The Sisterhood: Gift
Jihad
Colours
Giving Ground
Finland Red, Egypt White
Rain From Heaven
Merciful Release 1986
"2 5 0 0 0"
Gift; an album written by Andrew Eldritch and performed by Doktor Avalanche & The Chorus of Vengence (Patricia Morrison, James Ray, Alan Vega)
Doktor Avalanche had been a member of The Sisters Of Mercy from the time when Andrew Eldritch found he couldn't drum and sing at the same time. There were rumours that the Doktor would be some day replaced with a real drummer but no-one really belived them.
Patricia Morrison had been a member of The Gun Club but left because she was a pacifist.
James Ray formed a group on Merciful Release called The Performance. He is an artist.
Alan Vega was in Suicide and probably still would be if people checked up on him more often.
Recorded in little more than a week in 1986 and released on vinyl LP and Compact Disc (there may have been a cassette and 8-track too but who really cares anymore?) very shortly after on Merciful Release records in London. Gift was a tour de force of immeasurable proportions. Ahead of it's time by at least fifteen minutes which is half-way through the album already. It was universally ignored by the critics and reached its audience largely through osmosis.
But it got released, which was the important thing, and has become more popular with age as the punters found out about it and lauded it finally for the genius work that so many of their peers claimed it was. It is still available in the more likely record stores. You could buy it if you like.
A single was also released (as was the fashion at the time): Giving Ground. It was backed with an instrumental version; a proper exclusive b-side probably would have taken at least another two or three days to make and they had a taxi waiting. It is not still available. You won't be missing much if you bought the album. For the B-side just imagine the A-side track without vocals. Go on... use your imagination. It's free. and it's good for you.
The group dispanded. Their work complete. Doktor Avalanche went back to the shed. Morrison became a future ex-member of The Sisters and a future Damned wife. James Ray made records and ran the gift shop. Alan Vega went onto Other Things™.
In their absence it has since become a cult phenomena.
...but it, like the later SSV album that still hasn't been released, is not The Sisters. It sounds a bit more like them though. And The Sisters covered Colours on the arse of This Corrosion. EastWest put it on the album. Andrew wasn't happy, but then he rarely is.
This has been a PRAEst76 work in 2005.