Customer Reviews

Crackle: The Best Of Bauhaus

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4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is probably the best collection to start with if you're interested in discovering the joy that is Bauhaus. It starts off with stuff from the first releases In The Flat Field and Mask, and then get's into the last couple releases The Sky's Gone Out and Burning From the Inside, along with a great cover of David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" for good measure (to make up for the cover of "Telegram Sam" I assume). This record is a good deciding point on whether you'd like to pursue Bauhaus or not. If you like Crackle you'll probably like the studio albums from Bauhaus, and if you don't like it then at least you've gotten the gist of it without spending over $.

Bauhaus is not a melodic band nor are they a metal band. They don't try to hit you with sugary hooks and sing along lyrics nor do they attempt to hit you with rapid-fire thrash metal. They are an old school gloomy "Goth" band that the musical press once described as "a funeral dirge." Goth rock (and especially early, old school goth) was characterized by having three qualities to it - a slightly punk edge, a sublime metal edge but also a heavy influence of "art" or "artistic" rock. This "art rock" influence, in addition to the other influences, made them less attractive to hardcore punks and metalheads. Goth is a heavy dose of art rock blended with punk and a dash of metal. Perhaps in parody of the art rock influence in goth, this band is called Bauhaus - German for "art house."

Their songs are splintered, fractal slabs of rock with sparse lyrics and harsh, even weird delivery (Peter Murphy one of rock's weirdest vocalists). This was never meant to go mainstream yet somehow it did, with a certain crowd. The secret, hidden appeal of this band seems to be their very abstractness in itself. It's an elusive, gloomy quality that makes this band last throughout the ages.

Highlights include:

Bela Lugosi is Dead - song about Bela Lugosi, the famous actor who played the original Hollywood incarnation of Dracula.

The Sanity Assassin - energetic number about a mysterious, abstract character who makes people go crazy.

Double Dare - one of their most aggressive tracks, showing the punk and metal elements actually overpowering the art stuff.

The original version of "Bela Lugosi's Dead" that appears here clinches it. This version has a lot of trippy studio effects and what-not that make it much more essential than the live version on 1979-83 Vol. 1. (although that one's cool too). CRACKLE is a cool collection, although I wouldn't call all of it great. Peter Murphy clearly has some vocal limitations, but he manages to sound good and appropriately creepy much of the time. Their version of "Ziggy Stardust" isn't much different than the original on its face, but they somehow manage to make it their own anyway. It's pretty cool. I'm less thrilled with the strange cross-breed of goth and disco that is "Kick in the Eye," and the B-side stuck on the end ("Crowds") is plain gross, with one of the worst vocals ever recorded.

Not a perfect collection, and as another reviewer pointed out, some essentials are missing such as "Stigmata Martyr." I agree the producers missed an opportunity to make a perfect Bauhaus collection. Certainly they've made enough great songs to fill one disk. Still, there's a lot of good stuff here and I would recommend this as a good starting place. Those new to Bauhaus really need to hear the original "Bela," and this collection will give them a good idea about whether or not they want to explore more of this band's dark music.

Pete Murphy, feedback, Love & Rockets spinoff, non-Goth Goths, Maxell tapes, we were all there...If you've not heard anything by this band then some caution is required. Bauhaus are not for everyone. Sometimes I'm not even sure they're for me. However, this CD does have some classic cuts that can't help make you think Bauhaus flirted with genius at points in their career (Bela Lugosi, Ziggy Stardust etc) whilst mediocrity also came knocking every so often.

Even though fanatics might say it comes up short, if you're looking for just one "Bauhaus" disc, this is it. What IS here, is 16 tracks of some of the best goth-punk you can get your hands on, from the godfathers of the genre. From the classic "Bela Lugosi's Dead", to the David Bowie cover of "Ziggy Stardust", everything on "Crackle" is worth a listen. After they broke up, "Peter Murphy" went solo, and eventually released a greatest hits album, and "Daniel Ash" and "David J" went on to form "Love and Rockets", who also just released a "best of". All three of these are essential.

I had just started to lose hope that I would ever find anything different in music when a friend of mine recommended Bauhaus to me. That was two years ago, and in my opinion, Bauhaus is one of the best goth bands to have ever walked the earth. With the ever-familiar Bela Lugosi's Dead to Dark Entries and the best cover of Ziggy Stardust ever to be done, Crackle is my highest recommendation to anyone delving into the gothic genre of music. It doesn't have ALL of their best...but, it's what I started with, and it was enough to convince me.
I also have to warn anyone looking for something like Marilyn Manson or any such thing...Bauhaus is not metal. They do not scream words that you can't understand, and it's not something everyone will be into. However, the dark melodies and poetic lyrics are the finest aspects of Bauhaus and any other band of it's ilk, and I for one do recommend them to anyone looking for a change of pace.

OK, listen. Bauhaus were amongst the first Goth superstars, and one of the greatest bands ever to sing about love and death, and they have the hands-down-best version of Ziggy Stardust. If you think you might like Goth music because you liked Dark City, if that Vast song or the new Radiohead really appealed to you and you want to check out the source, or if you just want to understand why your girlfriend always wears crinkly black things, you might as well go to the original masters. That would be Bauhaus. Welcome to a dark world, I hope you like it here. This is a fine representative album containing most of their anthems, including the ultimate single "Bela Lugosi's Dead". That's the advice for newbies. If, on the other hand, you already know you like first wave Goth music, don't bother with this one unless you've lost your vinyl copy of Bela. Bauhaus' best collection is still the Peel Sessions, AKA "Swing the Heartache". But the truth is, it's worth getting the original albums and not bothering with the collections. IMHO anyway. Best place to start is "Burning from the Inside".

If you are not already a fan of goth music, it must be admitted that this type of music can be a sort of "acquired taste." Nonetheless, if you are interested in becoming a fan, Crackle by Bauhaus is an excellent place to start. This CD has some of the best music of these "Masters of Goth." It includes the magnificent "Bela Lugosi's Dead," a personal favorite of mine and many other excellent songs that will make you happy you bought this album.

Here it is. Bauhaus is one of the Goth "name" bands, one of those founding groups that you just have to know about. The problem is that unless you wanted to search through it was hard to tell the dross from the jewels. This album remedies that problem for those not "in the know". All the essentials are here (Bela Lugosi's Dead, She's In Parites, etc.). This is what a "greatest hits" should be -- a pleasure for those who already knew, an overview for those who did not. Well worth listening to if you have any interest in this style of music.

If I was asked to pick my favorite gothic band I would pick Bauhaus. The lyrics were so beautifully written, and the tune made even more better...With a talented lead singer Peter Murphey to make it even better. To this day hes still out there doing what he use to. He doesnt care what people think about him nowadays cause thats who he is he wants to be who he wants to be.