "Bela Lugosi's Dead", released in late 1979, was retrospectively considered to be the beginning of the gothic rock genre.

SOUTHERN DEATH CULT

[Musically, this is a mixed bag. Liz Goodman produced this set and for the most part, she did an excellent job. There are some problematic selections, and of course the stuff that's not here is just as troubling, but then that's what themed various artist box sets are about.

SEX GANG CHILDREN

Disc one kicks off with Joy Division's "Dead Souls." While it's true that the overwhelming majority would look to JD as one of the penultimate Goth progenitors, it's still an argumentative choice. What about Bauhaus? The Sisters of Mercy? Uh huh. March Violets? Of course.

THE DANSE SOCIETY

Danse Society? You bet. Virgin Prunes? OK, but that's only part of what they were about as a band. The point is, so many of these selections may have been embraced by those who love Goth music, but weren't bands that necessarily tried, or even wanted to, appeal to that gloom and doom rock & roll subculture.

MIRANDA SEX GARDEN

Another instance: the Misfits "Halloween" is here, but nothing from former frontman Glenn Danzig's Black Aria project, which is overtly Gothic music. The Misfits, the Damned, the Jesus and Mary Chain, Echo & the Bunnymen, Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, the Birthday Party, Ministry, and the Chameleons U.K. just don't belong here.

SIOUXSIE SIOUX & ROBERT SMITH

The Cure is deeply arguable as well. And then there's the sheer volume of post-Bauhaus projects included here. You get the original, but was it necessary to include Tones on Tail, Love and Rockets, Dali's Car, or Peter Murphy's (or "Blitz" as he was known to the late John Peel) and Daniel Ash's solo properties?

MINISTRY

There are some genius choices here too, though, such as Kommunity FK's "To Blame," .45 Grave's "Party Time," the Cranes' "Starblood," and Rose of Avalanche's "Dreamland," are just a few.

LOVE AND ROCKETS

There are some rather interesting choices in London After Midnight's "Kiss," Red Lorry Yellow Lorry's "Walking on Your Hands," and Ghost Dance's "The Grip of Love."

KILLING JOKE

Much of the standard fare is here as well: "Bela Lugosi's Dead" is here on DVD, as is "She's in Parties," "Snake Dance" by the March Violets, the Cocteau Twins' "Blood Bitch," and tracks by Flesh for Lulu, Gene Loves Jezebel, Xmal Deustschland, Sex Gang Children, and Southern Death Cult.

JOY DIVISION

It's great as far as it goes. But what about all the bands on the Projekt label, the longest running, willfully Goth project out there for almost two decades? These are the most obvious omissions, but there certainly are others.

FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM

Where is Mass and the other half-a-dozen 4AD bands who most certainly were Goth? It appears that Goodman was too selective in places and not subjective in others.
By Thom Jurek]

GENE LOVES JEZEBEL

In his insightful notes for Rhino's unprecedented new box, Goth expert Mick Mercer writes, Goth blossomed on the gritty soil of punk; forever indebted, essentially different.

FLESH FOR LULU

It has survived all manner of invective and unhealthy assumptions to become a shining example of music made because it needs to be, not because of anything the performers expect to get out of it. This is art which gets inside your heart.

Einstürzende Neubauten

The artists featured on this 3CD & 1 DVD collection, the most comprehensive of its kind, indeed created affecting music about what passionately mattered to them, and what started as intense personal expression evolved into a 'lifestyle' for the core audience who most embraced its deep and dark ethos.

Reveling in introspection and entranced with sex, death, the life of the mind, and musical poetry, Goth's power to fascinate has never waned, making it one of the most complex and enduring sub-sets of underground music ever.

DEAD CAN DANCE

(Perhaps the most mocked, maligned, and misunderstood of rock subgenres, goth's gloomy aesthetic encompasses a host of different styles: glam, punk, metal, disco, New Wave, industrial, psychedelia, murder ballads, classical, and endless permutations thereof.

DALI'S CAR

Stranger still, it has thrived outside the mainstream for nearly 30 years even as many of its major artists have experienced some degree of pop success: The Cure, Siouxsie Sioux, Ian Astbury, Nick Cave, and the Bauhaus family have all emerged from their coffins into the Top 40 at some point.

COCTEAU TWINS

Others, such as Echo & the Bunnymen, Jesus & Mary Chain, and Ministry, aren't expressly goth but share enough affinity for the theatrical and/or macabre to merit inclusion on Rhino's A Life Less Lived.

CHRISTIAN DEATH

Notwithstanding the cheesy leatherette packaging, this 3-CD/1-DVD set is as comprehensive a survey as possible for a label that applies equally to the Misfits' horror-punk, Einstürzende Neubauten's sturm and clang, and Dead Can Dance's wispy arcana.

CLAN OF XYMOX

Save godfather-of-goth Alice Cooper, all the figureheads are well-represented, including their work before, after, and between their best-known bands: the Birthday Party, Tones on Tail, Creatures, Dali's Car, Southern Death Cult. Either by influence or simply their ever-changing lineup, the Sisters of Mercy alone seem responsible for every third song.

BAUHAUS

The few American groups to dent the scene – Christian Death, 45 Grave, Kommunity FK – get their due, while floridly named forgotten heroes like Alien Sex Fiend and Lords of the New Church are resurrected in all their eldritch glory. The DVD is predictably top-notch: "Lullaby," "Bela Lugosi's Dead," "Cities in Dust," etc.

These days, goth may mean a Hot Topic fashion victim to most or a convenient tag to hang on angsty bands like Evanescence, AFI, and My Chemical Romance, but even that demonstrates its pervasive influence and undead staying power. Release the bats. )

V.A - A Life Less Lived (The Gothic Box)
Label: Rhino Records – R2 73374
Format:    Box Set
3 x CD, Compilation, Remastered
DVD, DVD-Video, Compilation
Country: US
Released: Sep 19, 2006
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative Rock, Industrial, Indie Rock, New Wave, Goth Rock, Dark Wave

CD1.

                                   

01. Joy Division: Dead Souls    4:55
02. The Cure: Charlotte Sometimes    4:12
03. Bauhaus: She's In Parties    5:44
04. The Sisters Of Mercy: Temple Of Love    7:41
05. Tones On Tail: Christain Says    3:42
06. The Birthday Party: Mutiny In Heaven    4:15
07. Siouxsie & The Banshees: Spellbound    3:17
08. The Southern Death Cult: Fatman    3:45
09. Love And Rockets: Mirror People    4:05
10. Fields Of The Nephilim: Power    4:42
11. Alien Sex Fiend: Now I'm Feeling Zombified    9:16
12. The March Violets: Snake Dance    4:08
13. Red Lorry Yellow Lorry: Walking On Your Hands    2:38
14. Specimen: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang    4:19
15. The Mission UK: Wasteland    4:46
16. Ghost Dance: The Grip Of Love    3:07
17. Dali's Car:    His Box    4:39

MP3 @ 320 Size: 185 MB
Flac  Size: 532 MB

CD2.

                                      

01. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: The Weeping Song    4:23
02. The Creatures: Exterminating Angel    5:49
03. Death Cult: God's Zoo    3:25
04. Gene Loves Jezebel:    Heartache    4:22
05. Flesh For Lulu: I Go Crazy    3:50
06. Peter Murphy: Cuts You Up    5:27
07. The Lords Of The New Church: Open Your Eyes    3:28
08. The Danse Society: Heaven Is Waiting    3:44
09. Echo & The Bunnymen: All My Colours    4:02
10. The Chameleons UK: Don't Fall    4:04
11. The Rose Of Avalanche: Dreamland    3:58
12. The Jesus And Mary Chain: Fall    2:28
13. Daniel Ash: Coming Down Fast    2:55
14. Clan Of Xymox: Muscoviet Mosquito    4:31
15. X Mal Deutschland: Incubus Succubuss II    4:47
16. Cranes: Starblood    3:37
17. Miranda Sex Garden: Ardera Sempre    4:51
18. Cocteau Twin: Blood Bitch    4:36
19. Dead Can Dance: The Arcane    3:46

MP3 @ 320 Size: 183 MB
Flac  Size: 524 MB

CD3.

                           

01. The Cult: Rain    3:57
02. The Bolshoi: Away    4:55
03. Rubicon: Watch Without Pain    4:39
04. Virgin Prunes: Pagan Lovesong    3:28
05. Einstürzende Neubauten: Morning Dew    4:53
06. Throbbing Gristle: Hamburger Lady    4:09
07. Kommunity FK: To Blame    5:22
08. The Damned: Melody Lee    2:07
09. Christian Death: Romeo's Distress    3:16
10. 45 Grave: Party Time    3:17
11. London After Midnight: Kiss    6:22
12. Sex Gang Children: Dieche    4:30
13. Skinny Puppy: Assimilate    6:57
14. Misfits: Halloween    1:47
15. Killing Joke: Tomorrow's World    5:27
16. Ministry: So What    8:13
17. AFI: The Hanging Garden    4:22

MP3 @ 320 Size: 182 MB
Flac  Size: 533 MB