Sisters Of Mercy: Andrew Eldritch (vocals, guitar, keyboards, synthesizer, programming); Wayne Hussey (guitar, background vocals); Craig Adams (guitar); Gary Marx (bass).
The Sisters Of Mercy's debut, 1985's FIRST AND LAST AND ALWAYS, is the definitive goth record. Combining the filtered punk-inspired angst and fury of Bauhaus, a machine-honed brittleness, and the literate dourness of artists like Leonard Cohen (whose songs are referenced in both the Sisters' lyrics and by their name), it's an amazingly solid album.
Highlights include "Marian (Version)" and "Some Kind of Stranger"; on the first, Andrew Eldritch's vocals (about half of which are in German) are felt rather than heard, an effect accentuated by crystalline guitar notes. The latter song is arguably the most spectacularly gloomy song that the goth movement ever produced--nearly seven and a half minutes of soaring keyboards, morose, tortured vocals, and aching, brittle guitars. Fans might wish to note the album's 1992 remastering cleans up the sound quality significantly, but whichever version you hear, this album is an extraordinary document.
Professional Reviews
Q (p.159) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "FIRST AND LAST AND ALWAYS helped crystallise goth and remains the purist's album choice."
Q (12/99, p.171) - Included in Q Magazine's 'Best Gothic Albums Of All Time' - "...their tombstone....This mordant beast survives as a mission statement...for the genre: pitch-black, rock-hard, utterly oppressive, shrouded in bollocks. Black! Black!"
I bought this when it came out in the 80's, and I have to say, the song, "Marianne" changed my life in terms of music. I heard it once, and could not get it out of my head and went out and bought it. Marianne actually came out as a B side on vinyl, and was voted best B side of the year at the time by English music paper, N.M.E. This album is haunting, and really is one of THE definitive Goth albums. I am biased, as this album is such a part of my personal history. Check it out. Lots of distorted bass, almost medieval sounding guitars and that rich tortured, dark voice of Eldrich.
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