Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Peter Murphy Remastered --- Love Hysteria

Mr. Murphy has been remastering his back catalog.

While I have been a PM listener since Bahaus days, I was a bit leery of the intention behind such remastering, as well as the potential of the product itself. Murphy's solo work is often a mixed bag, self indulgence flecked with shiny pop brilliance, outright duds and spot on bits of loveliness. To be fair, he is never dull, and that voice could make voter rolls sound interesting --- if enigmatic.

The remastering of Love Hysteria is more than worth a listen or a buy. All the songs have a new sparkle and a shift of layers that let new areas of interest shine through. In the reworkings Murphy actually down plays the voice to gorgeous advantage. Interestingly, the only song that doesn't improve is Indigo Eyes, the only real hit from the album, which I've always found interesting if a bit pallid.

In addition to the remix/remodel, a generous selection of demos are included. These are of interest because they show much about Murphy's songwriting choices, and highlight his confidence and direction as an artist.

Murphy never fails to intrigue, even if he sometimes fails to please, but the remastering of Love Hysteria, no doubt operating from a hard won artistic maturity, consistently does both.

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