{"id":321,"date":"2011-08-23T23:46:17","date_gmt":"2011-08-23T23:46:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/?p=321"},"modified":"2011-08-23T23:52:35","modified_gmt":"2011-08-23T23:52:35","slug":"peter-murphy-ninth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/?p=321","title":{"rendered":"Peter Murphy &#8211; Ninth"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> The following is an album review that appears in the current issue of <strong>The Aquarian<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/pmurphy_ninth_lores.jpg\"><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Peter Murphy\/ Ninth<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>On Nettwerk Records<br \/>\nBy Doktor John<\/p>\n<p>When the seminal Gothic rock band <strong>Bauhaus<\/strong> broke up in 1983, the founding members went off in different directions. Frontman <strong>Peter Murphy<\/strong> went solo and produced three albums, <strong>Deep<\/strong>, <strong>Holy Smoke and<\/strong> <strong>Cascade<\/strong> that, while more melodious, represented a continuation of the dark tradition on which the original band was founded. Numerous singles from those albums went on to become mainstays of gothic-industrial and underground clubs. But it has been sixteen years since<strong> Cascade<\/strong>, he has relocated to Turkey, and all he has produced musically have been the forgettable <strong>Unshattered<\/strong>; <strong>Dust<\/strong>, an incongruous probe into Near Eastern mysticism; some greatest hits collections; and a reunion album with <strong>Bauhaus<\/strong>. Now with <strong>Ninth<\/strong>, however, he has at last resurrected the richly vocal, emotionally moving style that renders his supporters delirious with enthusiasm.<\/p>\n<p>     The opening track, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153<em>I Spit Roses<\/em>,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d has the enigmatic poetry and complex, layered rhythms that characterized all of his best works. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153<em>Seesaw Sway<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is one of the best cuts on the album and restores Murphy to the top tier of dark rock, utilizing his broad vocal range. All Murphy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s albums have at least one tender-hearted ballad, and on Ninth that would be  \u00e2\u20ac\u0153<em>Cr\u00c3\u00a8me de la Cr\u00c3\u00a8me<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d which begins with velvety vocals and a simplified one-hand piano accompaniment but surges to a passionate, symphonic crescendo.<\/p>\n<p>     \u00e2\u20ac\u0153<em>Velocity Bird<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is in true rock\u00e2\u20ac\u2122n\u00e2\u20ac\u2122roll style and Murphy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lyrics pose a poetic riddle of the kind that only he concocts. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Uneven &#038; Brittle\u00e2\u20ac\u009d features power chord guitar riffs and menacing vocals, but contains a soft-spoken narrative in its middle. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Peace to Each\u00e2\u20ac\u009d sounds like vintage Bauhaus with discordant singing over a driving rhythm.<\/p>\n<p>      One of the absolute gems of the album is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153<em>The Prince &#038; Old Lady Shade\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em> that will find its place among the best and most beloved songs he has ever sung for its mesmerizing beat, layered arrangement and virtuoso vocals. <\/p>\n<p>    \u00e2\u20ac\u0153<em>Memory Go<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153<em>Never Fall Out<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d are fine, listenable and danceable without being standouts on their own merits.  \u00e2\u20ac\u0153<em>Secret Silk Society<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is the pitch-black, atonal and creepy finale in the early Bauhaus spirit that Peter Murphy carries on.<\/p>\n<p>    <strong> Ninth<\/strong> is vintage Peter Murphy and will more than satisfy his ardent fans who have been waiting for an album of this quality.<\/p>\n<p>Rating: A<br \/>\nIn a word: Consummate<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The following is an album review that appears in the current issue of The Aquarian Peter Murphy\/ Ninth On Nettwerk Records By Doktor John When the seminal Gothic rock band Bauhaus broke up in 1983, the founding members went off in different directions. Frontman Peter Murphy went solo and produced three albums, Deep, Holy Smoke [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,7,5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/doktorjohn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}