Bauhaus Album: “Gotham”

Description :

Bauhaus: Daniel Ash (vocals, guitar); David J. (vocals, bass); Peter Murphy (vocals); Peter Haskins (drums). <p>Recorded live at the Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, New York in 1998. <p>15 years after they broke up to pursue solo careers, the members of Bauhaus reformed for a limited series of live appearances. This two-disc, nearly 100-minute long live album (with one exception) was recorded in New York (hence the title) and is perhaps the best that the band has ever sounded. Kevin Haskin's drums never sounded this, well, massive on the studio albums, and Daniel Ash's guitars are sharper and more focused than ever. <p>Among the best tracks are the super-heavy version of "Double Dare" that opens the set; a dense, bone-grinding, 13-minute version of the band's signature tune, "Bela Lugosi's Dead"; and a shimmering, brittle version of "Spirit." The version of "Ziggy Stardust" that appears here is arguably better than David Bowie's original--Murphy really throws his voice around, and the rhythm section of J and Haskins provides a monumental pedestal for Ash's guitar fireworks. Another standout is "All We Ever Wanted," which gives both the guitars and vocals room to really shine. Also included, in two versions (one live, one studio) is a stately cover of Dead Can Dance's "Severence." If you ever wondered what the whole deal was with the "Goth" thing, look no further.

A well recorded live album, but I still kinda like the raw, noisy sound of Press the Eject and Give me the Tape. I was at the show, and found the live sound better than reproduced on the discs. Some of their best songs performed well - a must for the Bauhaus fan. Go ahead - it's worth the money.

This serves both as a great "Best of.." Collection and a great Live performance from one of the most influential bands of the days of yore. I wouldn't recommend picking this up as an introduction to Bauhaus, but if you're like me, unfortunately too young to have seen them in their hay-day or most likely ever see them again, then this is a great way for you to get the idea of a live Bauhaus show without being able to be there in person. My only complaint is that this Two Disc set, which cost me the same as a FULL two disc set, only has about 19 tracks all together and is basically just a live version of collection 1 and 2. I was hoping for two discs with 15 songs a piece that would serve as a career spanning live document, featuring four or five select songs from each of their albums (See: Death To The Pixies). All I'm asking for is a live version of "Exquisite Corpse", is that really too much to ask? Oh well, such is life. Anyway, this album is definitely worth checking out if you're interested in hearing Bauhaus live...And you have the 23+ bucks to throw away on 19 songs....God that burns me.

Goes through all the favourites and gives a few bonuses as well but I have to say that the version of Bela Lugosi Is Dead is not half as good as the one on Press The Eject And Give Me The Tape. That one has a more claustrophobic nature to it. As for the cover version of the Dead Can Dance song - it's good but I would prefer to hear the original

This album does a great job of capturing the feel of the concert. I was able to attend both shows in San Francisco, once from the floor, and once from the balcony. What a fantastic spectacle! If you have not seen the DVD, you must also get it. Right from the start, everything about this album is stark, gripping, and pure Bauhaus. Time did nothing to damage the power of the greatest goth band to walk the planet - they played brilliantly, and it really comes out in this CD. Sure, there were some minor screw ups, as with all live albums, but all in all it is fantastic. My only comment is that I wish they had included 'Burning From the Inside' on this recording. They played it at one of the SF shows, and I'm not sure if they tried it again after that. It appeared to be a fluke...Daniel started playing it while Peter was over talking to David. At first it sounded as if they were just messing around, not really intending to play it, but then the crowd went wild, and so they played out the entire song. Masterful. Anyway, maybe a bootleg will turn up one of these days...

I don't get the point of all you people saying that this isn't goth music. If My Dying Bride etc. don't sound like this then that means My Dying Bride ARE NOT GOTHS. They must be something else. Bauhaus more or less invented the genre, so get used to it. As for this, well it is spectacular. 20 years later and all the songs are played to perfection. As the man says, this is all we ever wanted. Pity they can't stay together long enough to do more new stuff.