Peter Murphy

Amongst the many summer releases from Metropolis Records lies this two-disc collection of moments from the Batman's Y2K tour, Just for Love. Recorded exclusively at the Los Angeles show, our favourite former Bauhaus front-man/dandy is in fine form this time around. Seven solo albums worth of material are explored with everything from hits, such as "Cuts You Up" and "Indigo Eyes," to more obscure tracks. Canadian violinist Hugh Marsh and Peter DiStephano (formerly of Porno for Pyros) are his only company, allowing for the purity of his vocals and little instrumentation to carve out a very intimate niche for this recording, quite unlike more flamboyant past solo tours. Alive... does a terrific job of capturing the feel of the show in all of its modest splendour. We finally hear a side of our darling Peter that we always knew was there, and he seems to revel in the fact that his voice is the primary instrument in these arrangements. DiStephano and Marsh get quite creative with what limited resources they have, so the songs do remain quite true to their original form. As reworked as they are, fans will not be disappointed. On the second disc, David J (also of the Bauhaus family) makes an appearance, and he and Murphy proceed to play a few old Bauhaus favourites that all fans will surely remember. For old fans and new alike, this'll be a great listen.