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Greatest Fits Ministry |
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They were avant-garde before we knew what to do with the word… they're renown as musical innovators was long since established before Electronic music and Industrialized techniques became commonplace… they were out there… far out there on innumerable levels and mere mention of the name will evoke many different thoughts, ideas, concepts… and what a perfect name, Ministry, a housing for all unholy-a mainstream blockage that rendered useless the simplistic concept of Rock, Pop and Heavy Metal-they were all of these things and they were yet something unknown, mysterious but never thoughtless… And many from back in the day, say some twenty years before, may yet be scratching their head at the early MTV fave that was "Revenge," a Brit-Pop extreme from an album far removed, eons and again from anything we've known from this band, Ministry. "Greatest Fits" says it all but not nearly enough-but as far as the bands' "hits" collection, necessary, integral and vital for all who've embraced a technological vision to move forward. Ministry's heavy-edged, techno-laced style of Industrial angst grew to feverish highest at around the time "The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste" first poisoned the airwaves back in '89, a time when music was crying for an inevitable revolution, they were going to give it… in fact they had been doing so right along but it wasn't until then that people were ready to embrace Ministry as something more than an underground phenomena. But a few years later, with the release of "Keanho" or something thereabout, saw the band rise to near mythic proportions. With the seething free-for-all collaboration with the Butthole Surfers' Gibby Haynes for their Hard Radio hit "Jesus Built My Hotrod," they never looked back, burning rubber like a motherfucker Hell-bent on death or its humanistic equivalent. Ministry made a lot of noise, here, there, and in more ways than one, they had grand machinations attached to their music, the art of noise for all the world and "Greatest Fits" captures the best moments of another band that may never be fully appreciated till well after their time. I still can't come to grips that "Burning Inside" from the "Mind" release didn't get on here-that's more than just a mere oversight-but they managed to throw in just about anything and everything else that could possibly be termed "integral" to the bands continuing legacy… "Lay Lady Lay," the sole exception ("Dead Guy," "Game Show…") a numbing cover of a lousy Bob Dylan tune that they obviously had fun with but never sounded good to begin with-this preceded by "Reload" both going back to their 1996 "Filth Pig" follow up to the mega-successful "Keanho" thing that to this day and forever after has its place in history. "Filth Pig" was more the return to their "Twitch" and "Land of Rape and Honey" days, less built on Speed-Metal warfare, and lent more to the technological complexities and spiritual wanderings of the past. A trio of newer material closes things out in odd yet traditionally Ministral-like fashion before a bruising and blurry cover of the Sabs' "Supernaut." What can you really say about a "Greatest Hits" collection other than most of what should be on there is there… would've been cool though to see 'em throw on an "Effigy" or "I Wanted To Tell Her" just for kicks considering their knack for going against expectations. Released by Warner Bros. Records Review by Vinnie Apicella
[va85@columbia.edu] |
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SPHINTOUR MINISTRY |
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Ministry Are: 1. PSALM 69 (5:04) Elysee Montmarte,
Paris Recorded in '96 during the 'Filth Pig' album tour in various venues around the world, 'Sphintour' avoids comparison to Ministry's previous legendary 'In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up…' by concentrating on a huge amount of material drawn from 'Filth Pig' and 'Psalm 69'. If Jourgensen & Co's aim was to remind everyone of the acidic intensity and offer a reappraisal of 'Filth Pig's' sadistic, sludgy and misunderstood ways then they have surely hit the nail firmly on the head. While other bands can sound rather tinny on live shows, Ministry seem to be in their element. Already muscular tracks like 'N.W.O', 'Thieves', and 'Psalm 69' are given a huge adrenalin boost that make them sound absolutely monstrous, making everything come to life much better than they ever did on album. Over the years they've lost none of the power and potency and neither do they sound like they are rooted in a bygone era, which is common nowadays amongst bands of the 90's industrial scene. Ministry also show enough respect to their fans by not regurgitating straight album tracks, which is outstanding considering how much sampling they use. Look out for the absolutely fucked-up harmonica playing by Jourgensen on 'Filth Pig'. This is real live sickness brought to you by the pioneers of the industrial scene…own it now or perish! Mayan Records, is a label of Sanctuary
Records Group Review by Chris Wheeler
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