Assembled by Andrew Eldritch in 1986 to stymie plans by Hussey and Adams to prize all the publishing after their departure from the Sisters of Mercy. Recorded swiftly and arguably "written to be unpalatable", Eldritch himself supposedly doesn't vocally appear on the record, his place taken by Suicide's Alan Vega and Merciful Release protoge, James Ray. Thick, plodding, impenetrable, lumbing -- but still compelling, albeit in a typically sombre, morbid, vengeful way.
Your thoughts?
― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 19 May 2005 02:50 (nineteen years ago) link
Lumbering.
― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 19 May 2005 02:51 (nineteen years ago) link
― donut debonair (donut), Thursday, 19 May 2005 02:56 (nineteen years ago) link
― -rainbow bum- (-rainbow bum-), Thursday, 19 May 2005 03:47 (nineteen years ago) link
It was Hussey and Adams what wanted to do their own band the Sisterhood following the vague SoM implosion of the mid-eighties, and initial shows were done calling themselves that. Mr. Eldritch thought "Fuck those fucking punks" and therefore actually released something under the name so they couldn't.
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 19 May 2005 04:46 (nineteen years ago) link
― Zack Richardson (teenagequiet), Thursday, 19 May 2005 04:55 (nineteen years ago) link
I have that LP and can’t for the life of me remember if it’s any good. Not having my record player out of storage for three years has only a minor role in that, as I doubt it would have been played anyways.
― BeeOK (boo radley), Thursday, 19 May 2005 05:15 (nineteen years ago) link
― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Thursday, 19 May 2005 05:38 (nineteen years ago) link
If you don't know, you'll never notice, but indeed:
Colours (Gift) : James RayColours (Floodland CD) : Eldritch
― StanM, Thursday, 19 May 2005 08:34 (nineteen years ago) link
― Siegbran (eofor), Thursday, 19 May 2005 09:55 (nineteen years ago) link
― The Silent Disco of Glastonbury (Bimble...), Thursday, 19 May 2005 12:38 (nineteen years ago) link
― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 19 May 2005 20:14 (nineteen years ago) link
http://www.mixi.net/Sisters.Of.Mercy/Related.Works/Sisterhood/Gift.Page.html
― StanM, Friday, 20 May 2005 06:02 (nineteen years ago) link
Also re: Vega vocals, I listened very carefully and I don't think he sings the lead on anything here, although I could see how some of the background vocals on Giving Ground could be him.
― The Silent Disco of Glastonbury (Bimble...), Thursday, 26 May 2005 13:51 (nineteen years ago) link
I've never heard him within either.....unless he's singing in a strikingly different style than he usually does.
― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 26 May 2005 13:53 (nineteen years ago) link
― Snowy Mann (rdmanston), Thursday, 26 May 2005 14:09 (nineteen years ago) link
― The Silent Disco of Glastonbury (Bimble...), Friday, 27 May 2005 05:04 (nineteen years ago) link
― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Thursday, 27 July 2006 02:28 (seventeen years ago) link
Fact fans: Gift is German for "poison"
― Onimo (GerryNemo), Saturday, 12 August 2006 00:13 (seventeen years ago) link
― Armadillo Rhinocerous (Bimble...), Saturday, 12 August 2006 00:29 (seventeen years ago) link
My understanding is that the record has been deleted and is only available now on e-bayland (or from people who will burn a copy for you).
― DV (dirtyvicar), Saturday, 12 August 2006 14:53 (seventeen years ago) link
"Two...five...zero..."
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 21 March 2008 03:13 (sixteen years ago) link
"EVERYTHING IS LOST..."
― Alex in NYC, Friday, 21 March 2008 15:48 (sixteen years ago) link
I think I still need this.
― HI DERE, Friday, 21 March 2008 16:08 (sixteen years ago) link
You don't have this? Seriously?
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 21 March 2008 18:32 (sixteen years ago) link
Seriously!
― HI DERE, Friday, 21 March 2008 18:56 (sixteen years ago) link
This will be corrected.
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 21 March 2008 18:56 (sixteen years ago) link
There Will Be Music
― HI DERE, Friday, 21 March 2008 19:00 (sixteen years ago) link
I'm really happy there are so many SoM threads lately
-- Zack Richardson (teenagequiet), Thursday, 19 May 2005 14:55 (2 years ago)
arf
― energy flash gordon, Sunday, 23 March 2008 07:55 (sixteen years ago) link
lol the vocals on "Giving Ground" are so ridiculous
especially when you remember that the dude looks like this http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/437998.jpg
― Curt1s Stephens, Sunday, 20 April 2008 05:27 (sixteen years ago) link
"You reap what you sow..."
― baaderonixx, Monday, 9 February 2009 14:25 (fifteen years ago) link
YES YES YES YES YES THIS RECORD YES YES YES YES OTM
― Gross Chapel British Grenadiers (Bimble), Monday, 9 February 2009 14:29 (fifteen years ago) link
No, this is totally the record right now. I associate it with the cemetary near my house, and I took my friend into the cemetary last weekend, and I was trying to get in touch with this record at the same time, but I listened to Stevie Nicks instead, but I was trying to get back in touch with this record, so thanks for reminding me.
― Gross Chapel British Grenadiers (Bimble), Monday, 9 February 2009 14:32 (fifteen years ago) link
So yeah, Cadiz Music, that remastered reissue, not happening then? It was Coming Soon in 2019.
― StanM, Saturday, 22 October 2022 18:48 (one year ago) link
well i guess those words are just dust
― o shit the sheriff (NickB), Saturday, 22 October 2022 19:23 (one year ago) link
lol
― StanM, Saturday, 22 October 2022 19:24 (one year ago) link
still never got round to hearing this thing tbh, but did have the giving ground single, which i LOVED
― o shit the sheriff (NickB), Saturday, 22 October 2022 19:26 (one year ago) link
i love this album so much. time has been very kind to it.
Two-Five-Zero-Zero-Zero
― stirmonster, Sunday, 23 October 2022 02:01 (one year ago) link
WE FORGIVE AS WE FORGET...AS THE DAY IS LONG...
― stirmonster, Sunday, 23 October 2022 10:42 (one year ago) link
I'm shocked that the guy who claimed he would finally put out a new album if Donald Trump was elected flaked out on a reissue.
I also love this, maybe more than anything else he's done but Floodland and Reptile House. I wish he'd mined this sound more (outside of Flood I and Never Land I guess).
― Doctor Madame Frances Experimento, LLC", Sunday, 23 October 2022 22:23 (one year ago) link
this thing rules, that is all
did anyone ever figure out who the actual "Giving Ground" vocalist is?
― sleeve, Sunday, 23 October 2022 22:56 (one year ago) link
it's James Ray.
― stirmonster, Sunday, 23 October 2022 23:01 (one year ago) link
wait sorry I mean "Rain From Heaven"
― sleeve, Sunday, 23 October 2022 23:02 (one year ago) link
i have also heard it actually is eldritch on all vocals.
i guess we will never truly know.
― stirmonster, Sunday, 23 October 2022 23:08 (one year ago) link
I kind of like that, this weird enigmatic release deserves no less
― sleeve, Sunday, 23 October 2022 23:10 (one year ago) link
Listen to the difference. notEldritch = from GIFT, Eldritch = Floodland bonus track.
https://we.tl/t-kktwDApkTm
― StanM, Monday, 24 October 2022 08:09 (one year ago) link
= two +/- 18 second clips
― StanM, Monday, 24 October 2022 08:10 (one year ago) link
(this is Colours though, but Giving Ground isn't E either)
so yeah, I've been checking this page every couple of Months since 2019, not expecting anything anymore : https://viveleshop.com/blogs/news/coming-soon-the-sisterhood-gift
but... they're finally taking preorders! Maybe to be released in March! https://viveleshop.com/collections/the-sisterhood-gift/products/the-sisterhood-gift-cd
― StanM, Tuesday, 14 February 2023 13:45 (one year ago) link
oh, it IS already out? https://www.discogs.com/release/25442728-The-Sisterhood-Gift
― StanM, Tuesday, 14 February 2023 16:52 (one year ago) link
Ordered on Feb 14 and it's here today (after a Royal Mail being hacked issue, and then then customs+taxes (more than the actual CD price, seriously: fuck everyone who voted for brexit) ).Doesn't sound *massively* different from the original CD except some differences that show they really have the master tapes (tracks not fading out but going on until the cold end, for instance) - worth it, still.
― StanM, Friday, 3 March 2023 10:17 (one year ago) link
the label on the packaging couldn't have been more correctly filled in though: they selected "Gift" :-)
― StanM, Friday, 3 March 2023 10:43 (one year ago) link
hearing it on good headphones now - it's an upgrade for sure, clearer sound. (And none of the lead vox are Eldritch, how can anyone think that?)
― StanM, Friday, 3 March 2023 19:17 (one year ago) link