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| | r e v i e w - b a u h a u s - c r a c k l e| |
| Many thanks to Marcus for the following review, which origianlly appeared in the first and only issue of the excellent fanzine Caught in a Sleep Riot. |
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Seemingly released to coincide with the Bauhaus reformation, Crackle is yet another greatest-hits compilation, released first in the US, it then made its way into shops here. It seems the fanbase in the UK, those people that allowed Bauhaus and similar bands to become such 'hits', wasn't deserving of getting to enjoy their new concerts or album first. Then again, compilations are usually only created to 'cash-in' as such, as collectors will need to get it and new fans may be enticed to find out what all the hype is about. But what an introduction to Bauhaus this album would be. Coming up with a better group of 16 Bauhaus songs would be an unenviable task. In an obvious attempt to show the darker side of Bauhaus' sound the first nine songs included are most of the bleaker ones, starting off with Double Dare, In The Flat Field and The Passion Of Lovers. Included next is possibly their most famous song and their first ever single, Bela Lugosi Is Dead but this (original) version included on Crackle had never been included on any other album by request of the band itself. So, any Bauhaus fan that doesn't have the Bela single will obviously be itching to get this. Personally, I prefer the live version as it sounds more haunting, but I suppose they needed a hook for the album. Then, strangely, there is the fast and bouncy The Sanity Assassin looking completely out of place as the rather spooky She's In Parties, the busy, yet flowing Silent Hedges and the extremely morose Hollow Hills follow it. After Mask, the next seven songs are some of the more upbeat Bauhaus songs. Kick In The Eye, my favourite Bauhaus song, storms in and takes over the album. Next, a cover of Bowie's Ziggy Stardust, which may as well have been the original. Dark Entries and Terror Couple Kill Colonel are two of their more "shouty" songs, and due to this stand out a bit more from the others. Spirit, a strange little bouncy song, gives a nice lift after the previous two songs. Burning From The Inside fills the next gap. Finally, Crowds, a deceiving "vocals and piano" song with rather angrier lyrics than you would expect, perfectly ends off the album leaving you wanting to pull out all your old Bauhaus albums. |
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