New Wave Outpost Forum

Have been listening to Sympathy alot lately and love it. Can't believe the band that they eventually became. Would they have "made it" had they stayed in the true "new romantic" synth style?

"You just pick a chord, go twang, and you've got music." ~ Sid Vicious

It's very tough for bands in that if they stay the same they are criticized for it; while, on the other hand, if they change, they might completely alienate their core audience. I think what Al did was very interesting as he released some 12-inches on Wax Trax afterwards that kind of were like "With Sympathy" but still a bit different. I thought "Twitch" was an excellent bridge between the past and the future of what the band was to become. I have to admit, that I really missed the old Ministry when they went into their "Apocolypso" stage. Still, Al kept the transistion going because he gave us songs like "Land of Rape and Honey" and "You Know What You Are" which sounded like they were tracks from the "Twitch" sessions. Over the years, I did begin to give up hope that Ministry would return to their once roots. Al ruined his voice with so much abuse (hear the remake to his classic "Everyday Is Halloween") and then became stuck on G.W. Bush to the point where it was like, "Oh Brother!!!! Not again with politics!!!!!" Al did "(Alien)ate" his old audience.

I lament not having a remastered "With Sympathy" with those great 12-inch versions of "Work For Love" and "I Wanted To Tell Her" included. To me it's a shame and a pity that he hates this work so much. I miss his fake British accent on the tracks and those great synth lines.

Sorry, I kind of rambled here and got away from the subject at hand. Yeah, I believe Ministry could have built on their classic "With Sympathy" sound. The man had great ideas and a true sence of the aggressive melody.

Oh well, what are you going to do? It's his choice to do whatever he wants but my choice to suffer because of it.



Jeffrey

Yeah, it would have been great if that American Beat reissue would have happened with the bonus tracks. But, it got denied. Oh well.

"Words like conviction can turn into a sentence"

When Twitch came out I was very confused.
Everything I liked about With Sympathy was absent on this new release.
I played a few tracks as a DJ and hoped they would grow on me.
It wasn't the case.

There's still room in my collection for a remastered With Symphany and/or an extensive 12" box set collection, like they did for Depeche Mode and Erasure.

I heard if a fan approaches Al with a copy of With Sympathy to autograph he destroys it.

They're back! from the new one "Relapse"


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Kor42f1GI5A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Give Al credit. He is Number One when it comes to artists who completely changed their sound. Even Bob Dylan when he went electric or Cat Stevens when he went Muslim are baffled by the change that Al made.

Funny thing is that anyone who saw Al live during the "With Sympathy" days saw a guy on stage who LOVED his music and wanted all in the audience to love it too. Al was a smiling cheerleader on stage while singing those songs. Great, fun show.

Years later I saw Ministry again and they were the new apocalypse Ministry. But funny thing, Al kind of was the same. Though the songs sure weren't pop, he still put on a crowd pleasing show.

Ah, I freaking love this album, and the demos & early releases around this time, too. Like Jim2, I was completely perplexed with [i]Twitch[/i] and gave up on them. [i]Sympathy[/i] is a brilliant and well-crafted album. To answer your question, I think Ministry would have "made it" with us die-hard new wave fans; they might have even gained lots of new fans too. Certainly the dance-club scenesters would've glommed on. "Work For Love" was hugely appreciated on the dancefloor back in the day. But it's all good. We love [i]With Sympathy[/i] and are lucky to have it !

Indeed when I first heard 'Effigy' on a Arista promo comp I picked up @Sam Goody, I was mesmerized. I thought this was the latest one of Brit synthpop bands to hit our shores (with no accompanying MTV video exposure ta boot). Then I was taken by each subsequent track I came to hear from them on WLIR, the only commercial radio station in the NY area that would play them. Interestingly, I did find 'Twitch' to be a well crafted transition album with 'All Day' and the Wax Trax! 12" single 'Everyday Is Halloween' being club favorites of mine before the dreaded sonic assault came via 'The Land of Rape and Honey'

<MARQUEE><h5>Moving @The Speed of Life</h5></MARQUEE>

is this available on cd?

[quote]Originally posted by WoodlandParkPunk
[br]Have been listening to Sympathy alot lately and love it. Can't believe the band that they eventually became. Would they have "made it" had they stayed in the true "new romantic" synth style?

"You just pick a chord, go twang, and you've got music." ~ Sid Vicious
[/quote]

[quote][i]Originally posted by ariapro2[/i]
<br>is this available on cd?
[/quote]

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_ ... ular%2C243

http://www.amazon.co.uk/With-Sympathy-M ... 094&sr=1-1

thank you so much....great timing with it being reissued next month in the uk.

[quote][i]Originally posted by Jefe[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by ariapro2[/i]
<br>is this available on cd?
[/quote]

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_ ... ular%2C243

http://www.amazon.co.uk/With-Sympathy-M ... 094&sr=1-1
[/quote]