Customer Reviews

With Sympathy

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

For years "With Sympathy" has been like the dirty little secret of the Ministry catalogue.Al Jourgenson claimed that the record company pressured him to put out stuff that was more accessible and poppy but he wanted to keep his work having a harder edge. Is this true or was he just covering up to lend credit to his thrash metal credentials? Well, maybe both? If you look at what was released before "With Sympathy" a long forgotten EP entitled "Cold Life" it does lend some credence to this story. Perhaps he wasn't looking to make hardcore thrash metal back in '81-'82 but taking the era into account, "Cold Life" did have a harder edge and misanthropic attitude to it for the time it was released. It also contained one of the best Ministry songs of all time "I'm Falling"(and it is a CRIME that this song only exists on vinyl), which sounds a lot like later faster thrashy Ministry songs, just stripped down without a huge crunchy guitar, but the bass line is fast and the singing was quite similar...just no wall of guitar. Then "With Sympathy" comes out. Major record label and for all intents and purposes it is a standard poppy New Wave album (although a superior one). However, the attitude is a little darker, more cynical and misanthropic than most anything within that genre being released at that time. I mean, just check out "Revenge" and "Effigy(I'm not an)"....great songs. "Revenge" alone to me is one of the best 80's New Wave pop songs ever recorded and alone is worth the price of picking up the cd.

After this Ministry leaves Arista, gets reaquainted to Wax Trax! and releases the "All Day"/ "EveryDay(Is Halloween)" single and this leads up to "Twitch"...and then we move onto "The Land Of Rape And Honey", easily one of the best Industrial hybrid releases of all time..and one of the most influential. the rest is history and an easy progression to track. Some say that "Twitch" is the bridge between "With Sympathy" and "Land Of Rape..". Not exactly. The picture is incomplete without taking into account his work with the Revolting Cocks' "Big Sexy Land". Indeed when you take these releases into account and the gradual hardening of the Industrial scene in general at the time "Land Of Rape.." isn't such a huge leap as you might think.

However, some people who discovered Ministry a little later will not understand and even hate "With Sympathy". Well, that's fine, but you have to understand THIS represents where Ministry really came from. I read an article once where Jourgenson was discussing his early days in the dance club scene. Like it or not, Ministry has been around for a looong time now and originated out of the dancey New Wave scene. However Ministry evolved over time as far as the surface sound is concerned, but really if you really take a good listen, the basic attitude has remained fairly consistent.

Despite "With Sympathy"'s New wave pop exterior, there is a lot of attitude on this release; the aforementioned "Revenge" being the most satisfyingly palpable of it. This is a great CD if you have enough of an open mind to get past the Pop New Wave trappings. It's written well, it has great production and it's fun to listen to. Yes, it sounds a bit dated, very early 80's but the music is very very good and is an example of just how good some 80's pop really could be. And it is fun to play this and then stick in "The Mind..." or "Land of Rape.." right after it. A classic worth getting. Your ministry collection just ain't complete without it.

The Ministry camp seems divided into two specific fan bases: those who like the synth-pop Ministry (circa early 1980s) and those who prefer their latter-day speed metal. After seeing all the infantile whining over which era of Ministry has the better sound, I can only wonder why people are so hostile against the band's chosen weapon: variation & diversity. I love "The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste," "Psalm 69," and even "Filth Pig" and "Dark Side of the Spoon"; I also have admiration for "Twitch," the early songs on "12-inch Singles," and yes, even "With Sympathy." This album marks the experimental days of Ministry as they tried to blend in with the new wave crowd and tinged their songs with genuine emotion (as opposed to the loud, angry feelings expressed in their later masterpieces). Among the catchy pop tracks, "Effigy (I'm Not an)," "Revenge", and "Say You're Sorry" stand out as the best, with Al's vulnerability on full display. "With Sympathy" is a solid album that moves along quickly at under 40 minutes, and I recommend it, as I do every other Ministry album. Listen with an open mind.

I had a buddy who met Alan Jorgensen on the first Revolting Cocks tour, and here is the story he was told. The With Sympathy album was made solely to get Ministry a record deal. The band was already doing the up and coming Chicago industrial sound way back in, what was it 82 or 83 when this album first came out. Alan said that he was forced to do new wave for the first album or no deal. Al also was rumored to break copies of With Sympathy if he ever saw one in someone's record collection. My buddy had heard this and hid his copy when Alan was at his house. My friend said that Alan did look through his records while he was there but since With Sympathy was hidden there was no record breaking episode.
I myself agree with Alan. With Sympathy is not a Ministry album. It is a new wave album that ranks up there with some of my favorite albums from that time period, The Hurting, Rio, Doot Doot, that kind of stuff. I remember when Twitch came out and we all thought that someone else was using the Ministry name. Alan was dressed all crazy and riding in a shopping cart on the All Day video and the Alan we knew from the Effigy video was a run of the mill waver, spiky black hair and a tank top kinda thing. Little did we know that our little new wave world was getting kicked to the curb. Industrial dance music was here and it didn't care what you were listening to last week. It was time to throw away the day glow spandex and put on the bulkiest blackest clothes you could find at the vintage store.
If you like this album but you don't like Twitch then don't bother buying any other Ministry albums.

Ok, so it's not a Ministry album. No distorted walls of guitars, no screaming, no industrial-metal here. This one does have plenty of catchy new wave pop songs complete with Al's pre-distortion faux british accent.

Basically, if your introduction to Ministry was Psalm 69, you won't like this. One thing this album does do, though, is show a Ministry fan where Al came from. Just like Twitch is the bridge between this album and Land of Rape & Honey, this album shows you how Al got started. Shards of this album can be heard all the way through LoR&H. with every album Al shed a piece of his new wave poppy side and eventually began creating songs like "Burning Inside." Ever wonder why Al sings with an slight accent in LoR&H? Well, it all started here.

My favorite Ministry "Album." Although I like the industrial products released on following albums & the line-up change, this album has a special place. Characteristic of the 80's alternative music. Belongs next to The Cure & Depeche Mode of that time-frame.

Wow, we are divided here in terms of Ministry erra's. Being a fan of progressive and new wave synth bands, I must say this is a great CD to have. Ministry seems to be two different aquired tastes, the early 80's synth to the 90's much heavier metal. I wish they would have stayed with the earlier sound, the heavier Ministry doesnt do anything for me, and yes, I do like metal as well. "With Sympathy" was well ahead of there time for synth bands. Being compared to Wham and other lame bands means you don't like new wave at all. Ministry had great keyboard arrangements and programming, most other synth bands did not. It would be nice to see that erra come back again, I mean, it seams that history does repeat itself, in terms of the music biz at least and we made it thru some horrible bands of the 90's and some bad wannabe punk bands of today.

contrary to some stories, Al Jourgensen was not coerced into putting out this surprisingly sophisticated example of '80s synth rock. He was living in Boston at the time and quite in love with the idea of becoming a pop god. His bandmates, mostly hired hands like Brad Hallen and Mark Pothier of the Boston band Adventure Set, wanted a harder edge and darker shading, but Jourgensen was sold a story by Arista and believed it. Live, this incarnation of Ministry was more forboding and actually, the tensions within the band can be heard just beneath the gleaming pop veneer. This stands up - there are some wonderful songs.

Well, if you've come this far, you probably KNOW who this band is, & what they sound like somewhat from various albums. If you like any such early 80's synth/pop bands, then this is great. I'm a typical Ministry fan that prefers the earlier 80's type, & can only handle so much of the mindless metal that comes in the 90's, so if that's you, then this ain't for you, nuff said. I just have to say (like others have said, as a new "founder" of Ministry, it IS hard to believe this is the same band...but most bands as we know it that stick around for more than a decade change pretty drastically, right? I've only known about "Everyday is Like Halloween" & the like for several years, but that was it until now. I'm doing I guess you could say, a sound comparison, which is very interesting, I must say...more interesting than most of the stuff going on right now. And if this is just too poppy for yer liking, don't worry, it's not even 40 minutes long. By the way, my favorite song on here is "Revenge".

This is one of the best albums ever made in the 80s. And before Ministry went all Industrial (not that there's anything wrong with that). Effigy, Revenge, Say You're Sorry... pretty much every song is a awesome and keeps you moving. I wish I could find a CD, my vinyl is starting to get scratched!

Different time, different place, different mindset,.. but the quality of Al's songwriting shines through. Most "fans" of Ministry slag off this album, call it "gay" and "sucks" (grow up) but if you can appreciate good music without worrying about what your friends will think of you, and you like the 80's at all, then you will surely like this album too. I like the whole gamut of Ministry's releases, including RevCo, and i still appreciate this album. Although it doesn't get as experimental or hardcore as the latter albums, Al shows his natural voice, and it was quite good! The sounds are all nice and crisp, production tight, composition outstanding! I like being able to listen to older albums such as this who had producers who knew how to make good recordings, unlike most of the junk being churned out these days.

anyway, pick this up if you grew up in the 80s and are an individual who appreciates musical history.