Some Girls Wander By Mistake

 

 

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I lived through this period with a pallid complexion, big black hair and the miserable demeanor that comes rather naturally to me. Goth ranged from the comedy of the Damned to the deadpan Sisters. Serious goths took the Sisters seriously. This album contains the tracks that enabled the orthodox goths to believe. David Butcher's review is not helpful. 'Real fans' will already have these tracks on 12" and welcome the opportunity to buy the songs on CD. The production on the very early tracks does not have the quality of the album 'First and last and always' but the songs are as good and perhaps more accessible. Everyone should buy this album, dye their hair black, take themselves very seriously and sit back and wait for the end of the world.

The Sisters of Mercy are a reminder that like Cocteau Twins & The Smiths of the potency of the single/e.p. format in the 1980s - building their sound over the releases compiled here and waiting five years before releasing their debut album `First and Last and Always.' Not something you'd get from bands these days or even in the last decade or so...

Some Girls Wander By Mistake was the compilation of their early years and a companion to the major label compilation A Slight Case of Overbombing. It includes their 1980 debut single The Damage Done, which became very collectable and was rumoured to have been paid for by the Psychedelic Furs' singer Richard Butler. I can't say that any of the three tracks are that exciting - The Damage Done is slightly better than the Gary Marx-compositions Watch and Home of the Hitmen.

The band expanded with the arrival of Craig Adams, later followed by guitarist Ben Gunn - a series of classic singles and e.p.'s were released. 1982's Body Electric b/w Adrenochrome was great stuff - drug inflected goth that nodded to their influences with included Motorhead, the Stooges & Suicide. Body Electric would be re-recorded for 1984's Body & Soul e.p., possibly in a superior version - while Adrenochrome remains a favourite, despite the fact its central guitar riff is a speeded up version of Bela Lugosi's Dead by Bauhaus!!!

The Furs' John Ashton produced the next wave of material - 1983's Anaconda b/w Phantom, the Alice/Floorshow/Phantom/1969 single, and the Reptile House e.p. Anaconda is a demented version of pop which some object to, I think it's fine, but do wonder why Good Things (which featured in a Peel Session of the era) didn't make the cut? Phantom is an extended soundtrack companion to the later Floorshow that featured on both the Anaconda and Alice singles and suggests the eclectic qualities that would become apparent in the "band" from 1983 to 1987.

Alice (later re-recorded in 1993) was a definite Sisters' classic, as was its companion Floorshow - both songs would survive in their live-sets over the following years. Alice is a chiming, spectral joy that sadly gave influence to a wave of bad goth acts with songs that have girls names in the title; while Floorshow has a primal dirgey bass that goes wonderfully with the Iggy-vocals and the lyrics that might be about a World War I trench or a moshpit at a Sisters concert! The cover of The Stooges' 1969 is sterling stuff, though sadly Adams and later Sisters' member Wayne Hussey would perform a dire version of it with their band the Mission. This one feels like Iggy fronting Suicide, which was probably the point.

The epic Reptile House e.p. was far more difficult and less catchy than its predecessor, though it appears to be a real fan's favourite and the six-tracks are probably the band's darkest collection of songs. Kiss the Carpet is an epic, slow approximation of metal whose lyrics fit with the narcotic haze of much of the band's material - it would be the common set opener for their concerts of the era. Lights is another ballad, Eldritch's whine "in the rain/in the rain" and the feel of the song would get extended on with later material like Afterhours & Some Kind of Stranger. Valentine is probably the most up-beat song here, which isn't saying much, and displays a more subtle sound that would give way to the joy that is Heartland on the next single. Fix is a junky-themed dirge with sinister moaning vocals followed by the circular guitars and pulsing drum machine of Burn and Eldritch's gothic moan...this is hardcore! Finally a brief reprise of Kiss the Carpet occurs, closing the densest release from the band called the Sisters of Mercy.

The compilation (non-linear) closes with 1983's final Merciful Release/indie single Temple of Love - this is the epic extended version of the title track, which again, would be re-recorded almost a decade later with guest vocals from the late Ofra Haza. It's much more epic and probably more rock and certainly lead to the exit of Gunn from the band (to be replaced by Hussey), later songs like This Corrosion, Dominion/Mother Russia and More came from this place! I always preferred the b-side Heartland which is a subtle refinement of material like Lights and Valentine, the Marx-Eldritch writing team clearly worked well, reaching its zenith on the second side of First and Last and Always. Finally there is a cover version of the Stones' Altamont anthem Gimme Shelter, which hasn't dated well but was one of their many notable cover versions played at the time (see Emma, Jolene, Gimme Gimme Gimme, Sister Ray, Ghost Rider , Teachers etc).

Some Girls Wander By Mistake is an enjoyable trawl through the early indie releases prior to the band signing up to Warners and disintegrating/metamorphosing soon after. Probably the best place to start with a band that seems to exist in a vague live form these days and were inescapable in the decade we call the 1980s.

The album is a collection of all the Sister's 12" singles up to 1984 and shows how the band developed before releasing its first album in 1985 (First last and always), the contrast in experimentation is easily spotted between tracks from the first E.P (The Damage Done {1980}), the 1983 'Reptile house E.P' (featuring some very slow drum and vocal melodies) through to the almost Dance-like Tracks such as 'Floorshow' (Alice E.P {1983}) and the original version of the 90's Classic 'Temple of love' (Temple of Love E.P {1983}- which also includes an excelent cover of the rolling stones song-'Gimme Shelter').With the progresively intermingling melodies and imaginitive Drum beats this compilation of E.Ps is a must for anyones' Rock collection, as it contains very influential material that still influences Rock, Indie and Even Dance artists even today. Verdict-Recomended.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Great slab of goth/electronic history - but from vinyl!?
I used to have this on vinyl, but decided to plump for this intriguing compilation of the really early EPs on CD recently. Read more

Published 29 days ago by M. B. Wilson

5.0 out of 5 stars Educational!
This CD is a delight.

It can be hard going for the later Sisters' fan but there are some real gems on here. Read more

Published 14 months ago by sbdags

4.0 out of 5 stars A fine collection
In my opinion most post punk bands released their best work in the earlier part of their careers. The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Cocteau Twins and Killing Joke spring to... Read more

Published 18 months ago by Rev Q Sand

1.0 out of 5 stars Primitive Beginings
I'm a big fan of the Sisters sound but I can't say that I'm enamoured with this colllection. This is a compilation of their early pre 'First Last And Always' material. Read more

Published on 14 Jun 2005 by D. Butcher

5.0 out of 5 stars Sisters Of Mercy - Some Girld Wander By Mistake
As compilations go, this is the biography of one of the most important bands ever to release a record. Read more

Published on 22 Mar 2005 by Steven T. Jarvis

5.0 out of 5 stars Upgrade That Vinyl
I bought this cd to replace my worn out copy of the 1983 'Temple Of Love' 12" vinyl ep - worn out because of Celeste - a goth princess I spent too much time chasing - who loved... Read more

Published on 3 May 2002 by A. Reynolds

5.0 out of 5 stars There is no better album. Bye it.
This is the Sisters in their prime, every song is a classic, even the not so good ones. This takes you from day one up to the release of First & Last & Always, it has some... Read more

Published on 14 April 2000

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