VA - A Life Less Lived, The Gothic Box [2006] (3 x CDs)

GOTHIC ROCK

VA - A Life Less Lived, The Gothic Box [2006] (3 x CDs)

In his insightful notes for Rhino's unprecedented new box, Goth expert Mick Mercer writes, Goth blossomed on the gritty soil of punk; forever indebted, essentially different. It has survived all manner of invective and unhealthy assumptions to become a shining example of music made because it needs to be, not because of anything the performers expect to get out of it. This is art which gets inside your heart. The artists featured on this 3CD & 1 DVD collection, the most comprehensive of its kind, indeed created affecting music about what passionately mattered to them, and what started as intense personal expression evolved into a 'lifestyle' for the core audience who most embraced its deep and dark ethos. Reveling in introspection and entranced with sex, death, the life of the mind, and musical poetry, Goth's power to fascinate has never waned, making it one of the most complex and enduring sub-sets of underground music ever.

Yes, I was one of those kids: big, messy hair; black clothes; makeup on the weekends; surly demeanor with everyone but my friends. But my friends were legion. And what bonded us all? Goth music--dark, arty, dramatic, epic, apocalyptic. It gave us focus and refuge during those formative years. Now, it appears some of those kids have grown up and started working for Rhino. A Life Less Lived: The Gothic Box hones in on the territory started by their expansive Left of the Dial box set and gives it a smear of red lipstick and a down-turned glance. And in usual Rhino fashion, it's lovingly designed (the slipcase is a faux-leather corset!), with an extensive booklet that will answer all of your questions about goth, and this box set in particular. It will be needed. One can already hear the cries of "What about...?," "Why that song?," and "Is that goth?" These questions are addressed and gotten out of the way in quick succession. Rhino has the cachet to pull together artists that wouldn't normally be part of such a box set, so they rightly concentrate on including the biggies (the Cure, Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Sisters of Mercy). Also present less well-known bands, such as Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, the March Violets, and the Virgin Prunes. What about the Jesus and Mary Chain, the Misfits, and Echo & the Bunnymen? Are they goth? Not strictly, but every goth I knew loved them. There's even an "instructional" essay for those new to the scene, and a cover of the Cure's "The Hanging Garden" by new-schoolers A.F.I. to bring in the uninitiated. Go on, break out those velvet vests and pointy boots and put this on--it's still amazingly vibrant stuff. --Robert Arambel

Goth is a tag that's been retroactively applied to many of these bands. It means very different things to different people on different sides of the Atlantic. The folks at Rhino have done a really great job assembling this collection along thematic lines (B)

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Track list

CD01

01 Joy Division - Dead Souls 4:55

02 Cure - Charlotte Sometimes 4:12

03 Bauhaus - She's In Parties 5:44

04 Sisters Of Mercy - Temple Of Love 7:41

05 Tones On Tail - Christian Says 3:42

06 The Birthday Party - Mutiny In Heaven 4:15

07 Siouxsie & The Banshees - Spellbound 3:17

08 Southern Death Cult - Fatman 3:45

09 Love And Rockets - Mirror People 4:05

10 Fields Of The Nephilim - Power 4:42

11 Alien Sex Fiend - Now I'm Feeling Zombified 9:16

12 March Violets - Snake Dance 4:08

13 Red Lorry Yellow Lorry - Walking On Your Hands 2:38

14 Specimen - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang 4:19

15 Mission UK - Wasteland 4:46

16 Ghost Dance - The Grip Of Love 3:07

17 Dali's Car - His Box 4:39

CD02

01 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Weeping Song 4:23

02 Creatures - Exterminating Angel 5:49

03 Death Cult - God's Zoo 3:25

04 Gene Loves Jezebel - Heartache 4:22

05 Flesh For Lulu - I Go Crazy 3:50

06 Peter Murphy - Cuts You Up 5:27

07 Lords Of The New Church - Open Your Eyes 3:28

08 Danse Society - Heaven Is Waiting 3:44

09 Echo & The Bunnymen - All My Colours 4:02

10 Chameleons UK - Don't Fall 4:04

11 Rose Of Avalanche - Dreamland 3:58

12 Jesus And Mary Chain - Fall 2:28

13 Daniel Ash - Coming Down Fast 2:55

14 Clan Of Xymox - Muscoviet Mosquito 4:31

15 Xmal Deutschland - Incubus Succubus Ii 4:47

16 Cranes - Starblood 3:37

17 Miranda Sex Garden - Ardera Sempre 4:51

18 Cocteau Twins - Blood Bitch 4:36

19 Dead Can Dance - The Arcane 3:46

CD03

01 Cult - Rain 3:57

02 Bolshoi - Away 4:55

03 Rubicon - Watch Without Pain 4:39

04 Virgin Prunes - Pagan Lovesong 3:28

05 Einsturzende Neubauten - Morning Dew 4:53

06 Throbbing Gristle - Hamburger Lady 4:09

07 Kommunity Fk - To Blame 5:22

08 Damned - Melody Lee 2:07

09 Christian Death - Romeo's Distress 3:16

10 45 Grave - Party Time 3:17

11 London After Midnight - Kiss 6:22

12 Sex Gang Children - Dieche 4:30

13 Skinny Puppy - Assimilate 6:57

14 Misfits - Halloween 1:47

15 Killing Joke - Tomorrow's World 5:27

16 Ministry - So What 8:13

17 Afi - The Hanging Garden 4:22

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