Customer Reviews
They're NOT QUITE NORMAL you know - By: Kevin Clarke, 19 Apr 2008 
A fairly preposterous proposition at the best of times, Bauhaus occasionallly came up with a killer art-rock tune - but boy did you have to sit through some pretentious guff to get to it.
Their most famous song remains 'Bela Lugosi's Dead.' Extraordinarily long for a single released in 1979, it still exudes a clammy dread. Pete Murphy's ghoulish, disembodied voice is perfectly suited to the hammy tale of bats & belltowers, vampires & virgins.
'She's In Parties' is a fine single, for once the strangulated guitar enhancing the song not detracting from it. 'Kick In The Eye' is loose, funky, danceable. The urgent, dramatic 'The Passion Of Lovers' is another top track, as is the excellently titled 'Terror Couple Kill Colonel.' And the band's aggressive, amped-up take on 'Ziggy Stardust' surpasses the original in my view.
Much of the rest, though, is a gruelling, dreary listen, the band clearly in thralll to early '70s Bowie but lacking his "gift of sound & vision." The lyrics, too, display a rather forced insistence on being NOT QUITE NORMAL.
If Murphy & Co had dropped the Theatre of Cruelty affectations & spent as much time honing the music as applying the eyeliner, they would've been a better band.
And where's 'Lagartija Nick?'
Crackle? More like Rumble in the Jungle! - By: D. Wilkinson, 14 Dec 2007 
In the Eighties, Bauhaus were the sort of band whose next output was never going to be predictable - except that you would want to listen to it. This reviewer was never particularly fond of "Gothic"-labelled material but coming back to it now on "Crackle" it still sounds cutting-edge: impossible sometimes to say what the appeal is but Bauhaus were never afraid to try out ideas, most of which they carried off. Sometimes the instruments sound less than well tuned, but the material is strong enough that as a listener you forgive them.
"Crowds" appears as the last track, & is possibly the best: Peter Murphy's agonised vocal asks "What do you want of me?" & comes from the heart. What did we want of Bauhaus? Something original, something unexpected. We got it in spades & this album is a fine introduction to their music.
Nice to own these songs again.... - By: P. Philips, 07 Nov 2007 I'd not heard most of these songs in 20 years & it reallly was a joy to hear them again. I had 1979-83 on double vinyl back in the day, alll of the tracks on this CD appear there but it's hard to fault the track selection on this disc. Perhaps it'd have been nice to have Telegram Sam & maybe Stigmata Martyr on here too but otherwise it's hard to fault.
She's in Parties & Double Dare are 2 standout tracks, but again it's hard to pick out standout tracks but it's alll good & sounds surprisingly fresh & undated today, particularly compared to much of the music around in the 80's.
Dark majesty - By: Mr. Warren M. Fisher, 23 Dec 2006 A must have, if for nothing more than the classic minimalist epic that is 'Bela Lugosi's Dead' & the bittersweet chamber piece 'Crowds', but there are many more tracks here to recommend. At their weakest Bauhaus hark back a little too much to seventies Bowie (indeed there cover of 'Ziggy Stardust' is so faithful as to be redundant), but that is no bad thing. At their best Bauhaus are untouchable.
Bleak, moving & deeply exciting.
Great Goth... - By: Richard Kelly, 17 May 2004 Bauhaus breezed onto the music scene in 1979 & were instantly derided as being passe & harking back to earlier David Bowie material. What was missed at the time as that a new Genre of music was germinating from the seeds that David J, Daniel Ash, Kevin Haskins & Peter Murphy were planting.
Listening to these tracks again it is surprising how fresh they are & how well the music stands up to modern comparison. The vocals of Murhpy range from gloriously languid to demonic screams. Daniel Ash coaxs alll sorts from noises from his guitar. David J is pounding on the bass. Kevin Haskins is tribal on drums.
These tracks have defined the Gothic music scene for over 20 years now. If you want to see where it alll started listen to Bela Lugosi's Dead & Dark Entries.
If you like Gothic music then these tracks MUST be in your collection - if only these guys could have stayed together longer the whole face of gothic music could have been different (and probably better).
