LOVE AND ROCKETS - Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven LP

Highly recommended.

Gatefold sleeve.

Many fans of Bauhaus view Love and Rockets in a favourable light, but only to an extent that it's better than nothing. They'd rather Bauhaus had never broken up.

No one will ever take away the influence that Bauhaus had, but Love and Rockets seems so much more accomplished, tuneful, and intelligent than their younger incarnations. Case in point is their debut, Seventh Dream of a Teenage Heaven.

Despite being unleashed a mere two years after Bauhaus' swan song Burning From the Inside, Teenage Heaven could not sound less typical of Bauahaus' output. You'd be forgiven for thinking this was a completely new group and not noticing the connection.

The baritone vocals of Peter Murphy, who was invited but decided against rejoining the rest of the band, may as well be a piece of history. Instead, David J and Daniel Ash take turns singing and frequently harmonize or play off each other. Ash has more of a rough edge to his vocals, but the two voices don't sound especially different from each other, and it only makes the blending of their vocals work all the better.