Love And Rockets: 5 Albums Box 2013

 

The band's name was derived from the comic by Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez, which Gilbert later mocked in his book Love and Rockets X, where there were several different bands named "Love and Rockets" for a period.
                          

Love and Rockets comprised guitarist/vocalist Daniel Ash, bassist/vocalist David J, and drummer

Kevin Haskins, all former members of the pioneering goth band Bauhaus. Despite their previous band's status as gothic rock icons, Love and Rockets moved away from that genre, as demonstrated by their first minor hit being a cover of the Motown classic "Ball of Confusion".
                                                

Their first album release, "Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven" (1985), leaned more towards post-punk,

psychedelic music and proto-rave atmospheres. Their second release, "Express" (1986), continued in that vein. It included the dance hit "Yin and Yang (the Flowerpot Man)." The 1987 follow up "Earth, Sun, Moon" had a folkier sound and spawned the minor hit "No New Tale to Tell."
                                              

However, the group didn't sound very similar to its first incarnation. Instead, Love and Rockets

emphasized the strains of psychedelia and glam rock that appeared underneath Bauhaus' gloomy drone, adding elements of pop songcraft, folk, and R&B, as well as cryptic, self-important lyrics. For most of the late '80s, the group had a devoted cult following, resulting in a surprise Top Ten hit single, "So Alive," in 1989. During the early '90s, the group's audience steadily declined, although they still retained a number of loyal fans.
                                        

After Bauhaus broke up in 1983, David J recorded a solo album and collaborated with the Jazz Butcher,

while Daniel Ash concentrated on a side project, Tones on Tail. Haskins soon joined Tones on Tail, but the group folded in 1984. Haskins and Ash then attempted to reunite Bauhaus. David J agreed to the project, but the band's lead vocalist, Peter Murphy, refused. Instead of pursuing an incomplete Bauhaus reunion, Ash, J, and Haskins formed Love and Rockets, taking their name from the underground comic book created by Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez.
                                    

Love and Rockets released their first album, Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven, in 1985; it received

mixed reviews but it began to build their following. Express, released the following year, was more successful, charting in both the U.S. and the U.K. On Earth Sun Moon (1987) the band retreated to more atmospheric musical territory, with the notable exception of the alternative/college radio hit "No New Tale to Tell," which helped increase the group's fan base. Love and Rockets, released in 1989, broke the band into the mainstream, thanks to the T. Rex-inspired Top Ten single "So Alive."
                                  

The album was nearly as successful, breaking into the Top 20 and going gold. After a grueling tour

schedule in support of their big hit, Love and Rockets took a few years off before returning to the studio together. The result was a move to an electronic sound that had more in common with the Orb than their rock or goth roots. Their label, RCA Records, dropped them. They signed with Rick Rubin's American Recordings to release "Hot Trip to Heaven" (1994), followed in 1996 by "Sweet F.A.".
                                       

After the success of Love and Rockets, the members of the band concentrated on solo projects for nearly a half-decade. Love and Rockets returned to recording in 1994 with Hot Trip to Heaven, which

failed to make any inroads on the pop or alternative charts. In 1996, they returned again with Sweet F.A., and Lift followed two years later. Love and Rockets announced in October 2007 on their MySpace page that they would reform to play one song at "Cast a Long Shadow," a tribute to Joe Strummer and benefit for Strummerville, The Joe Strummer Foundation For New Music, on December 22, 2007 at the Key Club in West Hollywood, California. They covered "Should I Stay Or Should I Go," playing the song twice, the second time inviting members of the audience to join them onstage to sing along.
                                                  

                                 
They performed 27 April 2008 at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and also at Lollapalooza on 3 August 2008 in Chicago.

LOVE AND ROCKETS - 5 ALBUMS BOX

                                  

The new Love and Rockets set collects the band’s ’80s albums — Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven,

Express, Earth.Sun.Moon and Love and Rockets, each with bonus tracks from previous reissues — plus a new compilation called Assorted! that features the Swing! and Bubblemen EPs, six live tracks, a stray B-side and the previously unreleased song “Sorted”, plus an additional collection of rarities.
                            

Although it may not be the type of package that fans think the trio deserves, there's little else to quibble about here. Every single track is in place, including both Canadian and U.S. mixes or edits of several

early singles ("Ball of Confusion," "If There's a Heaven Above," "Haunted When the Minutes Drag") that divided fans, plus their alias single as the Bubblemen and six live tracks recorded in December 1987. The earlier editions of these albums had been showing their age (and lack of remastering) for many years, so it's a treat to have the seminal, underappreciated, prime-era work of Love and Rockets available in a pristine digital mastering. 

                                                                   

Love And Rockets! – 5 Albums
Label: Beggars Archive – BBQCD 2102
Series: 5 Albums, Beggars Archive
Format: CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Box Set, Compilation
Country: UK & Europe
Released: May 13, 2013
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative Rock, New Wave

DISC 1.    SEVENTH DREAM OF TEENAGE HEAVEN 1985       

                                   

01. If There's A Heaven Above    4:58
02. A Private Future    5:07
03. The Dog-End Of A Day Gone By    7:38
04. The Game    5:09
05. Seventh Dream Of Teenage Heaven    6:37
06. Haunted When The Minutes Drag    8:04
07. Saudade  (Arranged By [String Arrangement] – John A. Rivers/
Electric Guitar – David J)   5:01

BONUS TRACKS       

                                       

  
08. Ball Of Confusion (12" UK Mix)  (Composed By – Norman Whitfield And Barrett Strong)   7:20
09. Inside The Outside    4:23
10. If There's A Heaven Above (12" UK Mix)    7:00
11. God And Mr. Smith    4:50
12. Haunted When The Minutes Drag (USA Mix)    4:32
13. If There's A Heaven Above (Canada Mix)    4:26

MP3 @ 320 Size: 175 MB
FLAC  Size: 503 MB

DISC 2.    << EXPRESS >>    1986

                                              

01. It Could Be Sunshine    4:59
02. Kundalini Express    5:52
03. All In My Mind    4:43
04. Life In Laralay    3:32
05. Yin And Yang (The Flowerpot Man)    5:56
06. Love Me    3:55
07. All In My Mind (Acoustic Version)    5:05
08. An American Dream  (Choir – Alan Brookes, James Lowry, Robert Willey/
Chorus Master [Choir Master] – Allan Baker)   6:09

BONUS TRACKS       

                                         

  
09. Angels And Devils    6:10
10. Holiday On The Moon    6:07
11. Lucifer Sam  (Composed By – Syd Barrett)   3:21
12. B Side # 1    1:17
13. B Side # 2    1:32
14. Yin And Yang (The Flowerpot Man) (Remix)    5:29
15. Ball Of Confusion (USA Mix)  (Composed By – Norman Whitfield And Barrett Strong)   6:17

MP3 @ 320 Size: 164 MB
FLAC  Size: 503 MB

DISC 3.    EARTH . SUN . MOON    1987   

                                              

01. Mirror People    4:06
02. The Light    4:17
03. Welcome Tomorrow    3:36
04. No New Tale To Tell  (Flute [Monkey Flute] – Mel Thorpe)   3:26
05. Here On Earth    3:10
06. Lazy    3:12
07. Waiting For The Flood    3:38
08. Rain Bird    3:17
09. The Telephone Is Empty    4:00
10. Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven    5:13
11. Earth, Sun, Moon    3:34
12. Youth    4:42

BONUS TRACK       

                                       

  
13. Mirror People (Slow Version)    4:27

MP3 @ 320 Size: 120 MB
FLAC  Size: 331 MB

DISC 4.   LOVE AND ROCKETS    1989

                                        

  
01. (Jungle Law)    4:32
02. No Big Deal    4:56
03. The Purest Blue  (Engineer – Whispering Angus)   3:44
04. Motorcycle    3:31
05. I Feel Speed    3:25
06. Bound For Hell    6:01
07. The Teardrop Collector  (Synth [String Synth] – John Fryer)   4:09
08. So Alive  (Backing Vocals – Lorna Wright, Ruby James, Sylvia Mason James)   4:16
09. Rock And Roll Babylon  (Arranged By [String Arrangement] – Bill Thorp/Cello – Josie Abbott/Viola – Penny Thomposon/Violin – Bill Thorp, Brian Brooks)   3:22
10. No Words No More    3:50

BONUS TRACKS

                                          

  
11. Bike    3:54
12. Bikedance    7:08
13. No Big Deal (12" Remix)    7:11
14. Dreamtime    8:41

MP3 @ 320 Size: 161 MB
FLAC  Size: 418 MB

DISC 5.    ASSORTED!   2013   

                                   

01. Mirror People '88 (Full Length Version)    5:26
02. Wake Up    4:00
03. Cuckoo Land    2:49
04. The Early Worm    2:13
05. 1000 Watts Of Your Love    2:50
06. Bad Monkey    4:22
07. David Lanfair    7:13
08. Sorted    3:40
09. Mirror People (Live)    5:03
10. No New Tale To Tell (Live)    3:34
11. Seventh Dream Of Teenage Heaven (Live)    7:18
12. Love Me (Live)    4:31
13. Kundalini Express (Live)    5:08
14. Lazy (Live)    3:34

THE BUBBLEMEN           

15. The Bubblemen – The Bubblemen Are Coming    5:14
16. The Bubblemen – The Bubblemen Rap    5:21
17. The Bubblemen – Dub Rap    5:23
18. The Bubblemen – B Side (Edit)    2:13
                                                  

The Bubblemen were a side project formed in 1988 by the members of alternative rock band Love and Rockets. Love and Rockets members Daniel Ash (guitar, saxophone and vocals), David J (bass and vocals) and Kevin Haskins (drums, synthesizers) dressed up in bee-like costumes for performances.

MP3 @ 320 Size: 186 MB
FLAC  Size: 535 MB

Assorted Details:

5-1, 5-7 and 5-9 taken from the "Mirror People" 12".
5-2 to 5-6 are the tracks originally intended to be released as "Swing EP", available before only with this 2002 release; "Love And Rockets / Swing!".
5-8 otherwise unpublished.
5-10, 5-13, 5-14 not released otherwise before.
5-11 and 5-12 taken from the "No New Tale To Tell" 12".
5-15 to 5-17 originally published using the alias, The Bubblemen, on their "The Bubblemen Are Coming!" release.
5-18 originally published using the alias, The Bubblemen, but is in an edited form from its original full-length version on their "The Bubblemen Are Coming!" release.