Peter John Joseph Murphy is probably best known for fronting the dark art house outfit Bauhaus who shone brightly for five years and have reunited occasionally since folding in 1983. A project called Dalis Car followed with Mick Karn from Japan which produced `The Waking Hour` album, then a solo career that has created several well received albums. He releases two albums on his new record label Silver Shade this month with the first being `Peter Live-Vol One- Covers` which encompasses a collection of cover versions recorded live.
The album opens with a reimagining of the Iggy Pop/David Bowie written `Funtime` which Iggy released on his 1977 album `The Idiot`. It`s a number that is given an update but still retains the light-heartedness of the original. Peter Hook joins the singer for a cover of his band Joy Division`s classic `Transmission` a number that is still as anthemic today as when it was released forty-five years ago. It`s a number that is made for the singer`s haunting baritone vocal delivery.
Pere Ubu’s iconic ‘Final Solution’ a song that may well be about teenage angst gets the Murphy touch and having seen Bauhaus cover this several times it`s a track that I really enjoy. I also saw Pere Ubu play this back in the mists of time. It gets extended here with the band kind of jamming and runs to over six minutes in length. Having covered and charted with Bowie`s `Ziggy` in 1982 it was no surprise that the singer took a stab at The Thin White Duke`s first hit, ‘Space Oddity’. It another extended version and not quite what you`d expect. A fairly unique but interesting interpretation, nevertheless.
Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ was an interesting choice and I thought it worked pretty well considering how synonymous it is with its originator. It`s back to the late seventies for a cover of the Howard Devoto written Magazine track ‘The Light Pours Out Of Me’ from their `Real Life` debut album. A thumping powerful version from Murphy and his band.
I hadn`t heard Elvis’s ‘Love Me Tender’ covered by the singer before and here he gives it a slight edge and it feels somewhat sinister. The final offering is a rendering of Nine Inch Nails `Hurt` with writer Trent Reznor joining on piano. It’s an Intimate version that has similarities to the Johnny Cash adaptation. Trent Raznor praised Cash’s interpretation of the song for its “sincerity and meaning”, going so far as to say, “that song isn’t mine anymore”. If I hadn’t heard Cash`s release, i`m sure this would have had a greater impact.
I must admit that I was a huge fan of Bauhaus and saw them many times including the show at the Old Vic Theatre, London in 1982 which became part of the Shadow and Light & Archive release and have seen Peter solo a few times, so I was intrigued by this release. There were a couple of numbers that I hadn’t heard before but nothing earth shattering.
If you haven`t heard these numbers covered here before this release will be a delight but it`s been a decade since Peter Murphy`s last solo studio album and I’d love to hear some new material from this gifted artist.
Rating 7.5/10
