Life Less Lived: The Gothic Box

Artist	Various Artists
Producer	Bauhaus, The Creatures, Einstürzende Neubauten, Killing Joke, Love and Rockets, Colin Newman, Daniel Ash, Fields of the Nephilim, The Lords, Rubicon, Craig Leon, Roger Armstrong, Steve Churchyard, Andrew Eldritch, Tom Ellard, Mark Freegard, John Fryer, Lisa Gerrard, Mick Glossop, Nigel Gray, Jeremy Green, Stephen Hague, Martin Hannett, Tony James, Gareth Jones, Hugh Jones, Paul Kendall, John Loder, Hypo Luxa, Gary Lyons, Richard Mazda, Tim Palmer, Hermes Pan, Brendan Perry, John Punter, William Reid, Colin Richardson, Simon Rogers, Andrew Warwick, Mike Hedges, Derek Tompkins, Thom Wilson, Paul Cuttler, Steve Brown, The Ivo, Lizard Kings
Label Name	Rhino
Song List	1: Dead Souls (4:55) 2: Charlotte Sometimes (4:12) 3: She's in Parties (5:44) 4: Temple of Love (7:41) 5: Christian Says (3:42) 6: Mutiny in Heaven (4:15) 7: Spellbound (3:17) 8: Fatman (3:45) 9: Mirror People (4:05) 10: Power (4:42) 11: Now I'm Feeling Zombified (9:16) 12: Snake Dance (4:08) 13: Walking on Your Hands (2:38) 14: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (4:19) 15: Wasteland (4:46) 16: The Grip of Love (3:07) 17: His Box (4:39) 18: The Weeping Song (4:23) 19: Exterminating Angel (5:49) 20: God's Zoo (3:25) 21: Heartache (4:22) 22: I Go Crazy (3:50) 23: Cuts You Up (5:27) 24: Open Your Eyes (3:28) 25: Heaven Is Waiting (3:44) 26: All My Colours (4:02) 27: Don't Fall (4:04) 28: Dreamland (3:58) 29: Fall (2:28) 30: Coming Down Fast (2:55) 31: Muscoviet Musquito (4:31) 32: Incubus Succubus II (4:47) 33: Starblood (3:37) 34: Ardera Siempre (4:51) 35: Blood Bitch (4:36) 36: The Arcane (3:46) 37: Rain (3:57) 38: Away (4:55) 39: Watch Without Pain (4:39) 40: Pagan Lovesong (3:28) 41: Morning Dew (4:53) 42: Hamburger Lady (4:09) 43: To Blame (5:22) 44: Melody Lee (2:07) 45: Romeo's Distress (3:16) 46: Party Time (3:17) 47: Kiss (6:22) 48: Dieche (4:30) 49: Assimilate (6:57) 50: Halloween (1:47) 51: Tomorrow's World (5:27) 52: So What (8:13) 53: The Hanging Garden (4:22) 54: Lullaby [DVD] 55: Bela Lugosi's Dead [DVD] 56: Lucretia My Reflection [DVD] 57: Moonchild [DVD] 58: Deliverance [DVD] 59: Ball of Confusion [DVD] 60: Head On [DVD] 61: The Killing Moon [DVD] 62: Where the Wild Roses Grow [DVD] 63: Stigmata [DVD] 64: Spiritwalker [DVD][Live] 65: Cities in Dust [DVD]
Format	CD
Release Date	2006 09 19
Genre	Rock
Style.Categories	Electro-Industrial, Goth Rock, Industrial

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By the gods, here it is, the much vaunted "definitive" Gothic rock compendium from the packaging and licensing elves at Rhino Records. A Life Less Lived will certainly be a candidate for the best packaging award at the Grammy Awards for 2006. As unlikely and as unsettling it is -- for those who live by the black rose of Goth and wish to remain underneath their sad rock in the dark garden of marginality -- without even considering the music or video inside it, this box set stands out as something that perhaps might be sold at your local S&M pleasure palace emporium. Why? Well, for one, it's all assembled inside a black vinyl corset. Only the sticker reveals its contents as it boasts those band names sure to offend every parent who shops at the local mega mart that insists on labeling a CD's contents; names such as Alien Sex Fiend, Christian Death, Fields of the Nephilim, and more adorn the red, black and white sticker. Pasted, of course, in prominent view. Musically, this is a mixed bag. Liz Goodman produced this set and for the most part, she did an excellent job. There are some problematic selections, and of course the stuff that's not here is just as troubling, but then that's what themed various artist box sets are about. Disc one kicks off with Joy Division's "Dead Souls." While it's true that the overwhelming majority would look to JD as one of the penultimate Goth progenitors, it's still an argumentative choice. What about Bauhaus? (Yep -- but with a caveat later). The Sisters of Mercy? Uh huh. March Violets? Of course. Danse Society? You bet. Virgin Prunes? OK, but that's only part of what they were about as a band. The point is, so many of these selections may have been embraced by those who love Goth music, but weren't bands that necessarily tried -- or even wanted to -- appeal to that gloom and doom rock & roll subculture. Another instance: the Misfits "Halloween" is here, but nothing from former frontman Glenn Danzig's Black Aria project -- which is overtly Gothic music. The Misfits, the Damned, the Jesus and Mary Chain, Echo & the Bunnymen, Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, the Birthday Party, Ministry, and the Chameleons U.K. just don't belong here. The Cure is deeply arguable as well. And then there's the sheer volume of post-Bauhaus projects included here. You get the original, but was it necessary to include Tones on Tail, Love and Rockets, Dali's Car, or Peter Murphy's (or "Blitz" as he was known to the late John Peel) and Daniel Ash's solo properties? There are some genius choices here too, though, such as Kommunity FK's "To Blame," .45 Grave's "Party Time," the Cranes' "Starblood," and Rose of Avalanche's "Dreamland," are just a few. There are some rather interesting choices in London After Midnight's "Kiss," Red Lorry Yellow Lorry's "Walking on Your Hands," and Ghost Dance's "The Grip of Love." Much of the standard fare is here as well: "Bela Lugosi's Dead" is here on DVD, as is "She's in Parties," "Snake Dance" by the March Violets, the Cocteau Twins' "Blood Bitch," and tracks by Flesh for Lulu, Gene Loves Jezebel, Xmal Deustschland, Sex Gang Children, and Southern Death Cult. It's great as far as it goes. But what about all the bands on the Projekt label, the longest running, willfully Goth project out there for almost two decades? These are the most obvious omissions, but there certainly are others.