Music Re-Review: Bauhaus - Go Away White

A little over a year ago, I wrote a review on the last offering from legendary post-punk band, Bauhaus, 2008's Go Away White. (You can read that review here)

Since that review, I have listened to Go Away White a bit more and find my view of the album to have changed a bit. So, I felt a re-review was of the essence to explain my new thoughts on the album and perhaps a little of what has changed my view on it.

Bauhaus, as they looked around the time of Go Away White. Left to right: Daniel Ash (guitar, backing vocals), Kevin Haskins (drums), Peter Murphy (vocals, other instruments on occasion), David J (bass guitar, backing vocals)

I won't review the history of the band again. Suffice to say, the band has undergone three major periods - the original period from 1978 to 1983 where the majority of the music was written, recorded, and performed, the 1998/1999 Resurrection reunion tour which spurred the Gotham CD/DVD but no new material from the group, and the 2005-2008 period that resulted in Go Away White as the final offering from the group and minimal touring opening for Nine Inch Nails (the former in 2008, the latter in 2005/2006).

Recently, Peter Murphy has undergone a massive tour to celebrate 35 years of Bauhaus existing. In the past, he would play a few Bauhaus songs in his solo sets as they fit in, providing an indulging experience for fans who weren't quite expecting the rare treat. But, 35 years and the kind of influence, albeit rather underground, that Bauhaus has garnered shouldn't go without notice. So, the tour, dubbed the Mr. Moonlight Tour, features Peter Murphy with his solo work band members playing a full Bauhaus setlist. There is no "Cuts You Up," no "I'll Fall With Your Knife," and certainly no "Peace to Each." Just a divine combination of the Bauhaus hits every fan knows and loves and lesser known beauties that only the most extreme of fans would know all the words to.

Peter Murphy and the ever talented Mark Gemini Thwaite on guitar at the Granada Theater in Dallas during the Mr. Moonlight Tour. I'm also 99.9% sure this photo was taken by Bill Ellison at the Granada.

I will endeavor to write a concert review surrounding this tour at a later time. The point I am getting at here, however, is that on this tour, certain songs from Go Away White have made their appearances. And it is in this context of a full Bauhaus set, hearing some of those songs for the first time live (first time for me), that something has clicked into place.

Years ago, the very first time I saw Peter Murphy perform (June 2009, Emo's outdoor stage in Austin on 6th street and Red River) he busted out "Too Much 21st Century." It struck me as odd that he needed a piece of paper with the lyrics on it. After all, the album had been out for a year and was relatively fresh. Of course, in retrospect, I perhaps take for granted the fact that a person like Peter Murphy with such a prolific career and countless lyrics remembers the vast majority so well. And if he wasn't planning to play those songs every night, it becomes easy to see how someone wouldn't necessarily remember all the words and perfectly.

As I have remarked and has been mentioned in interviews with the band members, Go Away White draws many different influences that differ vastly from the initial influences that spurned previous albums. Go Away White wasn't exactly intended to be the continuation of the band. It wasn't meant as the big follow-up, years later, to Burning From the Inside. Instead, it was more a meeting of the minds at a middle ground, a junction that brought in their current places in their careers. After all, if you listen to any project from the four following Bauhaus, none really carried the same sort of sound or purpose as Bauhaus.

In "Too Much 21st Century," there's an argument proposed that everything in the 21st century way of living is about wanting more than what you have. Want a better actress, better singer, more money, etc. Instead of being thankful for what you do have, it isn't enough. And there is truth to this argument, I believe. Today's world is incredibly fast paced and often your best just isn't good enough. While I first found this song to be rather simplistic, I now feel there is a certain beauty in that simplicity.

Love and Rockets, the major project of David J, Kevin Haskins, and Daniel Ash post-Bauhaus

The second song on the album, "Adrenalin," was one I never gave much thought to. The lyrics basically describe what adrenalin can do to your body (kickstart your heart, make the finish just the start, etc.). However, seeing the song live in Houston on the Mr. Moonlight Tour and seeing the energy Peter Murphy put into the song, it just instantly grew on me that night. Again, the lyrics are not like the older Bauhaus songs. They aren't poetic or cryptic. They're really there at a more surface level. But something in the music and the rawness of the performance just makes this song incredible.

In the interest of sparing some reading, I won't go over every track on the album. There are still those, like "Saved," that I don't much care for even still. Instead, I will talk some on the last two songs I greatly enjoy from this album.

Track 4, "International Bulletproof Talent," reminds me of some of those old-timey spy movies. Not the ones you take seriously like James Bond, but the sort with the cheesy music and large hats and coats. This isn't to say this song is cheesy and shouldn't be taken with some kind of seriousness. But just to say that the music reminds of that sort of thing, really. It isn't much, and maybe this is a cop-out, but I really like how the music and vocals mesh on this track. Just take my word on it that it's a good one.

The final track I will talk about is perhaps my favorite from the album. "Endless Summer of the Damned" is perhaps the one song on this album that nods back to what Bauhaus's style used to be. I don't mean to say this fits along exactly beside "Bela Lugosi's Dead" or "Terror Couple Kill Colonel," but there are some beautiful lyrics to this song that I simply don't follow. A surface level reading could indicate that this is a commentary against global warming (i.e. "the ultra violet's violent" could be something to suggest that the sun has become more harsh and is harming us), but I suspicion there's more to this than the surface level suggests. Basically, my new found love for this track is based off of seeing it performed in Dallas on the Mr. Moonlight Tour. I distinctly remember getting goosebumps during this song, wondering what it was. I knew it must of been off of Go Away White and when I caught the lyrics of "the endless summer of the damned," I knew it was this song. But my goodness was it amazing! Perhaps what caught me was not just the power in the song itself, but seeing everyone on stage jumping to it and rocking out. There was something very oddly personal and inviting in that moment. I felt very connected to the performance at that moment (not to say I wasn't connected before, but more so).

Dalis Car, the rocky collaboration between Peter Murphy and ex-Japan bassist Mick Karn that spurned one full album in the early 80s, a much too short EP in the mid-2000s, and showed Peter Murphy that he had what it took to be a solo musician, capable of writing songs and music of his own

All in all, this still isn't my favorite Bauhaus album. It may very well still be my least favorite (though it is at least gaining ground on Burning From the Inside). But as I listen to it more and understand the state of mind all four members were in at the time, I begin to appreciate the album more and more for what it is. The members often describe the writing and recording of this album as spontaneous. First takes were used as the final cuts. The album was wrapped in 18 days. Much as every breakup of the band was essentially spontaneous, it should be fitting that their last contribution together would be as well. Peter Murphy has also said how he felt the timing was right for this to be the end. He had tried a few times to bring the band together again with no avail. He felt the other three were just tired and could no longer keep up. Perhaps on the outset, those words seem very harsh, but I believe there is truth to them. Merely ask yourself who the driving force of the band was. Who brought them together repeatedly? Who has had the longest and most prolific career? Who is still going strong? Peter Murphy. Sure, this may not be the end many long standing fans of the band were hoping for. In honesty, is it fair to say any of us were even hoping for an end? Probably not. But, all things taken, I feel this may have been the best end for the band.


Rating: 4 of 5

More information: Official Bauhaus website, Official site of Peter Murphy