Customer Reviews

First & Last & Always

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought FALAA after I had bought Floodland, and I was suprised when the former was so noticeably different from the latter. This is, in my opinion, the Sisters of Mercy at the top of their form; the album is an absolute treat.

The most striking thing about FALAA is its masterful consistency- this is a testament to what an album should sound like in execution. The songs stand apart well enough to be memorable as individual pieces but are cohesive enough to make the whole satisfying and coherent.

And the songs themselves are all fantastic. In a true display of the original band's talent and skill, they manage to make dreary, brooding lyrical subjects into beautiful pop songs. "Marian [Version]" is a hauntingly immaculate number that can be described as "just plain pretty". It also has one of Eldritch's best vocal performances- he drops his voice to a soft, melodic baritone and croons (or as close to crooning as he's gotten) out the lyrics. In the gorgeously minimal "Nine While Nine" he laments over a love gone sour to a piano tune. "Some Kind Of Stranger" is among the most haunting of the bunch, as Eldritch gradually digresses into a desperate wail as the song moves along. Fast and catchy dance tunes like "Walk Away", "Rock and a Hard Place" and "Logic" inject movement and energy when needed.

The album's title track, and one of my favorites, shows just how excellent a guitarist the musically-underrated Wayne Hussey is. The whole album does. His guitar work is one of the key ingredients into making this such a fantastic listen. His focus isn't on the mindless execution of three chords, but on structure and melody.

This is an example of soild, well-structured pop brilliance. There's not a single track that necessitates skipping over- they're all damn good. This is a true album, not just a collection of bare-bones studio drudgery punctuated by singles. It works best as a whole, and that's how it should be listend to. Dreary? A tad. Brooding? Sure. Overly dramatic? Of course. But that's why this album is a true gem- the fact that it can be all those things and still be beautiful, original and satisfying. An absolute must.

The Sisters of Mercy have some of the most loyal followings out there. Their fans like to dissect every song to the tiniest level of detail. They go as far as comparing the vinyl version to the single version to the cd to the single, and so on.

So, yes, this cd is different than the original First, Last and Always cd. I own both, and I think that the remaster definitely has a fuller sound, without going into it chord by chord. I think that I can strongly recommend this cd to any Sister fan for the following reasons:

1. If you are new to the band, get this version, as the sound quality is better, and it does contain bonus tracks, some of which are still crowd favorites (On the Wire is very frequently played live). The songs themselves are classics - Some Kind of Stranger is a brooding love song with nice guitar and vocal harmonies. Sisters have played it live in mix with Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb!? Marian is a haunting tune with nice bass-lines, and Nine While Nine is another gem. This entire cd flows well and will not disappoint.

2. If you're a casual fan and own the first issue, you will want this for the bonus tracks alone.

3. If you're a hardcore fan and own everything that Sisters have ever realeased, I guess that it is automatic to add another one to the collection. :)

FALLA is the late, first LP from The Sisters of Mercy. Mere months after its release, they would lose a founding member (Gary Marx) before imploding in the summer of 1985 when Wayne Hussey and Craig Adams walked as well.

This is, however, an indispensable album from a band often imitated but never duplicated. Still considered pre-eminent 'gothsters', the Sisters hold up remarkably well on all of their material. There isn't a weak track here. Ignore what you hear about it being 'too goth' or 'not goth' of whatever. It's an awesome debut, period.

Black Planet is the perfect kickoff; this is the only song from the album never performed live. From there we get the driving Walk Away and No Time to Cry, with their Hussey influence (heavier on choruses, etc). Then the bouncy Rock and a Hard Place before slowing down into the swirling, desperate Marian, which is perhaps guilty of sounding a little too goth, but I chalk that up to the production. The title track is still performed live and sounds great on record. Possession has some great lyrics, Nine While Nine is a gorgeous, melancholy love song of sorts, and Logic is really supposed to be called Amphetamine Logic, with its desperate tone--'One life, all I need!' (Apparently, the record label didn't want 'Amphetamine' on the album). And it ends on the beautiful Some Kind of Stranger, which was often combined with a cover of Comfortably Numb live. As a lyricist, Eldritch puts most rockers to shame; he puts a lot into every line.

If this album sounds like some other band you've been listening to, chances are it's because the Sisters have heavily influenced that band. Many a band tried to adapt their sound, and especially Eldritch's vocals (Fields of the Nephilim, anyone?) but there is only one Sisters.

While Floodland is considered the Sisters' finest moment (rightly), FALAA is a must-have. Hussey brought a better feel for textures and the structure of traditional rock songs. However, even Eldritch considers the production here to be a little off. Indeed, the record could have done better at capturing the twin guitar attack of the band; too often we don't get the color work that makes the songs richer when you hear a live bootleg from this period (before Marx walked). Try listening to a bootleg of Rock and a Hard Place or No Time To Cry (especially when they still had two guitars) and you'll see that FALAA as an album needs a little bit more oomph.

However, this is nitpicking and hindsight, especially after hearing bootlegs of this heavily bootlegged band.

Eldritch's voice sounds almost over the top on this album, and indeed, it would mix in better on the later two albums, but it's still a perfect match for the music. It's a shame that so many groups took it all too seriously and felt compelled to shamelessly ape Eldritch, but such is rock. (Listen to Fields of the Nephilim for an example of an out and out rip-off, or The Wake for an American Sisters of Mercy-sound-alike band.)

This comes highly recommended, along with all of the other commercially available Sisters material. Most every song on FALAA was performed live, so you can hunt down bootlegs offering versions that are more dynamic.

After years of obscure demo's and some notable classics ("Body Electric", "Temple of Love", "Alice", "Gimme Shelter") all compiled on "Some Girls Wander by Mistake", this marks the beginning of three superb albums by the Sisters of Mercy. "First and Last and Always" (followed by "Floodland" and "Vision Thing") is a very strong debut album. It contains the somewhat radio friendly singles "Walk Away" and "No Time to Cry". The rest of the album is very dark. Eldritch' cemetery voice is perfectly offset by almost danceable electronic drums performed by the living drum machine Dr. Avalanche. "Marian" is haunting with dark german lyrics showing up halfway through the song. "First and Last and Always", "Nine while Nine" and "Logic" are very strong compositions with their repetive, hypnotic rhythms. This is not just goth-music, this is a milestone.

To begin, I'm not going to do a track by track review of this album. I suspect that those considering this already have the original CD release and are considering if this version is worth buying a second time. Let me say emphatically that YES indeed it is worth purchasing again.

First, let's have a brief history lesson. "First and Last and Always" was originally released in 1985 on vinyl and, of course, cassette. A few years later the CD version was released, but it didn't sound exactly the same as the original vinyl. The master tapes were obviously remixed or "enhanced" for CD, so the mix came out with a very up front, forward sound (or more "oomph" as another reviewer called it). This is either a curse or a blessing depending on your listening tastes.

With this re-release, the sound of the original mix is intact! If you've never heard the vinyl version, the sound at first may seem a bit suppressed. Turn the volume up! If you've grown accustomed to the fleshier version of the original CD release, it may take a few listens to appreciate the sound contained herein.

Let's move on to the bonus tracks. "On the Wire" and "Poison Door" were originally featured on the "Walk Away" single. "Bury Me Deep" and "Blood Money" were originally on the "No Time to Cry" single. Until now, they were only available on the original vinyl singles. Ditto for "Long Train." The final track, to the best of my knowledge, was never featured on any official release. Ladies and gentlemen, these six bonus tracks are worth the price of admission in themselves. These are not tedious "B sides" by any means! In fact, I'd venture far enough to declare that the bonus cuts are every bit as good as the singles they accompanied.

Go get this CD! No Sisters collection will be complete without it. I'll be sure to post my thoughts when I get the latest version of "Floodland" and "Vision Thing."

Wow, finally the end all of this the classic First, Last and Always. Eldritch finally gets it right! (kinda maybe)
Eldritch gave up the "Production was iffy" stance and let the `original' album live. Yes this at times sounds demo'ish but never has this untouched version seen digital. As the story goes, this album was first pressed to vinyl. When the CD came out a year or so later Eldritch added some `Oomph' in the drums and bass of the mix. Thus remixing the album, leaving the vinyl as the `original version'. If you bought the CD then you are kinda sorta not getting the whole picture. What Eldritch did in the remix on the CD was not bad, but again as fans go, not good either. Fans want the original. Finally here it is!
Even as good things are, after listening to this 2006 remaster, I question the approach given to the remaster. Why? Well, some tracks sound much louder than others. Was this an oversight or how the original was, in 85? Eldritch was probably right at the time in feeling that the production was iffy, but now in this day and modern age, when it's a chance to get it right what were the rules in the remastering job? Treat the album as a whole and normalize it as such? Or treat the songs as individual thus normalizing them per their individual peak? I ask because some tracks especially the bonus tracks are much louder than others.
But does it matter? Bottom line is NO! The bonus tracks (some which I never heard) truly are so fricken good and loud it makes this a MUST HAVE!
The liner notes are worthy as well, leaving the story kinda as a cliff hanger for the next Sisters release `Floodland'.
Brilliant all around and a big thanks to Eldritch for letting the original live on, in `original' infamy.

Now, that's funny. Whoever says that must not know much about Goth music let alone heard much. The Sisters are often considered to be THE Goth band. They've cited the same influences as Bauhaus, the Cure, and SexGang and other "Goth" bands. Their music is DARK, DEPRESSING and ROMANTIC... at times even down right dismal. Those deep brooding vocals have influenced just about every Goth vocalist after. In fact, the Sisters of Mercy may be the biggest influence on Modern Goth music period. Yes, I'm aware that Eldritch never considered the band to be Goth, but then again, neither did Bauhaus, The Cure, Christian Death or even the Nephilim. Listen to this album... it sounds like it was recorded in catacombs under a full moon by a bunch of manic depressed nihilists. The ghostly guitars, spooky vocals and doom-sayer lyrics are enough to consider this album a Gothic Rock masterpiece. To say otherwise is equal to saying that Black Sabbath isn't Heavy Metal, or the Ramones isn't Punk Rock. Or Garth Brooks isn't country. So, swallow your attitudes, powder your faces white, wear black and listen to this recording on a rainy day. It'll do you some good.

When I first heard this album i was stunned and frightened.Eldritch's melancholy, rumbling vocals combined with the thumping beat of Doktor Avalanche and the haunting chords of Hussey and Adams culminate to form the most spectacular album ever. The first Five tracks are definatly the best with Marian at the top of my list with its screaming guitars and spooky vocal it shakes the floor when I play it (it must be played loud) the vocals surround you like ghosts of the past.
15 Years after I bought this album I have to say it is still the most played and unparalleled in its quality. No other Sisters of Mercy album is quite the same with only Temple of Love coming close to the supreme sound of this album. If you are thinking of buying this album think no more you will not regret buying this ever as you will never stop playing it till the day you die.

Folks, I have a tendancy to change my favorite artist/album, very often. I know I recently stated ELO's 'Discovery' as my all-time favorite, but after listening to this album a few times today, I have been forced to change my mind. I may change again, and trust me it gets annoying - but I will never stop loving this album. The guitars are low, haunting, and chiming echos that linger in your thoughts for the longest time. Eldrich is a pure musical genious. His dark, haunting, and extremley low vocals have influenced every Goth band this side of the equator. Amazing vocals. This music sounds like something you would hear at a graveyard. It's not rock, It's not metal, It's...Goth. It is hard to describe. IT Is beautifully crafted, dark, romantic, classical influenced goth music. And It's excellent. Everything. 'Black Planet', 'Walk Away', 'No Time To Cry' and 'Marian' are all dark and brooding, dismal and dreary. They my disturb as during the music you will begin to think of death. But this music is excellent. A must own, pure brilliance - A Classic.

FALAA never got the recognition or club play of its follow-up "Floodland" but that doesn't mean it wasn't as good if not better. This album, their official debut (though many EPs and singles preceded it), wasn't as clearly danceable or built for primetime. However, it was darker, more foreboding and perhaps more consistent start to finish. There are no weak spots on this. For me, the singles "No Time to Cry" and "Walk Away" are great but likely rank in the bottom 1/3 of the 10 songs. And if you can find the b-sides then get them; "Poison Door" would have been one of the best songs on the album.

There were few albums at the time this dark yet able to remain catchy and vibrant. The Cure's "Pornography" was equally dark but not nearly as accessible - not necessarily a bad thing depending what you want. Bauhaus may have been more artistic, yet it took many years for a larger audience to realize their brilliance.

All in all, this may be the Sisters best. I have heard it maybe 1,000 times and every song has been a favorite at one time or another. "Nine While Nine", "Marian", "Some Kind of Stranger and the title track are epic tales of loss, betrayed love, smoldering desperation and loneliness. A must for anyone a little dark on the inside.

Note: for people who claim that Fields of the Nephilim were nothing more than a Sisters clone, that is a sad and empty claim that reflects more on your lack of knowledge than on reality. It may have seemed true at first but Nephilim went on to release several amazing works. "The Nephilim" and "Elizium" are unparalelled in this genre and most others, including TSOM. "Elizium" might be the most fully realized vision ever created in what is called Goth but it transcends the label so greatly it is pointless to use the term.