A Slight Case Of, err, money grabbing (A Slight Case Of Overbombing - The Sisters Of Mercy)

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Product:	A Slight Case Of Overbombing - The Sisters Of Mercy
Date:	05/03/01 (72 review reads)
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Advantages: Not many, really. Sisters' fans will have the stuff on it anyway.

Disadvantages: Buy it and you may as well flush you money down the bog.

"Overbombing" is the last ever "official" release by The Sisters and is purely an exercise of the record company EastWest (who the band didn't actually sign to) to milk the fans of money for something they've already got.

According to Andrew Eldritch, his contract with the lable he signed to (WEA) was fullfilled but the record company that they were moved to stated otherwise. Eldritch gave the record company his back catalogue of "indie" releases (hence the album "Some Girls Wander By Mistake" being released). Still not satisfied with this, "A Slight Case Of Overbombing" was released. Still not enough, Eldritch then went on "strike" and that's why nothing else has been "officially" released under the banner "The Sisters Of Mercy". The sub title of "Greatest Hits Volume One" seems a bit stupid in retrospect.

I don't actually own a copy of this album - and I've no intention of buying it either. I have listened to it, though. The only difference to the singles released and the content here on "Overbombing" is a different length version of the post "Sisterhood" release, "This Corrosion" (a song originally intended for the "Spoiler" album, released to prevent former Sisters' band members from using the name "The Sisterhood".

The album contains close on a decade of music from the Sisters, in reverse order from when released. The final track "Body And Soul" was the first to feature (then) ex-Dead Or Alive guitarist, Wayne Hussey and it's clear what the major influence of the song writing came from. It was from this point that The Sisters sounded like a professional band.

From the debut album "First And Last And Always", the two singles "Walk Away" (later covered by Paradise Lost) and "No Time To Cry" advanced the band further
in the charts, sounding more "poppy" than the release before. Here's a bit of trivia - the track "Black Planet" was going to be the third single, but wasn't.

After the split and a period of almost two years, the next incarnation of The Sisters appeared, with the storming and timeless classic "This Corrosion", although it might easily been performed by Meat Loaf - as that is what it sounds like. Well, Meat Loaf's band (The Neverland Express) and producer Jim Steinman, well, it's bound to sound like Mr Loaf - overboard with the multi-tracked New York Choral Choir vocal intro. Next was the rather lack-lustre "Dominion" and whilst not a bad song, it is pale and insignificant next to "Corrosion", even if it was a Steinman produced track. "Dominion" is one of those songs that when it is performed live, the drunken members of the audience sounds a lot better than the performer. The third single from this era (on the album "Floodland") was "Lucretia (My Reflection)" (originally called "Empire Down"), with the vocals to low down in the mix and the screetching guitars to high in the mix. At least the 12" version of this song isn't here - as that is even more obvious that the tape loop operator was not paying enough attention to the job in hand.

Another couple of years, another unfriendly band split and the rockier version of The Sisters' emerged, with the cliche-ridden lyrics throughout (talk about two-faced - former band member Wayne Hussey was accused of writing material that was cliche-ridden and lo and behold, what does eldritch do five years' later...). Half of "Vision Thing" is here, although only the Steinmann colaboration "More" and the, to be blunt, total crap "Dr Jeep" were released in the UK. As with the album, the tracks from this era (including the German release "When You Don'
t See Me" and the Canadian single "Vision Thing") were actually rougher, earlier visions of the songs that were recorded, with the "better sounding" stuff not being released. "Detonation..." is pretty boring and is typical of that album. Since Hussey and co wiped the floor with the "goth" sound, Eldritch re-invented himself as (with what he calls) a rock and roll band. Yes Andrew. Keep taking the medicine. The stuff mentioned here from "Vision Thing" is the worst sounding of the lot, just twin overdriven guitars with limp basslines following the root notes of each power chord. Yes Andrew, you've shown us your production skills. Next...

The last couple of tracks to mention are the 1992 reworking of old favourite "Temple Of Love" with the screetching voice of Ofra Hazza (bloody hell) and even more insipid basslines than before. The Sisters have gone from the incredidbly powerful and defining bass of Craig Adams down to a bass machine that must have come from a car boot sale, which isn't very rock and roll. Saying that, it was the most successful Sisters single released.

The last track to mention is "Under The Gun", which was (if memory serves) supposed to be a single form the group Berlin. Their vocalist, Teri Nunn. This songs features the debut of Adam Pearson on guitar. So, I dread to think of what it would sound like without said guitarist.

As a collection of songs go, it's okay and as Eldritch won't get a penny of royalties, I'm sure he'd agree with "tape what you've but with our name on it instead".

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