Bauhaus- The Sky's Gone Out (1982) MP3 & FLAC

"Swing the Heartache just for her sake."

Often said to pale in comparison to In the Flat Field and Mask, Bauhaus' third studio LP, The Sky's Gone Out, finds the band attempting to move beyond the glam-meets-dub of their earlier proto-Goth work by exploring a more sonically textured approach. Thus, The Sky's Gone Out is very much a transitional album, and a vastly underrated one at that. The lead track, a cover of Brian Eno's "Third Uncle," crackles with glam aggression, and while it doesn't quite best the original, it is certainly one of Bauhaus' finest moments on record. Conversely, "All We Ever Wanted Was Everything" is almost folky with its simple acoustic guitar part and Peter Murphy's defeated vocals, while David J's fretless bass provides the song's pensive melody. While not the most cohesive album in Bauhaus' discography, The Sky's Gone Out is the most ambitious, containing some of the band's most textured and dynamic songs.

Bauhaus- Bela Lugosi's Dead EP (1979) MP3 & FLAC

"The virginal brides file past his tomb, strewn with time's dead flowers bereft in deathly bloom."

One of the pinnacles of the Post-Punk era, Bauhaus' debut single is both enigmatic and indelible. While David Bowie and Joy Division are clearly touchstones here, Bauhaus' use of Dub-Reggae studio trickery, such as over-emphasizing David J's bass sound and adding heavy reverb to guitar and percussion, creates an unforgettable and unparalleled atmosphere of dread, which propels the song toward greatness. Not to be overlooked are Daniel Ash's spectral guitar textures and creepy string manipulations and Peter Murphy's glowering croon, all of which virtually create the Goth-Rock template during the course of the song's nine plus minutes. Absolutely essential.

Bauhaus- "Bela Lugosi's Dead" Video (1982) Live at the Old Vic, London

Nice live version of a peerless song:

Bauhaus- In the Flat Field (1980) Omnibus Edition (Bonus Disc) MP3 & FLAC

"Let me catch the slit of light, for a maiden's sake and maiden flight. In the flat field I do get bored, replace with Piccadilly whores."

While In the Flat Field is certainly one of the most influential Post-Punk albums ever recorded, it also enjoys a far more rarified distinction: its release (arguably) constituted the birth of a new genre, Goth(ic)-Rock. Irregardless of what that term means today, at the dawn of the eighties, it was a particularly minimalist branch of Post-Punk, which, somewhat ironically, had roots in the Glam-Rock scene of the early seventies, particularly Bowie, Iggy Pop, and T-Rex. Without a doubt, these influences cast a long shadow on Bauhaus, but on In the Flat Field, the band consistently exploits these shadows in original and diverse ways. For example, lead vocalist Peter Murphy sounds something like Iggy Pop channeling a vampiric Ziggy Stardust, somehow possessing just the right type of deranged charisma to pull it off convincingly, and Daniel Ash's scratchy, noisy, minimalist guitar work ably ignites both the chaos and the spaciousness of these songs, often achieving these effects simultaneously. A truly stunning debut that they were destined to never top.

Dalis Car- The Waking Hour (1984) MP3 & FLAC -In Memory of Mick Karn-

"Plant your tree of hidden dreams beneath your fears that burst the seams."

Dalis Car was a one-off collaboration between Mick Karn and Peter Murphy, sort of a rebound project after the disintegration of their respective bands, Japan and Bauhaus. Musically, the album owes more to Japan, though the arrangements are fairly minimal, something Japan was not necessarily known for. While Karn's unparalleled fretless bass sound dominates throughout (and this is a good thing), it is Murphy who steps into uncharted territory on this recording. His often dissonant, abstract vocals are a far cry from his ziggy-as-vampire onstage persona with Bauhaus. Little did we know at the time, however, that The Waking Hour would represent a first (uncommercial) baby step toward the goth-pop crooner Murphy would become at the dawn of the nineties. Having been a big fan of both Bauhaus and Japan in the early eighties, I remember being disappointed by this album (although I loved the cover). A quarter of a century later, Dalis Car sounds a little friendlier to my ears.

Dalis Car- "His Box" Video (1984) Live, Old Grey Whistle Test -In Memory of Mick Karn-

Here's a live track from a short-lived collaboration between Mick Karn and Peter Murphy of Bauhaus. Word is, they were planning to record a second Dalis Car album in 2011, but Karn passed away yesterday, succumbing to cancer. More Dalis Car to follow...

Bauhaus- "Telegram Sam" Video (1980)

Here's a blistering T-Rex cover by Bauhaus- one of the best tracks they ever recorded: