Music Review: Peter Murphy - Dust

Today's Music Review will be of Peter Murphy's 2002 solo album, Dust. This album is incredibly different from anything Murphy has ever done and possibly may ever do and as a fan of his work, you either really love this album or really hate it (as also evinced from reviews which give the album either very high or very low marks). Let's take a closer look.

Album cover for 2002's Dust

Dust was the first major release from Murphy since 1995's Cascade. There are, I'm sure, many reasons for this. First, Murphy probably spent a couple years after the release of Cascade touring and supporting that album. Second, I believe I've read before that around this time Murphy took a bit of a break from music to do something utterly domestic - be a father. His two kids were growing up, so that was a good time to just simply be a family man. Good on you, sir! Though he did manage to put out the Recall EP in 1997. (And of course, as I try to find an older interview that may shed some light on this, I'm unable to find one, so this could very well be me making things up) Third, 1998 saw the reunion of Bauhaus with some touring and the thought (though it did not pan out) of recording new music together again. Fourth, 2000 saw the Live Just for Love Tour, which was probably done to raise funds for the Dust album and spurned the live album Alive Just for Love. And then 2002 finally rolls around and Dust is released to the world.

Hugh Marsh on violin and Peter Murphy. From 2002, most likely on tour supporting Dust. Photo credit to Barry Brecheisen

Murphy has called Turkey a primary residence since at least the early 90s (this due probably in large part for the fact that his wife is originally Turkish, though the two met in England sometime before Murphy's first solo album was released). He is also a follower of Sufism (perhaps more in the spiritual sense of Sufism and not so much the truly religious side...another story for another time, but Murphy and I share somewhat similar views on religion which is a mix of neat and eerie...the sharing of those ideas, not the ideas themselves). Much of Murphy's solo work has been characterized by varying religious undertones (and thought to be part of why his first two solo albums were largely overlooked). Even early on you could catch glimpses of the Turkish influence in his songs. However, Dust is where all this comes together and assaults you head on. There is no question about where the influences from this album come from.

Each song averages around seven minutes in length and focuses more on the music itself rather than lyrics. The lyrics tend to be fairly repetitious (which I believe is done purposely to allude to zikirs that are most likely sung on the streets in Istanbul often, providing influence and inspiration for Murphy for this body of work). The music features familiar instruments like guitars and violin, but also brings into the mix more traditional instruments of the Middle East and Turkey and the skillful talents of Mercan Dede (a fellow Turkish musician known for playing a modernized style of Sufi music) - ouds (or lutes, depending where you're from and how you wish to call them), bendirs (a type of drum), neys (a type of flute), and plenty others (I can't find a listing of what instruments are actually used, so I'm going based off of what I can hear and know the names of).

Mercan Dede playing a ney. May I say this guy is awesome and we should be friends pronto? Image found randomly on the Internet.

Dust opens with "Things to Remember." As the track opens, it is very eerie, which is perhaps reminiscent of prior works Murphy has done. He speaks the lyrics in a low, almost whispered voice. "The power of poetry comes from the ability to defy logic/defy logic often/use a metaphor and tell us that your lover is the sky." This song has a growing anticipation, picking up in volume and urgency as the song progresses. I don't truly know what the lyrics are about, but they have the feel of a religious undertone, as is typical of several of Murphy's songs. In Islam, recitation of the Qur'an is done in more of a singsong manner than simply reading the words on the page. It's a bit of poetry, in of itself, and much of it defies logic in the sense that so many of the stories comprising religions defy logic (ex. parting a sea so people can walk on the bottom and not drown. That is an act that defies all possible logic, yet in Christianity/Islam/Judaism, we are told it is the truth). The story surrounding the revelation of the Qur'an to Prophet Muhammed is even something that defies logic. How could a man formulate this religion if he had limited contact with other religious ideas and couldn't read or write? It defies all logic, yet it exists. There are several places where Murphy repeats "love anything," which ties into his belief that Islam is a religion of love and peace. He mentions prostration to the ground, which is part of the manner in which Muslims pray. The repetitious manner of some of the lyrics and the drum beats remind me of the style of zikirs (religious chants, really, to praise Allah, often repetitious in nature and accompanied by a drum), which just ties in more with the overall theme of the song and the album. Maybe I'm reading way too far into this one, but if nothing else, this is certainly one gorgeous piece of work.

The next song is "Fake Sparkle or Golden Dust?" It opens with some oud and electric violin. Again, similar to "Things to Remember," the opening is a bit slow and dark. This has often been one of my favorites from this album, but I cannot begin to tell you what the lyrics mean. The music is a mix of beauty and allure and I simply love it. Cop out, sure, but it's all I have.

The sixth track is "Your Face." I skip to this one because in all honesty, many of the tracks sound similar. Do not take this as a bad thing. Each has their intricacies and emotion, but if you're just going to give this album a one-time listen, you won't necessarily pick up on all those subtle nuances. I skip to this song because it is the one Murphy is most proud of from the album. It begins with ambient music as do most of the tracks and some electric violin. At some point, drums (maybe bass or a synthesizer?) kick in and sound much like the beat of a heart. Again, I am unsure the meaning to the lyrics, but I almost get the sense that this song was written to his wife ("I trace your feet like transparent thrones/I dream of your clinging, I am not alone/I glide with you, I draw you in coal/You paint the river, I am not alone"). This is certainly a beautiful song and just feels deeply personal somehow, even if it isn't written from him to his wife, but just some storyteller perspective saying the lyrics.

The album ends with two re-worked versions of past songs: Love Hysteria's "My Last Two Weeks" and Cascade's "Subway." "My Last Two Weeks" takes on this almost whimsical feel (in a good way). It also incorporates a background sound that reminds me of the scratching of a needle on a record (yes, as a record enthusiast, I notice silly things like this). I don't know the meaning behind these lyrics either and won't venture to try and analyze them as they seem very complex to me for some reason, but I really enjoy the re-worked version of this song. Again, like so many of the other songs on this album, it feels deeply personal. The re-work of "Subway" is perhaps even better than the original (and the original is probably one of my favorites of Murphy's solo works). It begins with some oud playing and some background sounds before drums come in. As with many of Murphy's songs, I haven't exactly ventured to determine what the lyrics of this song mean. I know that for whatever reason they speak to me more so than other lyrics and are ones I've known longer than many others. There's just something captivating and deeply personal/emotional about this song and this re-work is simply beautiful (though I feel the instrumentation on the re-worked version does change the feel of the song ever so slightly for me...the range of feelings and emotions I go through listening to the two versions are different...not saying this is a bad thing, just pointing out that the two versions have very different vibes about them, to me anyways).

On the whole, this album is more than just a concept album, a collection of songs, or an art album. It is a masterpiece. It is easily the most mature and emotional work Murphy has ever done. It was a complete re-invention and a glimpse of who Murphy was at the time. It was the mark of doing things his way and not wavering to the demands of fans or record labels. It was pure genius. This is an album where listening is simply not enough. If all you want to do is listen to it, you will miss the true meaning and it will simply feel like seven minute long opuses that are all similar in scope and sound. To truly connect with this piece and understand the subtleties, you have to feel this album. It has to course through you, making your heart beat in time to the rhythms, you have to feel the lyrics course through your mind, and simply submit yourself to this piece, much as Muslims submit to Allah in prayer. Dust is the perfect emotional embodiment of a country's culture, a set of religious ideologies, and the talents of an artist unafraid to re-invent himself and go in a bold new direction.


Rating: 5 out of 5 (I'd rather be obscene and rate it something ridiculous like 12856187345 out of 5. Yeah, wrap your mind around that one)

More Information: Official Site of Peter Murphy, Official Site of Mercan Dede