release date: Jul. 1986
format: vinyl (BEGA 69) / digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,64]
producer: Ivo Watts-Russell, Peter Murphy, Howard Hughes, Gerry Kitchingham
label: Beggars Banquet - nationality: England, UK
Track highlights: 1. "Canvas Beauty (Romance Version)" (4 / 5) - 2. "The Light Pours Out of Me" - 3. "Confessions" - 4. "Should the World Fail to Fall Apart" (4 / 5) - 6. "God Sends" (4 / 5) - 9. "Final Solution" - 10. "Jemal"
Solo studio album debut by Peter Murphy, former lead vocalist in Bauhaus following three years after the band's breakup. Murphy was not the musical composer behind the music in Bauhaus and nor did he play an instrument, and therefore most of the songs here were written in collaboration with co-producer Howard Hughes (aka Stephen Betts), former keyboardist in The Associates from 1984 to 1990. However, Murphy is credited several contributions in the album's rather long credit list. His parts include: guitar, keyboards, mixing, producer, rhythm arrangements, and rhythm programming. In the big picture, the album has obviously been created with help of a large number of studio musicians. Previous collaboration with Japan bassist Mick Karn on their short-lived joint project Dalis Car, has clearly had an effect on the outcome of the rhythm section. A list of acclaimed guitarists doen't lack - Magazine and Siouxsie and the Banshees' John McGeoch is on the list, as is multi-instrumentalist Martin McCarrick, who has worked as studio musician for The Glove, This Mortail Coil, he has featured on Bryan Ferry's Boys and Girls and became a stable member of Siouxsie and the Banshees. Also Bauhaus guitarist Daniel Ash features on an album that also includes two covers: "The Light Pours Out of Me" by Magazine, and "Final Solution" by Pere Ubu.
I remember purchasing the album when it came out, really hoping to find some of the spirit from Bauhaus, and while there's basically none of that, aside from Murphy's unique and easy recognisable vocal, the album was nonetheless a positive acquisition. In terms of style, nowadays you would call it alt. rock, but as that category wasn't really established yet, you would label it as something on the edge of gothic rock, and more precisely, you'd probably see it as a variantion of art pop, since the music isn't dark and gloomy, but is kept in a bright and positive tone with quite complex rhythms and something that almost makes it chamber pop with a bold use of strings. Without working with anyone other than Mick Karn from Japan, there is nevertheless an almost natural link to (or something similar in spirit to), David Sylvian's fine solo album Secrets of the Beehive, which came out the following year.
Only the composition "Never Man" may contain stronger reminiscents of the Bauhaus era, which also means that this song stands somewhat alone here. It's a strong debut, but apart from the fine reviews it wasn't a major commercial success, and Murphy and the album remained somewhat overlooked in 1986.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]
