Mask

Bauhaus | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 4, 2011)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Beggars Banquet
• ASIN: B0000018AL
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #77,866 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #62 in Music > Indie Music > Alternative Rock > Goth & Industrial

Editorial Reviews

Managing the sometimes hard-to-negotiate trick of expanding their sound while retaining all the qualities which got them attention to begin with, on Mask the members of Bauhaus consciously stretched themselves into newer areas of music and performance, resulting in an album that was arguably even better than the band's almost flawless debut. More familiar sides of the band were apparent from the get-go; opening number "Hair of the Dog," one of the band's best songs, starts with a double-tracked squalling guitar solo before turning into a stomping, surging flow, carefully paced by sudden silences and equally sudden returns to the music, while Murphy details cases of mental addictions in pithy phrases. The energy wasn't all just explosive angst and despair, though; the one-two punches of "Kick in the Eye" and "In Fear of Fear" have as much hip-shaking groove and upbeat swing to them as portentous gloom (Ash's sax skronk on the latter, as well as on the similarly sharp "Dancing," is a particularly nice touch).

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Passion of Bauhaus, October 29, 2000

By 

Pop Tarantula - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mask (Audio CD)

"Mask" is probably the quintessential Bauhaus studio (non-compilation) album, though "Burning From the Inside" is pure genius as well. "Mask" features many of their best known songs, including "The Passion of Lovers," "Kick In The Eye," "In Fear of Fear," and "Hollow Hills." Equally enjoyable are some of the lesser known tracks, such as the spoken word "Of Lillies and Remains" and the Cure-like "Man With The X-Ray Eyes." What raises "Mask" -- as well as the entire Bauhaus oeuvre -- so far above current Goth-type music is the variety. Whereas most post-Sisters of Mercy groups tend to be sonically monolithic, Bauhaus, inspired by Bowie, knows the value of shifting moods. There's darkness and gloom, for sure, but there's also dance grooves, dubby reggae, and yes, even some humor. Nowhere is the range of Bauhaus better demonstrated than on the bonus track "1. David Jay 2. Peter Murphy 3. Kevin Haskins 4. Daniel Ash", on which each member takes a lead turn. "Mask" isn't really the place to start -- get the sterling compilation "Crackle" as your first purchase -- but get this one next.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Accessible is a relative term...thank goodness, August 28, 2003

By 

Julie McCord "estara" (Anaheim, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mask (Audio CD)

A lot of reviews refer to Mask as Bauhaus's most "accessible" or "mainstream" album. And if you're looking at Bauhaus for the first time, hoping to buy an album that will give you better old-school Goth creds, maybe that will turn you off. But you have to keep in mind that this is, in fact, Bauhaus we're talking about. Mask is their most accessible and mainstream album in kind of the same way that I might say that Duran Duran's original album is their most Goth. It's kinda true in its way...but not really.

Try to imagine for just a fraction of a second a world in which you would hear the actual song "Mask" on the radio, and you'll see what I mean. Not gonna happen. It's much too full of eldritch noises and dark intellectual musing to get any airplay.

"Mask" is a personal favorite of mine; but if you're looking for the names that get bandied around more, check out "Passion of Lovers" and that pleasantly hostile paean to spiritual growth, "Kick in the Eye." Important to song cross-referencing, a favored pastime for Bauhaus and for Peter Murphy solo, is "The Man with X-Ray Eyes," which is the lyrical basis for the later "Departure."

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Skittish people beware, May 8, 2006

By 

Matthew A. Schaldach (Sacramento, Ca.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mask (Audio CD)

I hate the term Goth. It just lumps everyone who wears black into the same brooding category. By that definition Avril Levine is Goth. Bauhaus is much more than the sum of its parts. With sparse atmospheric guitars, haunting vocals and syncopated rhythms Bauhaus has one foot in the graveyard and the other in the land of Ziggy Stardust. I can't imagine "Hollow Hills"; a song about fairy hills and what happens to unsuspecting human travelers who wander into them, ever being played on the radio. With a passion for the minimalistic, Bauhaus somehow manages to create a sound that fills your head with visions of dancing skeletons, and wailing banshees across the moors. Listen with the lights off if you dare.