Customer Reviews

Alive Just for Love

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a rule, I find live albums to be overly indulgent product... usually of questionable sound quality and rarely offering any insight or improvement on the studio versions of the music. There are exceptions of course (see Nirvana's "Unplugged in New York"), and thankfully this outstanding effort by Mister Murphy is just such a rarity. Containing the entire set as it was played at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles in november, aLive Justforlove is a beautifully realized revisiting of some of the finest moments from what is truly an amazing body of work. From the entrancing "All Night Long" to the achingly beautiful "Indigo Eyes" and "Marlene Dietrich's Favourite Poem" and on through the more full productions of "I'll Fall With Your Knife" and "Gliding Like A Whale" the musicians create a loving framework in which the full depth and stark beauty of these songs is wonderously apparent. Accompanied only by Peter DiStefano on guitar and Hugh Marsh on electric violin, Mister Murphy strips down these lush and poetic songs.... in many cases totally reinventing them, showcasing not only his gift for evocative and gorgeous lyricism but also his rich, expressive voice. In many cases live albums may serve as a sort of greatest hits compilation for an artist, in the case of aLive Justforlove the songs are presented in such strikingly original compositions that it stands alone as an album unto itself. For the uninitiated, Mister Murphy is one of the most intelligent and compelling songwriters and vocalists making music today, and this album offers intriguing possibilities as to the direction of his future work. With an stellar second disc featuring an encore performed with Bauhaus cohort David J, aLive Justforlove is required listening for even a passive fan, and for those unlucky enough to have not yet been exposed to this work it offers a hypnotic overview of Peter Murphy's career that will leave them scrambling to find the rest of his discography. Impressive, fragile, lush and lovely.

Ok, this isn't a typical live album. To promote his best-of album, Murphy assembled an all-star band of sorts featuring members of Bauhaus, Porno for Pyros and Jane's Addiction. For this tour, he took a drastically different course employing only 2 other musicians, a violinist and a synth-guitarist, to back him up. The result was a very stripped down, honest sound. This album has my favorite versions of Subway (although the Dust version is a close second) and Marlene Dietrich's Favourite Poem. For the second disk Peter is joined by ex Bauhaus bandmate David J for memorable versions of some Bauhaus songs. Another great album by one of the best vocalists ever.

While I am one of the biggest Peter Murphy fans ...I thoroughly enjoyed this album .... I have to say that I wish he would spice things up again and move away from the adult contemporary path down which he seems to be treading. Granted, the songs are becoming more personal and more of a religious experience for Peter, but I miss the fire of earlier works. However, this album showcases a smoldering side of Peter's work, accented by talented artists DeStefano and Marsh, and once again atests to the man's talent to capture the mood. Anything that includes this man's voice is going to resonate, and I highly recommend the album. Standouts for me include 'Subway', the great guitar work on 'Gliding Like a Whale', and the perfect and pure rendition of 'Indigo Eyes'. Now go buy it.

if you've seen the man live, buy this for a great memento of his awesome performance... if you love peter, and many of you do, get it anyway. he'll love you and you'll love yourself for it too.

the recording is amazingly clean for a live album. natural pauses and commentary from peter, the band, and the crowd lilt between songs.

another couple of reasons that you MUST own this: hugh marsh plays an INCREDIBLE electric violin, which enhances "Indigo Eyes" (a version that rivals the album version by far) and "Marlene Dietrich's Favourite Poem."

If you're not already in love with Peter's voice and art, you will be by the time this album is finsihed. Just don't listen to it while driving... I nearly ran off of the road during a cursory listen on the highway! Listen and fly to the stars...

a showcase for the deep haunting voice of Mr. Murphy. the song's arrangements are sparse and spare and it works as a beautiful minimal piece of recorded live music. the sound quality is pristine and the song selection is superb. a cool document for his fans and the bonus disc should thrill all the bauhaus enthusiasts.

I love PM. I was so damn excited about this CD and he sings well and the band is perfect for this. Its the crowd noise up in the mix that makes this thing not get played that often. Its like a Beatles concert and there is this one woman(girl I would imagine) who seems to be having some sort of orgasm the whole show. hard to believe she is enjoying the music with he mouth open the whole way.
Anyway..its a must own for all PM collectors and if they were to take off the crowd noise I would play this constantly.

Peter just continuously blows me away. "Just for Love Live" is a brilliant performance I only wish I could have seen live; however, for a live double disk, it does capture the overall vibe, atmosphere, and the quality; absolutely excellent for a live CD.

He seduces us with a diverse array of material that spans from his solo career, and surprises us on the second disk with an appearance by David J, and with it, 3 Bauhaus songs -- a rarity in itself. What I found most impressive about this album is how Murphy converted several of his older songs, and enhanced them with Turkish instruments, allowing us an opportunity to hear his dearly beloved older songs with an underlay of unique instruments by unique musicians. It is an absolutely wonderful double CD, and I strongly encourage anyone who is into Peter, Bauhaus, and the slew of others, to grab this and expect a new sound beneath Peter's brilliant, and highly developed voice!

Richard C Williams
I encourage feedback by fans or those who might disagree.

I have been a Peter Murphy fan for over 15 years and I have to admit this is the first time I was disappointed with something that he has released. A couple of reasons for the disappointment. 1) It sounded as if some of the songs were the first time that they had been played. In the first song, for example, it sounds like the guitar player and Peter could never really get their timing right and it ends up sounding sloppy. 2) When I first heard about this CD I was hoping for a true 'acoustic' performance similar to what I have seen on his tours during encores. But it sounded like there were still some sample tracks on songs. Maybe I was hoping for PM 'unplugged', but it just sounds too much like PM minus a drummer at times. If you are a faithful fan, then I would recommend the CD, but if you are just a casual listener then I would have to say wait until his new release later this year.

To convey what music does to you is impossible.Another way to put it; to describe how the wind feels on your cheek in words ...futile. You`ve simply got to go out and find that wind and stand in it..only then can you witness it`s reality.
Well, you can see what I`m getting at can`t you ?
Even if you can`t afford to buy this record, go and bootleg one from a friend or sranger for that, get yourself in that wind and get blown away.
I suspect we ain`t seen nothin yet, and that the next album (finished and due I hear early new 2002 year) will turn metal into gold....
Go take your ablutions and get Murphy into your life.

If you love Peter Murphy for his singing, you'll probably enjoy this album more than I do. It is a good album, no doubt, but I now realize that for me "his" music appeals to me as a whole, so the stripped down sound doesn't do it for me in the way I expected ("his" because most music seems to be written by collaborators, not him). True fans will no doubt want to own it though.