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.

Ripped from the long deleted 1986 CD editions to MP3 @ 320kbps

Bauhaus; 1979 – 1983 [Volume One]

1.      Double Dare

2.      In The Flat Field

3.      Dark Entries

4.      Stigmata Martyr

5.      Bela Lugosi’s Dead

6.      God In An Alcove

7.      Telegram Sam

8.      St. Vitus Dance

9.      A Spy In The Cab

10.   Terror Couple Kill Colonel

11.   Dancing

12.   Hair Of The Dog

13.   The Passion Of Lovers

14.   Mask

Bauhaus; 1979 – 1983 [Volume Two]

1.      Kick In The Eye

2.      Hollow Hills

3.      In Fear Of Fear

4.      Ziggy Stardust

5.      Silent Hedges

6.      Lagartija Nick

7.      Paranoia, Paranoia

8.      Swing The Heartache

9.      Third Uncle

10.   Spirit

11.   All We Ever Wanted

12.   Slice Of Life

13.   She’s In Parties

14.   The Sanity Assassin

15.   Who Killed Mr Moonlight

16.   Satori

17.   Crowds

 More Peter, Daniel, Kevin and David here