Search - Various Artists, T Sisters of Mercy :: First And Last And Forever: A Tribute To The Sisters Of Mercy

Unbearable

A. Clark | Seattle, WA United States | 06/29/2003

(1 out of 5 stars)

"When I buy a tribute album, which is admittedly rare particularly in light of this catastrophic purchase I made many years ago, I expect the artists involved to interpret the songs in a unique manner and not merely try to play the song exactly like the original version. A tribute album comprised of cloned versions of the original songs is always doomed to fall short, especially when the talent level of the bands participating is so strikingly low. Having said that, 3/4 of the songs covered here have missed that expectation. This album introduces us to Cleopatra's stable of third rate, amatuerish bands who seemingly have no other purpose for existence other than participating in nonsense like this. The only covers worth mentioning are those that strive to be unique. Automatic Head Detonator's cover of "Black Planet" sounds a bit like The Jesus and Mary Chain, but is hampered by weak vocals. The Shroud's cover of "Alice" is the most dramatic departure from the original style. Its a very light, pretty, acoustic take, but a bit too thin and dull to capture much interest. I have a soft spot for Faith and Disease in that they are the only band on here who actually managed to write a fair amount of their own good music, but their cover of "Bury Me Deep" is uninspired and disappointing. The fact that it is one of the best songs on here speaks volumes about how bad of an album this is. Halo's version of "Lights" tries to inject some vitality into what was a rather plodding and subdued song originally by covering it in layers of feedback and screamed vocals. It fails miserably. But by far the worst is David E. Williams' cover of "Black Planet". This man sounds like Billy Idol, after he's been kicked in the head a few dozen times and been rendered a blithering vegetable. He should not be allowed near a microphone, ever. Fans of the Sisters of Mercy, or even just fans of music in general should avoid this."

Merciless

N. P. Stathoulopoulos | Brooklyn, NY | 05/18/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I tend to avoid tribute albums, as they're inherently lousy product. Love of the Sisters and thirst for anything else drove me to buy this; at least it was used. There are probably two or three decent tracks on here. The problem, of course, is most of the covers do nothing at all. For the most part, the bands here fail to interpret the songs in a new, different way that might actually promote further appreciation of the Sisters. The opener, Black Planet, is one of the highlights. Aside from having one of the best names ever, Automatic Head Detonator (who, it appears, only ever released this cover!) do a decent job of changing the song up, giving it an industrial feel and not offending. The Shroud's Alice is likely the most significant departure from the source. I'm not crazy about it, but I give them credit for effort. Bury Me Deep is an interesting choice of cover, and it's reasonably well done.The rest of the album goes from bland to downright abominable. Half the tracks just sound like the same arrangement, with some mock-Eldritch singing, which has been done and done before and should stop being done. The lowlight is, of course, the David E. Williams cover of Black Planet. Previous reviewers have cited this as the worst atrocity of an already poor disc, and rightfully so. The man should be indicted. I can only think that perhaps he was not serious, but something tells me other. Williams, and most of the bands here, seem to have been dredged up from a black, talentless hole by Cleopatra Records. Perhaps bands should encourage tribute albums, since they usually make fans run right back to the original stuff. If you're dying for anything Sisters-related (since they're seemingly dedicated to not releasing anything official ever again) this may still be questionable. Perhaps if you find it used, else this disc is just asking me to rip it into MP3s and throw it back for pocket change..."