Tones On Tail - Tones On Tail 12''

If you're a Bauhaus fan, then Tones On Tail are probably already on your radar as they were the brainchild of Bauhaus’s guitarist Daniel Ash (vocals, guitar, synths, sax, hair spray) along with school friend and Bauhaus roadie Glen Campling (bass, keyboards).  They formed in 1982 and when Bauhaus imploded in 1983 Kevin Haskins joined TOT on drums.

Tones on Tail always struck me as being a release valve for Daniel Ash.  Bauhaus were dark and intense whereas Tones On Tail is light and frothy – almost poppy – but always challenging and edgy.  Think pop music by David Lynch.  They didn’t last long; a clutch of singles and a solitary studio LP… plus about 30 compilations all mixing up the same stuff.  These were accompanied by a short UK/US tour, and whoosh – they were gone.

The Tones On Tail 12" EP was released pre Kevin Haskins, and is a really minimal electro/funk bass thing with a drum machine blipping away in the background.  The later TOT stuff was much more “normal” in terms of song structures whereas this early stuff (pre first LP) is much more experimental/abstract.

The opening track “A Bigger Splash” sees the beatbox on full bosa nova duties with Campling hammering out a single reverberated funk riff over and over and over. Over this Ash delivers the words monotonously & atonally.  The chorus is a woodblock solo and, when the guitar does arrive, it is effect-ville panning all over the shop.

“Copper’s” riff is ripped of Day Tripper and gives Ash the opportunity to get his sax out.  There is no singing.  “Means of Escape” is another minimal drum/funk bass workout with Ash whispering the vocals.  “Instrumental” is really nice – laid back funk bass with wide acoustic guitars over the top (think Bauhaus’s Passion of Lovers or Slice of Life).

It wouldn’t be the first Tones On Tail I would recommend, but it’s not a bad debut.

Bauhaus - Mask

Managing the sometimes hard-to-negotiate trick of expanding their sound while retaining all the qualities which got them attention to begin with, on Mask the members of Bauhaus consciously stretched themselves into newer areas of music and performance, resulting in an album that was arguably even better than the band's almost flawless debut. More familiar sides of the band were apparent from the get-go; opening number "Hair of the Dog," one of the band's best songs, starts with a double-tracked squalling guitar solo before turning into a stomping, surging flow, carefully paced by sudden silences and equally sudden returns to the music, while Murphy details cases of mental addictions in pithy phrases. The energy wasn't all just explosive angst and despair, though; the one-two punches of "Kick in the Eye" and "In Fear of Fear" have as much hip-shaking groove and upbeat swing to them as portentous gloom (Ash's sax skronk on the latter, as well as on the similarly sharp "Dancing," is a particularly nice touch). Elsewhere, numerous flashes of the band's quirky sense of humour (something often missed by both fanatical followers and negative critics both) make an appearance; perhaps most amusing is the dry spoken-word lyric beginning "Of Lillies and Remains," as David J details a goofily grotesque situation as much Edward Gorey as Edgar Allen Poe. Add to that three of the most dramatic things the band ever recorded; the charging, keyboard-accompanied "The Passion of Lovers," the slow, dark fairy-tale-gone-wrong "Hollow Hills," and the wracked, trudging title track, where the sudden appearance of an acoustic guitar turns a great song into a near-perfect blend of ugliness and sheer beauty; and the end result was a perfect trouncing of the sophomore-slump myth.

Bauhaus – Telegram Sam 12"

Keep up at the back, a quick recap. The group formed in 1978 in Northampton, England. Guitarist/vocalist Daniel Ash, bassist/vocalist David J (born David Jay Haskins), and drummer Kevin Haskins had played together as a trio called the Craze before forming Bauhaus with vocalist Peter Murphy. Originally, the band was called Bauhaus 1919 after the German art movement; by 1979, they had dropped the 1919 from their name. After touring America for the first time in September 1980, the group released their debut album, “In the Flat Field,” in October and a version of T. Rex's "Telegram Sam" was released as their fourth single on the influential 4AD Records label in December. “Telegram Sam” was written by Marc Bolan for T. Rex and appearing on their 1972 album The Slider. The lyrics feature numerous figures such as Bobby (who is a natural born poet who is just outta sight), Golden Nose Slim (who knows where you been), Jungle Faced Jake (make no mistake) and Purple Pie Pete (whose lips are like lightning and girls melt in the heat). 

Bauhaus - In The Flat Field

So you just got your dirty little hands on Bauhaus' debut album. Well, let me tell you something; prepare your ears for an awe inspiring musical ride. In its one and a bit hour running time, it scans over so many different emotions and musical directions. You will be amazed at the intensity of the vocals, the dissonance of the guitar and the truly awkward tendencies of the bass. It’s quirky, it’s scary, it’s Intense, it's Bauhaus, and at first listen, you may be thinking, "What have I gotten myself into". The only answer to that my friend is, “you are about to enter another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind, a journey into a wondrous land of imagination. Next stop...” Does that make sense? No. But neither does this album...

Wasting no time they jump into a popping bassline driven by powerful drums and insanely dramatic vocals. Peter Murphy pushes his voice to the limits on this album showing that he has little to no restraints in his voice. Always he is pushing the songs into the depths of despair and agony with just sheer emotional power. It's really something to listen to. The opener is a fantastic track, displaying only a fraction of what the band is capable of though. The guitar plays it safe in the opener compared to other tracks. Take "Stigmata Martyr" for an example. At one point in the song, when Peter Murphy, I believe is either singing in tongues or in reverse, the guitar is doing something out of this world where it kind of sounds like demented birds chirping out of rhythm. It seems to me as the album progresses, so does the strangeness of the music.

Despair and depression are often expressed through music. But, not often is it displayed so effortlessly and effectively as this album. Regardless of the dark intentions of some tracks on the album, a few songs maintain a mildly positive and fun atmosphere. "Dive" especially does this. The song really reminds me of Joy Division's "Interzone". Murphy's singing often reminds me of Ian Curtis, but in a very good way. Possibly the darkest and most powerful song here is "God In An Alcove".

This album is very unique. It is extremely intense, one of the most musically intense albums I've ever heard. Dark and diverse songs are all brought to life by Murphy's shiver inducing shrieks and breathtakingly vivid lyrics. The music creates such a strong atmosphere of hate, sadness, horror and dense imagery that will be stuck in your mind for hours even after you've stopped listening to it.

It may seem a little a bit exaggerated, but all I know is this album demands respect and needs to be heard by all fans of great music. Also this album requires "NERVES LIKE NYLON, NERVES LIKE STEEL!!!" just to make it through to the end maintaining your sanity.

Singles Going Black And White (Re-Upped)

If all single-artist compilations were like this, the world would be a much better place -- while lacking liner notes, or even specific references as to what songs come from where, 1979-1983: Vol. 1, drawing mostly from In the Flat Field and Mask, does a frankly smashing job at capturing the many early high points of Bauhaus' recording career. No real obscurities appear -- singles tracks like "Dark Entries" and "Terror Couple Kill Colonel" had been available on EP and would soon be reissued with the Field CD -- while the version of "Bela Lugosi's Dead" in fact is the live take from the Press the Eject album. As an overview, though, it's just flat-out great, covering many of the band's different facets, from aggressive thrash ("Double Dare," "In the Flat Field," "Hair of the Dog") to mysterious, arty shades ("A God in an Alcove," "Spy in the Cab," "Mask") and more. While one could argue over including other worthwhile tracks -- the nutty humour of "Of Lillies and Remains" would have demonstrated the band's reach even more -- 1979-1983: Vol. 1 remains as near perfect a starting place for a neophyte listener as any.

Understandably complementing the first volume, 1979-1983: Vol. 1 is as similarly bereft of any sort of packaging notes as its predecessor, but is also as successful at pulling together many of Bauhaus' best moments from its later career into one knock-your-socks-off release. More Mask numbers crop up here -- two funk-heavy groovers ("In Fear of Fear" and "Kick in the Eye"), counterpointed by the slow, haunting "Hollow Hills." The Sky's Gone Out is cherry-picked for some of its best moments, including "Swing the Heartache" and "All We Ever Wanted Was Everything," though the version of "Spirit" is the less effective single re-recording rather than the dramatic album take. Rather tellingly, only three songs from Burning From the Inside are included -- "She's in Parties," the David J-sung "Who Killed Mr. Moonlight?," and the Daniel Ash number "Slice of Life." Added to all of this are the peerless covers of "Ziggy Stardust" and "Third Uncle," a couple of ringers from earlier in the band's career ("Satori" and "Crowds"), stand-alone singles "Lagartija Nick" and "The Sanity Assassin," and one honest-to-goodness rarity, "Paranoia Paranoia," a radical dub reworking of "Silent Hedges" that's just as good as the original in its own unique way. In all, a great overview of the latter years of a great band, at least in their original career.

I Can’t Shake This Shadow Of Fear

It seemed that from 1983 to 1985 David J just couldn't stop recording: two solo albums, two albums performing with the Jazz Butcher the odd single and working with Alan Moore. In his previous life as a bassist, David J was never one to be put in the spot light, so you might be surprised at the incredible range and versatility he displays throughout the 7 plus minute throbbing drama of "I Can't Shake This Shadow of Fear". “I Can’t Shake This Shadow of Fear” has J’s vocal delivery coming off with the punk bravado of Billy Idol or Joe Strummer, mixed with that suave devilishness personified by Howard Devoto. 

Rest In Peace

“Rest In Peace” is a faithful recording of Bauhaus' last concert, played at the Hammersmith Palais in London on July 5, 1983, one week prior to the official release of Burning From The Inside and fifteen years before all four members would play together again. The show itself, although captured on tape, remained in the vaults for almost a decade, before it was finally released on two CDs in 1992; and the appropriate title “Rest In Peace” actually reproduces the words of David J, spoken at the very end of the show, once the final echoes of ʽBela Lugosiʼ have died down: most of the fans present, unaware of the band's suicidal plans, never figured out what that properly meant until it was too late. The large delay between recording and release is understandable: first, it seemed pointless at the time to put out two live albums in such a brief time interval, and second, the sound quality is highly questionable almost as if they were taping this as a personal memento rather than a potential commercial product or even historical document. Studio or live, Bauhaus is one of those bands that draws its power from atmosphere and sonic nuances rather than particular chord changes, so listening to a poor-sound-quality Bauhaus album falls in the same category as watching a black-and-white version of Snow White. For those who still have all the hits ringing and reverberating in their ears, subconscious will do the trick and restore the missing colours, but God forbid you ever fall upon “Rest In Peace” as your introduction to the band.