Bauhaus "Gotham" Metropolis Records MET 150 1999
Disc One (61:30)
Double Dare (6:20)
In the Flat Field (4:08)
A God in an Alcove (4:26)
In Fear of Fear (3:35)
Hollow Hills (6:29)
Kick in the Eye (3:49)
Terror Couple Kill Colonel (3:58)
Silent Hedges (3:50)
Severance (7:23)
Boys (4:05)
She's in Parties (5:54)
The Passion of Lovers (3:37)
Dark Entries (3:56)
Disc Two (36:40)
Telegram Sam (2:23)
Ziggy Stardust (3:25)
Bela Lugosi's Dead (13:31)
All We Ever Wanted (4:39)
Spirit (5:22)
Severance (studio version) (7:20)
Bauhaus: Daniel Ash, Kevin Haskins, David J., Peter Murphy.
In 1998 Bauhaus reformed and returned to the live stage for the first time in 15 years. What started as a few one off dates quickly became a full blown worldwide tour and on September 10th and 11th Bauhaus 'returned home' to the site of their first show in North America, the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. "Gotham" documents this historic musical event with 2 superbly recorded discs, as well as the first studio recording in 16 years. Disc One is the main set filled with all the classic Bauhaus tunes from their prolific 1979-1983 studio life span. A few minutes into "Double Dare" all my doubts and worries disappeared ... the fifteen years seems to have had little to no effect on Bauhaus, they sound as good if not better than before. Murphy's voice has aged really well and Ash, J. and Haskins are as solid as ever. Although Bauhaus are usually pegged with the 'goth' tag, they really took bits of glam and psychedelic rock, punk, dub and acoustic folk and mixed it all up. The live versions of these songs are for the most part true to the originals, with the exception of some extra borrowed lyrics in "She's in Parties" as Murphy ad-libs some Bob Marley and Doors lyrics, among others, near the end of the song. "Severance" is a Dead Can Dance cover, a beautifully mellow song that fits right in with Bauhaus style, that appears in live form on Disc One. Disc two is the encores followed by the studio version of "Severance". The encores begin with wonderfully energetic versions of the 2 covers that Bauhaus are very well known for, T-Rex's "Telegram Sam" and David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust". Next is a 13+ minute version of the song that Bauhaus is no doubt best known for, "Bela Lugosi's Dead". "Spirit" ends the show with the rousing acappella "we love our audience!" by the band. I doubt anyone walked away from these shows disappointed ... I'm really kicking myself now for missing them myself. As a big fan of all the original singles and albums, I can honestly say they didn't cheapen the memory of the classic material whatsoever. This was a worthwhile reunion, I hope they do it again. The cds come in a sharp looking fold up digipack with a 5 panel, double sided insert with pictures and comments from fans who witnessed reunion shows. A companion video, also entitled "Gotham", is also available from Metropolis and the Bauhaus site. Kudos to Bauhaus and Metropolis for a job very well done!
Where did I get this cd? - a local CD Warehouse